Christmas celebration in Indonesia

A Christmas ornament at a public square in Surabaya to welcome the festive day in the largest Muslim populous country. – AFP

IT has always been an annual occurrence that when Christmas comes, Muslims in Indonesia debate among themselves the permissibility of participating in or even congratulating their Christian fellow countrymen on that festive day.

Indonesian Muslims are generally divided into three groups in this regard. The first are the conservatives who reject it wholeheartedly, the second are the liberals who take the opposite stand, while the third are moderates who differentiate between participating in the celebration and simply wishing Christians a happy celebration. The last group seems more rational and acceptable in an Indonesian context.