Muslims are taught that they are the “best of people” and non-Muslims “the most vile of created beings.” They are commanded by several Qur’anic verses – 3:28, 4:14, 5:51 –not to take Christians and Jews as friends, “for they are friends only with each other.” Furthermore, they are instructed to fight, to kill, to smite at the necks of, to strike terror in the hearts of, non-Muslims (see, e.g.,2:191-193, 4:89, 8:12, 8:60, 9:5, 9:29, 47:4). And they must never recognize nor participate in the slightest way, in the religious observances of non-Muslims. That means, when it comes to Christmas, that there should be no participation by Muslims in the holiday, no matter how devoid of religious content that participation might be. No Christmas trees, no Christmas carols, no toy Santas, no reindeer or elves, no Christmas cards, no mistletoe, no Christmas presents, no Christmas lights, and of course, no wishing Christians a “Merry Christmas.” Needless to say, there are Muslims who despite these prohibitions still get into the spirit of the holiday, which because of television and the Internet manages to penetrate the borders of Muslim states and enter the consciousnesess of individual Muslims –who learn about, and see, those Christmas trees, Santa Clauses, cards and carols, television Christmas specials, and festive decorations seen festooning the dwellings of Christians in the West. All this is anathema to the most observant Muslims.

Recently an internal Hamas document surfaced in Gaza, which showed Hamas’s determination to prevent Gaza Muslims from taking part in anything to do with Christmas. The story was broken internationally at Jihad Watch here, and is here is a report from Israel Hayom five days later: “Leaked Hamas Christmas memo causes Christian dismay in Gaza,” December 24, 2020:

A leaked Hamas memo showing Gaza’s ruling Islamist group wanted to curb Christmas celebrations among Gaza’s Muslim majority has upset the enclave’s tiny Christian community in the run-up to the holiday.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs document, dated Dec. 15, called for “activities by the directorate of preaching and spiritual guidance to limit interaction with Christmas.”

The leak went public last weekend, upsetting Palestinian Christians.

“We set an example for the world in not having any sectarian problems, therefore, we were very upset,” said Samer Tarazi, a Christian journalist in Gaza. He said Christians just wanted life to continue “as normal.”

Jerusalem’s Greek Orthodox Archbishop, Atallah Hanna, called the memo “inflammatory,” but said it “will not harm our unity and good relations.”

Hamas said the reaction was exaggerated and that it only wanted to ensure Muslims marked Christian holidays in accordance with Islamic law.