Those Muslims who congratulate Christians on the Christmas holiday are committing crimes which are even worse than murder, according to Sheikh Younus Kathrada from the Canadian province of British Columbia.
During his sermon at the Muslim Youth of Victoria, which came ahead of Christmas celebrations across the globe, Kathrada expressed regret over Muslims' perception of what he described as a "false holiday", claiming that they "must be offended" by the beliefs of Christians.
"There are those who will say to them 'Merry Christmas'. What are you congratulating them on? Congratulations on the birth of your Lord? Is that acceptable to a Muslim? Are you now approving of their beliefs? By saying that you are approving of it", he noted.
Kathrada went further by arguing that if a person commits such major sins as adultery, lying or murder, "they are nothing compared to the sin of congratulating and greeting the non-Muslims on their false festivals".
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At the same time, he made it clear that he does not call for Muslims to crackdown on non-Muslims as far as his Christmas-related comments are concerned.
"I'm not saying, and I've never said, go out and just kill them, and do this to them […] Because Allah tells us not to allow the enmity that may exist between you and a people to cause you to be unjust towards them. Rather, be just", Kathrada concluded.
Most Twitter users expressed surprise over Kathrada's remarks, with some describing them as "completely ridiculous" and "awful". One netizen did not think twice before calling Kathrada a "maniac".