‘I doubt it’d happen on 24 December’: Eid and Rosh Hashanah cancelled by coronavirus, why should Christmas be exempt?

On Thursday 30 July, Muslim families across England were gathering to celebrate Eid the following day. The secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, Harun Khan shared his frustration: “It’s like being told they cannot visit family and friends for Christmas on Christmas Eve.the UK government has failed to provide clarity on the shockingly short notice and the reasoning behind the new rules that British Muslims deserve.” Others were less tactful, with reports citing Boris Johnson “Grinch who stole Eid” memes circulating on social media. Two months later, and four days before Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of the Jewish High Holidays and ten days before Yom Kippur, Boris Johnson’s “rule of six” was introduced nationwide, meaning people could no longer gather in each other’s homes, but, similarly, pubs, restaurants and offices could stay open. If Eid or Rosh Hashanah was important, it would have been kept track of months before, just how Christmas is.” Prison chaplain and imam, Hassan Mahmoud, agrees that it seems there is a different weight of importance given to each: “Of course, we need to keep our communities safe and Islam promotes that first and foremost but it’s the fact that the announcement was so last minute that matters. Pilgrim says, those of other faiths have to ask: “Is saving Christmas about ‘British values’ and ‘Christian faith’ or about the economy?” And this isn’t about different faiths not wanting Christians to have Christmas, if anything, Levy says he has witnessed faiths pull together during the pandemic.