Muslim immigrant Man Haron Monis recently declared, in the Christmas spirit of his adopted Australian refuge, “Islam is the religion of peace and a Muslim should be a peace activist.” December 15, 2014, consistent with legions of his Muslim co-religionists across the globe, Monis demonstrated otherwise, causing the deaths by jihad of two innocent hostages he had taken, plus his own death.

One of Australia’s largest mosques, two years earlier, in December, 2012, also reflective of such “seasonal ecumenism”—albeit non-violently so—sparked outrage with a religious ruling (“fatwa”) posted on its Facebook page warning Muslims it was “sinful” to wish a Merry Christmas to their fellow, vast majority, Australian Christian countrymen. This sectarian Islamic message, subsequently removed from the Lakemba Mosque social networking website, came on the heels of a sermon at the Sydney mosque’s Friday congregational prayer session, during which head imam Sheikh Yahya Safi described Christmas Day as a “falsehood that Muslims should avoid.” He further warned that “disbelievers” were trying to draw Muslims away from the “straight path”—i.e., Islam.

The good Sheikh Safi s views, and those expressed at this major Australian mosque’s website, are in accord with formal Islamic rulings about Christmas celebrations issued by the “Fatwa Center” of IslamWeb. This website touts itselfas designed “particularly” to provide accurate knowledge about Islam for “the non-Muslim who may need clarification of common distortions of the media and misrepresentations of ill-informed followers.” We are further told IslamWeb adopts, “balanced and moderate views, devoid of bias and extremism,” covering all aspects of Islam: “Aqeedah (Islamic Belief), Koranic Issues, Hadeeth (Traditions of Prophet Muhammad, Fiqh (Jurisprudence), [and] Seerah (Prophet Muhammad’s Noble Biography).”

Addressing the questions, “Can a Muslim celebrate Christmas?” (December, 2010), and “What is the ruling about congratulating non-Muslims on their holidays and celebrations?” (December, 2013), IslamWeb’s authoritative Muslim scholars stated:

A Muslim should be thankful to Allah for His great blessings upon him as He is Who guided him to the right path [Islam]. So he should keep on supplicating Allah to make him steadfast on this path which is the path of blessed people and to keep him away from the path of those who deserve His anger and of those who went astray [Note: A reference to Koran 1:7, although not cited in the fatwa. A continuum of thirteen centuries of Koranic glosses on this verse by Islam’s greatest Koranic commentators reveal the Jews have incurred Allah’s anger; the Christians have gone astray. Koran 1:7—and these claims—are repeated 17 times per day by Muslims over the course of their 5 daily prayer sessions]. The disbelievers spare no efforts to draw the Muslims away from the straight path and to cut their relation with their true religion. Allah says (what means): {“Many of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) wish that if they could turn you away as disbelievers after you have believed, out of envy on their own account, even, after the truth (that Muhammad is Allah’s Messenger) has become manifest unto them. But forgive and overlook, till Allah brings His command. Verily, Allah is able to do all things.” [Koran 2:109]}. We the Muslims are proud of our religion that was revealed to us by Allah and are thankful that Allah has chosen us for his religion. Allah says (what means): {“…This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion…”} [Koran 5:3].