LAST week, at a gathering of friends, we in the group were having a whale of a time. As is generally the case, the group never stays static with the numbers changing constantly with additions or subtractions in the group. Either more friends, acquaintances or friends of friends arrive and join in or some start leaving either for some other appointment or just for home. It is this constantly changing dynamics that drives the conversation for the evening. Even in our gathering, as the situation would have it, a person who happened to be friends with some of my friends arrived and joined the gathering for a short period of time. The discussion meandered as it usually does, till this person got up to leave. But as he left he wished us all "Happy Halloween", which was to happen a few days later. The throwaway line as he bid goodbye was a bolt from the blue. I asked him if he seriously celebrated this so-called Halloween, which is a day of celebration in America and many other Western countries. He said yes and added that he was hosting a party at his house with many of his friends and their children are coming in Halloween costumes to celebrate. I asked him if this is an Islamic holiday to celebrate. He just laughed at me and flippantly replied that it was a cultural occasion and not religious and definitely not for conservatives like myself to celebrate. The person left the gathering but the discussion about Halloween went on. In the debate a friend threw another loop by confirming that he had seen people buying costumes and masks to celebrate this occasion. He also reiterated that there are many people like the person who had left the group with the zinger, and he knew some personally who celebrate this occasion — especially former students who had studied abroad and brought this culture back home with them. Sadly we have seen this markedly during Valentine's Day, and how this occasion also invaded our culture. The same can be seen during New Year's celebration. People travel to countries around the world to celebrate New Year as if it was an Islamic holiday. We Muslims have only two holidays, Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha, which are days of celebration. I do believe that people can follow their customs and festivals at their respective countries. What they do there is their business. But what irks me is the fact that we Muslims mark the festivity with more fervor than the residents and then import that activity to our shores. We should celebrate our Islamic holidays and any other so-called holiday is an invasion to our culture and we should not celebrate it. I am not going to go into the origins of Halloween and whether it is based on an ancient pagan tradition or in Christianity. But I would definitely point out that this is alien to us, and should remain alien. We should also focus more on how to protect our society from such cultural invasions. What message are we sending to our children and young when they see the elders marking holidays and occasions that are not Islamic? We should protect and strengthen the identity of our Islamic culture in the hearts of our children in order that they are steadfast and not easily influenced. If parents think that Halloween is fun for children, then they should save all the fun for the two Eids. This cultural invasion aims at destroying our values. It is coming directly through satellite TV, social media and Internet and is very difficult to stop it unless the family fully equips their children against it. We have seen how powerful a tool the information superhighway is with its various platforms. It has influenced our culture through the varying haircuts we see these days on the heads of our youth. We have seen it in the way they dress and definitely we have seen it in the way they speak as there is an English word in every sentence, while some are sadly carrying on conversing in English. My article titled «losing our Arabic language» last April details this aspect of the invasion. I am not calling here to slam the doors on the West nor consider them a bacteria or an infection that we need to sterilize ourselves from. What should be done is that we should modernize our culture instead of westernizing it. We should take from the West the latest technologies and work values that will benefit us as a society. Japanese professor, Hideo Kishimoto, explained the difference between Westernization and Modernization. He stated, "Westernization would mean that a certain indigenous cultural element of the traditional East is replaced by the penetrating Western element, and the functional role of the former is taken over by the latter. Modernization, on the other hand, basically means to remold a cultural system into a new mode." Other countries have done it to protect its culture from outside cultures. We have seen how the French have taken the necessary measures to protect their language. The same with the Chinese and Indian governments protecting their cultures from outside invasions with stress on indigenous approach. The government plays an important role in protecting our values and cultures but the vital and most important role starts with the family. We have to understand that those who wish us a Happy New Year or a Happy Halloween lack Islamic knowledge about this. It is important that our Islamic values should be explained to them and the importance of standing against invading cultures. I conclude here with a verse from the Holy Qur›an that says, "And that this is My Path, directed (towards Me). Therefore follow it, and do not follow (others) ways, for they will lead you away from His Way. This He has enjoined you with that you may have piety (Takwâ). (153)" The writer can be reached at [email protected]
