by Raymond Ibrahim • Mar 22, 2012 at 2:19 pm
Cross-posted from Jihad Watch
Sheikh Yassir al-Burhami, an influential leader in Egypt’s Salafi party—which won some 25% of the nation’s votes, second only to the Muslim Brotherhood—just issued a fatwa banning any participation in Mother’s Day, which is celebrated March 21st in Egypt.

Yassir Burhami: “No to Mother’s Day.”
According to Ahl Al-Quran, the context is as follows: A man wrote on Burhami’s website saying that his mother is in need of house furnishings, and his sister wanted him to contribute by helping to purchase the necessities, which they would present as a gift to their mother on Mother’s Day. The man refused, saying “I refuse to participate in anything that involves disobeying Allah”—celebrating Mother’s Day, a Western import, is seen as a sin according to Sharia, which specifically commands Muslims not to imitate the traditions of the infidels—adding that he would pay the money asked of him next month.
His question to Burhami: Which is the sin? Making his mother sad, but obeying Allah, or making his mother happy, but disobeying Allah?
Burhami’s response: “You may purchase these things on a different occasion, such as Eid al-Fitr or al-Adha [Islamic holidays], or on no occasion, like you did [by agreeing to pay next month]. However, it is forbidden to participate in the celebration [Mother's Day], even if it saddens your mother.”




Raymond Ibrahim is a Middle East and Islam specialist and author of Crucified Again: Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians (2013) and The Al Qaeda Reader (2007). His writings have appeared in a variety of media, including the Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst, Middle East Quarterly, World Almanac of Islamism, and Chronicle of Higher Education; he has appeared on MSNBC, Fox News, C-SPAN, PBS, Reuters, Al-Jazeera, NPR, Blaze TV, and CBN. Ibrahim regularly speaks publicly, briefs governmental agencies, provides expert testimony for Islam-related lawsuits, and testifies before Congress. He is a Shillman Fellow, David Horowitz Freedom Center; a CBN News contributor; a Media Fellow, Hoover Institution (2013); and a Judith Friedman Rosen Writing Fellow, Middle East Forum . Ibrahim’s dual-background -- born and raised in the U.S. by Coptic Egyptian parents born and raised in the Middle East -- has provided him with unique advantages, from equal fluency in English and Arabic, to an equal understanding of the Western and Middle Eastern mindsets, positioning him to explain the latter to the former.