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Samir's
Christmas Lesson
A Story by Jamil Momand
RINGG!!!!!, "That's it; the bell finally rang,"
thought Samir. As quick as lightning he jumped out of his seat, struggled
to get on his jacket, ran out of the classroom, and flew down the stairs.
Winter vacation was here at last and Samir was excited as the rest of his
classmates about the two week holiday. He couldn't wait to get home and
have all sorts of fun. When he got outside he paused and looked across the
playground. From the other school buildings kids were pouring out from
every doorway. It was a wonderful sight. "Boy," he
thought, "This is going to be the best Christmas ever."
Before
going on he waited for his friend Rick to catch up with him. Rick lived
next door and was his best friend. They always walked home together after
school. Rick came running up saying, "Samir, you sure got out of
there in a hurry." "Yeah, I know, I was counting the minutes
before the bell rang," said Samir.
As they
walked, Rick asked, "Hey, Samir, did your parents get a Christmas tree
yet?" "No, not yet. They usually wait till just before
Christmas. By the way, what do you want for Christmas anyway?"
replied Samir. "I asked Santa for a new bike but I don't know if I'll
get it. I asked him for that last year but got a pair of roller skates
instead. How about you?" "I'm getting an electric train, I
hope" said Samir. As they turned the corner both of them spotted a
Christmas tree lot with all kinds of blinking neon lights. "Boy, this
place gets fancier every year," exclaimed Rick.
When Samir
got to his house he opened the little gate and walked across the front lawn.
He climbed up the steps to the front porch and used his key to get inside.
"Mom, I'm home!" hollered Samir. No answer. "Hmm,
must be out shopping," he said to himself. He went to the kitchen and
pulled out some milk and a can of Nestle's Quik. Just then he heard a
knock. Samir ran to the front door, "Who is it?," he asked.
From behind the door Samir heard a muffled voice saying, "Hi, my name is
Muhammad. Are your parents home?" "No," Samir
replied. He looked through the peephole and saw a man with a new vacuum
cleaner in one hand and a big suitcase in the other. "This guy is
probably a salesman," thought Samir. "Well, could you give them
my card?," said Muhammad, smiling. The boy opened the door and said,
"Sure," and took the card. Muhammad began to make his way back
to the sidewalk. He glanced at the mailbox and he suddenly stopped and
said, "By the way, what's your name?" "My name is
Samir." "Oh really? Are you a Muslim?" "That
was a strange question," Samir thought. He thought that there were no
other Muslims living in Scarlet County except for his parents and himself.
After what seemed to be a long time Samir finally said, "Yes, I am."
Muhammad told him that there was going to be a little gathering for all the
Muslims in Scarlet County at his home and that he should tell his parents about
it.
When his
parents came home Samir told them about Muhammad and the Muslims. His
mother and father were very surprised and wanted very much to meet them.
So, after dinner they all went over to Muhammad's house and there they found
other Muslims. "Assalamu-alaikum," they said as they greeted
each other. Muhammad laughed a lot and they all got together and talked.
Samir met a boy there whose name was Imran. They played with Tinker Toys
and Legos and had all sorts of fun.
Samir
asked Imran, What are you getting for Christmas?" Imran's eyes grew wide as
he said, "We don't celebrate Christmas." Shocked, Samir then
asked, "Why not?" "Christmas is a Christian holiday
celebrating the birth of Jesus. To Muslims, Jesus is a Prophet. But
Christians think that Jesus is the son of God." Samir had never
thought about Christmas in that way. He had always thought that Christmas
was just getting toys and having a Christmas tree. After a few minutes
Samir said, "Do you ever get any gifts?" Imran smiled and said,
"Sure, I get gifts from my parents for Eid. Eid is a big celebration
for Muslims all over the world." "Oh, I didn't know that,"
said Samir.
Just then
someone began reciting the adhan. Samir looked about him and saw people
getting up and moving around. He didn't know what was going on.
Imran showed Samir how to make wudu and stand for salat. Before the salat
began Imran whispered in Samir's ear, "Just follow me," and winked at
him. Samir did exactly what Imran did and when it was over, he was rather proud
of himself.
After Isha
prayer Samir's parents decided it was time to go. They said their salams
to everybody and then his mother called for Samir. Upon hearing his
mother's voice Samir said to Imran, "Hey, I've got to go, thanks a
lot." Imran looked up and said, "No Problem.
Assalamu-alaikum." When Samir got to the car he jumped in the back
seat and said to his parents, "So, are we going to celebrate Christmas this
year?" His parents looked at each other and then his father said,
"Of course we are. What do you want from Santa?" Samir
thought about what Imran said and then replied, "If we are Muslims we
should celebrate Eid instead of Christmas, shouldn't we?" His mother
said, "Do you want to do that?" "Yes," said Samir,
"That would be better."
The next
day Samir heard a knock on the front door. He ran to it and opened it.
It was Rick. "Hi Rick, how's it going?" "Fine,"
said Rick. "Do you want to play some football?"
"Sure, let's go," said Samir. While they were walking to the
park Rick asked Samir, "So, did you guys get a Christmas tree yet?"
"No," answered Samir, "I don't think we're going to celebrate
Christmas this year." Rick stopped in his tracks. "What?
Why not?" "Because we're Muslims and we are going to celebrate
Eid instead." "Oh, I didn't know that. Well, tell me when
your Eid is and maybe I'll come over and celebrate with you."
"That would be great," said Samir, taking the football, "Now go
out for a pass."
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