Today's Memory, December 23, 2019: Buya Syafii Maarif Affirms No Problem Muslims Saying Merry Christmas

Muslim scholar Ahmad Syafii Maarif. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA Memories of today, five years ago, December 23, 2019, Muslim scholar Ahmad Syafii Maarif or Buya Syafii emphasized that he always wished his colleagues a Merry Christmas. He considered the words given because Indonesia is a plural.

Previously, the East Java Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) appealed to Muslims not to say Christmas. They believe that saying Christmas can damage faith. Alias, say Christmas while making Muslims similar to the beliefs of Christians.

No Muslim denies the popularity of hadith which reveals that whoever resembles a people, then he is part of them. Hadith, a history of Abu Daud and Ahmad, is often the basis for many scholars to forbid the business of wishing Christmas.

As a result, every Christmas before the debate related to whether it is necessary to wish Christian brothers a Merry Christmas is inevitable. This condition was then tried to be revealed by the East Java MUI, feeling that all Muslims in Indonesia should not say Christmas.

The Christmas remarks that were revealed were considered to be disturbing the affairs of Muslims. When it comes to saying Christmas they believe it is part of justifying other religions. The area is considered dangerous. It has entered the realm of faith.

The East Java MUI only gave concessions to the Vice President who is also the former chairman of the MUI, Ma'ruf Amin. Vice President Ma'ruf is considered not a problem when he says Christmas. The narrative is because Ma'ruf is the leader of the country.

The East Java MUI also considers not to say Christmas as part of tolerance. Muslims do not interfere with Christmas worship. Nasrations do not expect Christmas to be said.

So regarding Christmas greetings because this is part of the region of faith, when we congratulate the commemoration. This has the potential to damage our faith. Christmas greetings are celebrations of the birth of God's son, because it enters the area of faith. When we congratulate the commemoration it is the same as congratulated the birth of the son of God.

"Yes, he (Maruf Amin) is also difficult. Ulama are also leaders. But yes, he must have his own considerations. Leadership is not single, not individual, there is a secretary, there is structural. The Ministry of Religion, for example, has other religious binmas. For example, if he (the government) is careful, he will order other religious Binmas who celebrate Christmas to congratulate him," said Secretary of the East Java MUI, Mochammad Yunus, quoted by the CNN Indonesia page, December 21, 2019.

The issue of the East Java MUI's appeal brought polemics. It is necessary for Muslims to say Christmas to spread everywhere. However, not a few Muslim scholars consider the appeal inappropriate.

Buya Syafii for example. The former chairman of Muhammadiyah from the 1998-2005 era spoke up on December 23, 2019. He emphasized that there was no problem wishing him a Merry Christmas, nor disturbing him. Buya Syafii himself always wishes all his colleagues a Merry Christmas.

He considers saying Christmas is a common thing. This means that Muslims have no problem saying Christmas. The Indonesian nation is a plural. Buya Syafii imitated all the Egyptian clerics who all participated in saying Christmas. However, the words are not in the realm of theology. Just words.

I wish my friends a Merry Christmas every year. What are the objections? It's the same as saying congratulations Eid al-Fitr to us. Ordinary.Mboklapang dada.

"This is a plural nation. Don't narrow yourself down with non-religious matters to be a religious matter. Don't take it too seriously. Don't use all kinds of theology. It's useless," said Buya Syafii as quoted on the Tempo.co page, December 23, 2019.