Thousands of people have signed a petition against an abstract light installation replacing the traditional Christmas tree in Brussels city centre.

More than 11,000 signatures have been gathered in the online petition and a Facebook page attacking the new feature has been launched. Critics accuse officials of opting for the installation for fear of offending non-Christians, especially Muslims. But the mayor's office said it was part of a theme this year of "light".

Traditionally, a 20m (65ft) pine tree taken from the forests of the Ardennes has adorned the city's central square, the Grand Place. This year, it has been replaced with a 25m (82ft) construction, though smaller real Christmas trees still decorate the square, a spokesman at the mayor's office said.

The city's website said the new "tree" was one of five "light" installations around the Grand Place this year, offering visitors the chance to climb to the top and enjoy "beautiful views" of the city.

Tourism councillor Philippe Close at the mayor's office said the aim was to show off the "avant-garde character" of Brussels by blending the modern and the traditional, to produce something new and different.

Erik Maxwell, from Brussels, told BBC News: "We think the tree has been put up for cultural reasons. A tree is for Christmas and Christians but now there are a lot of Muslims here in Brussels. So to avoid discussions they have just replaced a tree with a couple of cubes! I am more traditional, I prefer the usual tree. That's better for the Belgian people."

Parts of the Belgian press have been keen to suggest that the tree is an example of "political correctness", designed to be more appealing to non-Christian religious groups than a traditional fir tree, our correspondent says. However it seems likely that the media storm is influencing public opinion rather than reflecting it.

"What we want is just to modernise the pleasure of winter, of this Christmas market and all the image of Brussels," said Councillor Philippe Close. "The Christmas tree is not a religious symbol and actually lots of Muslims have a Christmas tree at home. For people who want a traditional religious symbol, we have the nativity scene here in the square. For people who want modernity, we have this new tree."

Semsettin Ugurlu, chairman of the Belgian Muslim Executive, representing the Muslim community in Belgium, said his organisation did not mind any kind of Christmas tree. "We know we are living in a country with a Christian culture, we take no offence over a traditional Christmas tree," he said.

BBC News, 1 December 2012

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Many times we have seen that, Muslims have been living in the western world to avail different opportunities of earning livelihood, western world, modernity — but they have not merged well and not created peace with each other. To understand why violence keeps erupting and to seek to prevent it, we must discern what fuels this sense of grievance.

Arabs have a huge history associated with themselves as they had fought many battles with anti-Islam people. Whenever there is any claim made in US or anywhere in the western world, it instantly angers the Arab world and offends them at large.

As per some believers “In the narrative of history transmitted to schoolchildren throughout the Arab world and reinforced by the media, religious scholars and laymen alike, Arabs were favored by divine providence. They had come out of the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century, carrying Islam from Morocco to faraway Indonesia. In the process, they overran the Byzantine and Persian empires, then crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to Iberia, and there they fashioned a brilliant civilization that stood as a rebuke to the intolerance of the European states to the north. Cordoba and Granada were adorned and exalted in the Arab imagination. Andalusia brought together all that the Arabs favored — poetry, equality courts, philosophers who debated the great issues of the day.”

Islam has sprawled over the years and gained popularity, as Islam orders to maintain brotherly relations with all Muslim countries it also asks to maintain cordial terms with non-Muslims, therefore, Arabs and the Muslim world is always at peace with non-believers of the world. Never in the history has there been any move by the Muslims who would have done something to harm non-Muslims by pin pointing or hitting at them religiously or esthetically. But it is very sad to inquire that western world has hit Muslim world very many times, from drawing of the cartoon to the making of an anti-Islam film, western world has offended Muslims over and over again. Not only Muslims live in the western countries but also many non-Believers reside into the premises of the Muslim countries.

After 9/11 incident, which remains still a mystery as no inquiry had been done to reach up to  defined conclusion, it became easier for the western world to offend Muslims and blame them with anything. “The values and teachings of Islam come from two main sources…The Qur’an and Hadith. They provide complete direction in every aspect of life.  Islam respects the values and teachings of other religions as well. It gives the followers of other religions the liberty and freedom to perform their religious duties. The Fiqh Council of North America and the members of FCNA (body of Islamic scholors) strongly believe that Legal, moral and social systems in West are fully compatible with Islamic rules and set of laws. This is the proof that following Islam and being loyal to America are two sides of a coin.”

Recent making of “innocence of Muslims” film has once again offended and deeply hurt the Muslim world for which a reaction by the Muslims in the shape of protests came up.

About the author

Momo Khan

Life has given you wings to fly, why to crawl through your life !!
Freelance writer and an agony aunt to my friends.
Dreamer, Love my family and is a peaceful creature !!

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