With tragedy continuously unfolding in Gaza, Christians in the Holy Land are having a difficult time feeling joy this Christmas season. Bethlehem cancelled its traditional celebrations. There will be no tree-lighting or festivities. Instead of setting up the traditional Nativity scene of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus in a stable surrounded by shepherds and their sheep, Rev Munther Ishaq, a Lutheran pastor in Bethlehem, has erected the birth scene with the baby Jesus laying in rubble. Rev Ishaq said that this was an appropriate representation because “if Jesus were born today, he’d be in solidarity with the suffering humanity of Gaza”.
To be sure, there will be Christians in the West who will scoff at these Palestinian actions accusing them of miscasting or politicising Christmas to suit their needs. In reality, however, the grossly distorted version of Christmas is its popular manifestation in the West where the trees, lights, Santa Claus and gift-giving have eclipsed the birth of Jesus as the dominant themes of the Christmas season. These innocent-enough traditions have been exploited by commercial interests, making the month before Christmas Day a non-stop blitz of enticements to buy and buy more.
When Christmas in the West does involve religious themes, the birth narrative is presented as a sort of sanitised fairytale. The town of Bethlehem is silent and peaceful. “All is calm, all is bright,” and then the birth just happens, followed by rejoicing.
Other aspects of the story we can glean from scripture and tradition, however, suggest a more complicated and more profoundly human subtext to the story. These have been glossed over in our contemporary retelling of the story but would have been both understood and unsettling to those who heard the story two millennia ago.
Mary was a young girl, nine months pregnant, forced to ride a rough journey for days from Nazareth to Bethlehem, her husband Joseph’s family seat. On arrival, they found no place to stay and so were forced to spend their time in one of Bethlehem’s many caves. A tradition captured in the Quran tells of Mary as she was about to deliver, going off on her own and crying out in labour pains saying, at one point, “I wish that I had not been born.”
We are also told in scripture that the new parents were warned that the Roman ruler of the region, feeling threatened that a child had been born who might challenge his authority, sent his troops to slaughter newborns. This threat forces Mary and Joseph and their newborn infant to flee to Egypt to save their child’s life.
When Christmas in the West does involve religious themes, the birth narrative is presented as a sort of sanitised fairytale
When all the parts are put together, a different picture emerges than the one that has been popularised in culture. In addition to the rejoicing at new life and the celebration of the child whom they understand will offer salvation, a more complete picture must include the starkness of the setting, the pain accompanying birth, and the normal fears of the new parents accentuated by their concern for his and their safety in the face of oppressive rule.
And never forget Mary’s words on being told she would give birth to Jesus. She praises God, saying in part: “He has shown the strength of his arm, he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty-handed.”
As Rev Ishaq notes, Jesus is to be seen in solidarity with and giving hope to suffering humanity. The baby in the rubble offers “hope of a new beginning coming out of destruction”.
This more faithful rendition of the Christmas narrative aligns with today’s reality faced by Palestinian Christians in Bethlehem and Gaza.
In Bethlehem, they are strangled and cut off from the rest of the West Bank by a 28 inch-high concrete wall and massive Jewish-only settlements built on their communal lands. They’ve lost access to their fields and vineyards and their ability to travel is severely constricted. In Gaza, Palestinians have been forced to flee their homes, which have been reduced to rubble, and then bombed or killed by sniper fire when they seek refuge in their churches.
As I write this, I am reminded of the fact that more than 30,000 Palestinian women in Gaza are pregnant. Like Mary, they have no comfortable place to go to deliver their babies. Their homes are destroyed. From day to day, they are on the move to escape the relentless bombing. They, like Mary, live in fear.
And so, Rev Ishaq’s action is, in fact, the most appropriate way to commemorate Christmas, because the story of the birth of Jesus is an act of identification with suffering humanity and an expression of hope that comes with each new life. With this in mind, please have a merry but meaningful Christmas.
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Name: Colm McLoughlin
Country: Galway, Ireland
Job: Executive vice chairman and chief executive of Dubai Duty Free
Favourite golf course: Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club
Favourite part of Dubai: Palm Jumeirah
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
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Dubai World Cup draw
1. Gunnevera
2. Capezzano
3. North America
4. Audible
5. Seeking The Soul
6. Pavel
7. Gronkowski
8. Axelrod
9. New Trails
10. Yoshida
11. K T Brave
12. Thunder Snow
13. Dolkong
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
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The biog
DOB: 25/12/92
Marital status: Single
Education: Post-graduate diploma in UAE Diplomacy and External Affairs at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: I love fencing, I used to fence at the MK Fencing Academy but I want to start again. I also love reading and writing
Lifelong goal: My dream is to be a state minister
RESULTS
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 Group 1 (PA) Dh119,373 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Brraq, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Jean-Claude Pecout (trainer)
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Taamol, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Eqtiraan, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial (TB) Dh183,650 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Soft Whisper, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Etisalat, Sando Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
UAE%20ILT20
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
