Does The Islamic World Celebrate Christmas?

The short answer is no. In Islam, Jesus is regarded as a prophet but there is no Holy Trinity. Having said that, two of the Islamic world’s most important statesmen were born on Christmas Day: the founder of modern Pakistan and the third President of Egypt.

As most people will know, Pakistan was once part of India, but it has a long and complex history. British involvement in India began with the East India Company, a private company that was founded in 1600 to trade in South East Asia. Eventually it ended up ruling large areas of India before being dissolved in 1874. In 1858, India was ruled directly from Britain. Today, it is feasible for one country to rule another that is thousands of miles away, but at that time, it wasn’t. The first telegraph linking England to India was not established until 1870, but even then direct rule was a tall order. Most of us measure distance in time rather than in miles. This was probably the real reason as much as a tax on tea that the American colonies would eventually rebel against Britain. Local governments can’t wait weeks for instructions from central government.

From about the time of direct rule from Britain, an Indian independence movement emerged. Although its eventual severance from Britain was inevitable, independence would create as many problems as it would solve. Modern India is around 80% Hindu and 14% Moslem. Pakistan on the other hand is almost entirely Moslem; its full name is the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Although Hindus and Moslems co-existed peacefully for the most part, the British withdrawal led to riots between Hindus, Moslems and Sikhs.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah was born December 25, 1876 at Karachi, then in Imperial India. Leaving school at 15, his wealthy father sent him to London to serve an apprenticeship with a trading company, but the young Jinnah soon lost interest in that work and enrolled at Lincoln’s Inn, apparently without any trouble, passing his bar exam with flying colours and returning to India to become its youngest barrister at the age of just 19. He began work at the Bombay Bar on August 24, 1896.

Jinnah moved from a successful career in law into politics. After the Second World War he worked with Lord Mountbatten on the Partition of India which resulted in both the creation of Pakistan and Indian Independence. Mountbatten was the last Viceroy of India, and Jinnah became the first Governor-General of Pakistan, dying 13 months later at the age of 71.

Anwar Sadat was born December 25, 1918; although like Jinnah he was a great statesman, he would not die a natural death, and unlike Jinnah, who was born into privilege, Sadat came from a poor family, one of no fewer than thirteen siblings. 

A staunch nationalist, he joined the military but ended up in a British prison. He rose to power during the Presidency of Gamal Nasser, editing an influential daily newspaper and holding an influential political post. Nasser was less than a year older than Sadat but died in September 1970 aged just 52. Sadat took over as Acting President then became Egypt’s third President the following month. 

Sadat’s downfall was his pragmatism. Realising that peace would come to the Middle East only when Egypt and Israel buried the hatchet, he determined to grasp the nettle. That earned him and (former terrorist) Menachem Begin the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. The following year, the two nations signed a peace treaty, which was the final straw for the Islamists. On October 6, 1981, a well-organised conspiracy penetrated his massive security detail at a public parade killing him and ten others including a bishop and a Chinese engineer. 

The assassination was followed by an insurrection – a real insurrection, unlike the January 6 fantasy. The assassins were tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Had this assassination attempt failed, Sadat may well have changed the face of the Middle East and the history of the world with it. The Palestinian problem could have been solved while the subsequent horrors of 9/11 and endless regime change wars would have been avoided.