The Red Cross bans Christmas
Christmas has been banned by the Red Cross from its 430 fund-raising shops.
Staff have been ordered to take down decorations and to remove any other signs of the Christian festival because they could offend Moslems.
The charity's politically-correct move triggered an avalanche of criticism and mockery last night - from Christians and Moslems.
Christine Banks, a volunteer at a Red Cross shop in New Romney, Kent, said: 'We put up a nativity scene in the window and were told to take it out. It seems we can't have anything that means Christmas. We're allowed to have some tinsel but that's it.
'When we send cards they have to say season's greetings or best wishes. They must not be linked directly to Christmas.
'When we asked we were told it is because we must not upset Moslems.'
Mrs Banks added: ' We have been instructed that we can't say anything about Christmas and we certainly can't have a Christmas tree.
' I think the policy is offensive to Moslems as well as to us. No reasonable person can object to Christians celebrating Christmas. But we are not supposed to show any sign of Christianity at all.'
Labour peer Lord Ahmed, one of the country's most prominent Moslem politicians, said: 'It is stupid to think Moslems would be offended.
'The Moslem community has been talking to Christians for the past 1,400 years. The teachings from Islam are that you should respect other faiths.'
He added: 'In my business all my staff celebrate Christmas and I celebrate with them. It is absolutely not the case that Christmas could damage the Red Cross reputation for neutrality - I think their people have gone a little bit over the top.'
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How many times have we seen this? A group dumps Christmas in an effort not to offend a few people and ends up offending a lot more people. They just don't get it.
2 comments:
As if the cross in the Red Cross would not offend! Please think!
Muslims revere Jesus and regard him as the Messiah who will one day rule the world. They have no beef with celebrating his birthday - although they would with proclaiming that he is God Incarnate. The Incarnation is, however, frequently neglected in Western celebrations of the birth of Jesus.
I knew a Muslim professor once who always had a Christmas party for his graduate and undergraduate students, some of whom were Muslim. The professor would greet people arriving for the party with a glass of Christmas cheer in hand, and he enjoyed his party as much as anyone. He'd been educated in Britain, his wife was British, and although he retained his own traditions (and kept a copy of the Koran in a prominent place in his home office), he enjoyed helping everyone else maintain theirs as well. A truly cosmopolitan gentleman and a terrific host. I have not mentioned his name so that he does not incur the enmity of his more fundamentalist co-religionists.
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