1. 1
   Chiara Said:
   March:22:2010 - 12:19 
   

   I just linked this to my post on the Vernal/March/Spring Equinox (March 20-21) which includes a section on Mother’s Day (March 21) in the Arab world (all countries except former French colonies of the Maghreb which celebrate on the last Sunday in May as France does): The Vernal Equinox: Springtime in Saudi and the Equinoctial Day and Night that Join Us All.

   The same post has pictures of Spring in the Saudi desert and a summary and link to an article that your readers might find interesting on the same topic.

   I agree that honouring one’s mother every day does not preclude having a special day of honouring, both public and private. I feel the same about Father’s Day although the public celebration of that one was more of a Hallmark Card marketing invention.

   I do see Valentines Day as distinct, however, since there is no doubt that it has religious, both pre-Christian and Christian, connotations, even though it is now highly secularized as I elaborated in my post on: St Valentine, His Day, and Its Celebration.

   A Saudi commentator there described how high school boys circumvent the Hay’a and how girls and woman get around the Hay’a as well, with subtle use of cosmetics, and celebrations amongst the single women.

   It is also easier to argue the Islamicness of honouring mother, rather than honouring romantic love, even within the Islamically acceptable and encouraged (both the romance and the marrying) context of marriage. Mothers are to be honoured always, romantic love with greater caveats.

   I disagree with Saudi’s rigidity about the latter celebration, especially as in my research on the celebrations internationally it was clear that other GCC countries do allow and welcome Valentines Day celebrations.

   Back to Mother’s Day, I was pleased to learn that it is part of the first day of Spring in most Arab countries, and to read about the celebrations described in Arab News.

   I wish all mothers based in Arab countries a “Happy Mother’s Day!”. The rest shall be feted in May!

2. 2
   Sandy Said:
   March:22:2010 - 13:02 
   

   Mother’s Day has been picking up steam over the years here. In Egypt it’s been a much bigger thing for years. I still wouldn’t exactly say it’s “celebrated” here- but I no longer hear, “it’s Mother’s Day in Egypt” – just simply it’s Mother’s Day.

3. 3
   John Burgess Said:
   March:22:2010 - 14:08 
   

   Ah, but isn’t ‘first day of Spring’ filled with all sorts of paganness?! Sounds suspiciously like fertility rites… you know, ‘mother’ and all!

4. 4
   Chiara Said:
   March:22:2010 - 14:21 
   

   No, it is terribly scientific and astronomical–a science at which the Golden Age of Islam excelled, and which still interests Islam for the importance of sightings of the moon in the lunar calendar.

   On the other hand, it is true that hearts are warmed by the Spring, and on a professional note, Manics, and in my experience Borderline Personality Disorders, bloom in the Spring, giving scientific weight to the follies provoked on earth by celestial movements.

5. 5
   Barkley Rosser Said:
   March:22:2010 - 15:51 
   

   Does this celebration predate the celebration in the US? Did the US invent Mothers’ Day. If so, I might note that irony that its originators were pacifists, with the supposedly more pacific nature of women and mothers in particular supposed to be one of its major themes.

6. 6
   Andrew Said:
   March:22:2010 - 17:39 
   

   I would note that the issue ought not to be whether a pious person should or should not celebrate Valentine’s Day.

   Rather, the issue ought be whether it is proper for government to dictate that.

   It ought not be the province of government to proscribe or mandate any such celebration.

   If one feels that religion forbids such a celebration, one can abstain.

7. 7
   Qusay Said:
   March:22:2010 - 18:30 
   

   I think, Mothers Day is not so bad (to them) because it does not have a saint in it… that could be one reason… In my opinion at least.

8. 8
   John Burgess Said:
   March:22:2010 - 19:54 
   

   Could be, but I’d bet that 90% of those celebrating (St.) Valentine’s Day couldn’t tell you who he was or why some consider him a saint. The holiday is so secularized now that it’s almost like Santa Claus at Christmas. Yes, there was a St. Nicholas, but who really knows much about him?

9. 9
   Chiara Said:
   March:22:2010 - 21:38 
   

   I agree that the lack of any saint associated specifically with Mother’s Day mitigates any thoughts of unIslamicness. Most may not know much about St Valentine, but most know that there is a saint in the history of the day, an elderly male associated with romantic (not filial-maternal)love.

   Christ’s Mass is more an issue because of it celebrating the birth of the Son of God the Father, conceived by the Holy Spirit, ie the Blessed Trinity.

   Mothering Sunday is clearly related now to Christianity and the Church (though derived from much earlier celebrations of mother in European history), ie the return to the “mother church” or one’s home parish on the 4th Sunday of Lent (mid-way through the Lenten Fast and a day on which restrictions were lightened), an event that led to a extension to children bringing gifts home to mothers as well, and a servants day off to do both. As part of the moveable feast of Easter it can fall on any day between March 1 and April 4 in a given year (on March 21 this year!).

   However the modern Mother’s Day is distinct and as Barkley Rosser says above initiated in the US–in 1914, by Anna Jarvis, who seemed more inspired by a grief reaction to her mother’s death than anything else.

10. 10
    M Said:
    March:23:2010 - 02:15 
    

    There are some voices shouting that Mother’s Day is haraam. But they’re pretty subdued since mothers are highly revered in Islam. Unlike that dirty four letter word Love.

11. 11
    Maha Noor Elahi Said:
    March:24:2010 - 15:10 
    

    Interesting post!
    However, Mr. Burgess, you don’t seem to understand the difference between Mother’s day and Valentine’s day. Motherhood is universal, but St. Valentine isn’t. From the Saudi Mutawe’s viewpoint, Valentine’s day represents honoring a Christian Saint and pre-marital sex. This is not being disrespectful to Christians as we believe in Jesus.
    A few years ago I read an article by a Saudi man who wrote something very interesting about why he is against Valentine’s day. He said: I’ve never heard of a Christian or a Jew celebrating Eid Al-Fitr or celebrating the birthday of Prophet Mohammad. If we hear about a Christian celebrating Eid for instance, we would never beleive it and never accept it. Celebrating other people’s religious beleifs only shows a lost identity, and we have the right to protect our identity, especially the religious identity.

    I used to celebrate Valentine’s Day and Easter and Holloween..etc, but not any more…no body forced me to stop celebrating them…I just came to realize that I am not celebrating my own religion’s important sacred days as I should be. I know now that the idea of praying or celebrating Eid Al-Adha or even saying “Peace on Mohammad” would never cross any Christian’s mind…not because they hate Muslims, but because they respect their religion and are proud of it, and I surly respect their choice and salute them for it.

    The mutawee men know everything about the orgin of Valentine’s Day and there are many books publisehd in Arabic about the whole story. When I compared the story to what my American friends told me, I found it the exact story.
    Islam is not against love as M has said. In fact, Prophet Mohammad Peace Be Upon Him said: The best thing for lovers is marriage. Prophet Mohammad Peace Be Upon Him is actually the most romantic man I’ve ever read about. I’ll write a post soon on the romantic side of Prophet Mohammad Peace Be Upon Him.

    Thank you.

12. 12
    John Burgess Said:
    March:24:2010 - 16:05 
    

    Oh, I understand. Unfortunately, the religious police are wrong in their assumptions. Valentine’s Day (note that the ‘Saint’ part has been dropped) is now just a secular holiday on which people who are fond of each other (to varying degrees) acknowledge that fondness. Elementary school children in the US, for example, exchange cards with sweet sentiments on them. No extra-marital sex is involved. Office mates can exchange them with the same or different meaning. Husbands and wifes as well, again with different meanings determined by the relationship.

    Again, the religious origin of Valentine’s Day has been lost by all but the most academic Christians. They don’t know who the historical Valentine may have been or why he was granted sainthood. ‘Valentine’ is just a string of sounds that, when attached to the word ‘day’, mean the current, secular holiday.

    Etymologically, ‘Monday’ is ‘Moon day’. No one but an academic spends any time thinking about that. Yet, the name harkens back to a time when the Moon was an important religious symbol, if not an out-and-out deity. I’m not aware of anyone calling for a change in its name due to its pagan origins! ‘Tuesday’, comes from the proto-Germanic god Tiw (in romance languages, he became Mars, the Roman god); ‘Wednesday’ is from Wodin/Odin, translated in romance languages as the god ‘Mercury’; ‘Thursday’ is ‘Thor’s day’, again, a proto-Germanic god, Zeus in romance; and ‘Friday’ is Frigga’s day’, in romance, ‘Venus’. Even the most easily outraged evangelist doesn’t get wrapped around the axle over these linguistic and historical facts.

13. 13
    anon Said:
    March:26:2010 - 04:11 
    

    I was once told that a Saudi man is late for everything except when his mother tells him to be somewhere at a certain time.

14. 14
    Maha Noor Elahi Said:
    March:26:2010 - 06:30 
    

    Well .. to them it’s still a religious celebration..and again..it’s different from the names of the days, which they don’t about Probably, if they knew, they would force us to use the Arabic names of the days even when we speak English..so Tuesday would be “Al-Thulataa’” and Saturday will be Al-Sabt
    Yet still , i see no relation between the week days and Valentine’s Day…we don’t celebrate week days…Even if we say “Friday”, we still go to the mosque on that day regrdless of the origing of the word Friday in English…
    When a celebration is based on another culture’s practice or religion, I beleive they have the right to object to it…However, I totally disagree on the way they are doing it, but if i were them, I would give it a new name that is related to an Islamic incident that shows love…I would make it a real day for love; not just a silly day for exchanging cards…althoug I used to celebrate it for many years with my husband, now I think it’s really silly (for me)…I have my own Valentine’s Day, which is my anniversary and it’s a day no one shares it with me except my husband…That’s much more romantic for me…
    and let me ask just one question, what if your Christian neighbor or your son slaughters a lamb and says “Allah Akbar” many times on Eid Al-Adha Day? How would you feel?
    It’s the same thing for the mutawee..so try to understand their objection … they have the right to protect the young generation from being Americanized or christianed…this is their right…they’re not the only ones who are doing this… I know many British and South African people who are keen on protexting their chidlren from anything related to America although they share the same religion with Americans…
    America is a melting pot…that’s why most Americans can’t understand the concept of “cultural pride” or “cultural identity” or even “roots”. This is not a fault or something to be criticized for… I understand this very well, and I expect from Americans the same…we ARE different..is that too much to grasp and cope with? Why do you people keep criticizing us? Just becuase we are different from you, doesn’t give you the right to make fun of our culture…
    I am not defending the Hay’a here…I say it again and again…I am against their way..I don’t like them becuase of their aggressive and barbarian way of dealing with issues, but I understand them…this is how our government taught them…they are doing their job…I beleive they must be re-educated and trained properly to fit the position they are in….
    When we have well educated and well trained religious men, we get men like Amre Khaled, Ahmad Al-Shugairi, and many others who proved that being a true Muslim deserves nothing but respect…

    Peace

15. 15
    John Burgess Said:
    March:26:2010 - 07:26 
    

    There are a few differences, Maha. No one forces anyone to celebrate–or simply enjoy–Valentine’s Day. Some do coerce people to not celebrate it. Is it a useless holiday? Perhaps, but that’s something I’d trust individuals to decide for themselves, not have an organ of the state decide for them. At best, it’s a trivial holiday.

    I’m not, perhaps, the best to ask about slaughtering a sheep next door. I’ve lived in places where that was common practice on the Eid, so it doesn’t particularly bother me. Valentine’s Day doesn’t require (or even offer the possibility of) any religious rite. In fact, nobody is really sure who St. Valentine is/was. The celebration of the day as one for romantic love seems to have been invented by Geoffrey Chaucer and his friends in the 14th C.! I’m afraid this is an instance of the religious police over-interpreting things, as is their aversion to the Swiss flag.

    In US cities, though, there are laws the prevent the keeping or slaughtering of livestock within city limits. So, regardless of religion, the example you set isn’t a very good one. In rural areas, people may do their own slaughtering for food, so slaughter for religious purposes wouldn’t be much of a game-changer for them. There are those, however, who object to ritual slaughter–Muslim, Jewish, Voudon–on the grounds of their own moral principles. There are those, too, of course, who object to killing any animal for any reason!

    I strongly object to your characterization of Americans as having no ‘cultural pride’ or ‘cultural identity’. We most assuredly do! Even if it encompasses bits of many cultures, the particular mix is our own. In fact, when American’s publicly express this pride, foreigners condemn them for ‘jingoism’. It’s also why many Americans object to changes in that culture and identity by large numbers of immigrants.

    Do I want the world ‘Americanized’? No, I really like diversity of cultures, foods, literature, music, etc. But I really don’t see Americanization going on. What I do see is hybridization, where elements of American culture are adapted and adopted by other cultures which blend them with their own. Something new and distinct–though perhaps not as distinct as before–arises. That’s good in my book. Which is good in another way: that’s what people have done ever since two different cultures met, way back in pre-history.

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