A juristic analysis of fatawa in the U.S.A. : congratulating and partaking in the non-muslims` religious festivals

Abstract

Muslims in the U.S. are increasingly looking to integrate into its society while trying not to lose their identity as Muslims. They find themselves in a dilemma when it comes to the issue of congratulating and even partaking in the festivals of the non-Muslims in the U.S. This issue has gained prominence and momentum after the event of 9-11, in which the Muslims wanted to show and prove their tolerance and acceptance towards others while trying to hold onto and maintain the core principles of Islam. For this reason, this topic is a hotly debated issue in the U.S. and the West in general and a cause of division and confusion amongst Muslims. However, in order to justify their position and feel that they are following the teachings of Islam, they turned to the Islamic scholars, both in the West and the Muslim world, regarding the permissibility or prohibition of congratulating and partaking in non-Muslim festivals. Hence, some scholars scrambled to pass fatawa that would make the lives of Muslim minorities living in the U.S. easier in order to better integrate and accept the culture and customs of its people without having to attract unnecessary attention. Though the fatawa of prohibition have been present in the books from the time of the classical scholars, they did not gain prominence and/or were not seen as a refuting force against the claim of permissibility, except after the dust had settled and emotions were not running as high as they were in the initial months and years following 9-11. This dissertation employs a qualitative methodology to analyze the fatawa of permissibility from a juristic, comparative, content and discourse point of view. By using these methodologies the researcher proves how the consensus of the classical scholars was broken, verses of the Quran and Hadith used out of context and/or weak, and contradictory statements made sometimes even in the same book. Additionally, this dissertation gives readers an insight, through a questionnaire that was conducted by the researcher, into how the Muslims in the U.S. perceive the issue of congratulating and/or partaking in the religious festivals of the non-Muslims. The study conducted found that 66% of Muslim respondents in the U.S. do not congratulate and partake in the religious holidays of the non-Muslims. It also found that 45% of Muslims in the U.S. believe that religious identity of Muslims will eventually be lost if they start to partake in the religious holidays of the non-Muslims, while 29% of respondents said maybe. Last but not least, it also makes an effort to educate the readers in the paganistic origins of some of the holidays in the U.S., which may have otherwise been overlooked by the Islamic contemporary scholars when issuing their fatawa of permissibility.