persecuted and went to Medinah to establish an Islamic government. See, the Islamic
calendar does not begin at the birth of Muhammad, but when the religion of Islam
began to take roots. But, do you know what are the main differences between the
Roman calendar and the Islamic Calendar, Su?
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Well… They both have 12 months, but the Islamic calendar begins later. For instance
the year 1999 is the year 1420 in the Islamic calendar. Hum……. Hum……. No, for
the rest, I don’t know mom. How are they different?
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Well, during Ramadhan, what do we look at to know when Ramadhan begins and
when it ends?
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We look at the moon.
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Right! And how many days do Ramadhan goes back every year?
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I think it is 11 days; I counted last time.
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So, what do you conclude, Su?
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Well, the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar; it depends on the astronomical position
of the moon, while the Roman calendar is a solar calendar; it depends on the sun
position in the sky.
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Yes, that’s correct! Not only that, but the lunar months are shorter than the solar
months since they go between 29 and 30 days instead of 30 to 31 days for the Roman
calendar.
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We are the only one to go by the Lunar calendar, mom?
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No, the Chinese do to for instance.
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Does that mean Chinese are Muslims, mom?
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No, Su. Only a minority of Chinese are Muslims; they live in West China and also in
Mongolia. Chinese have discovered a long time ago that the lunar calendar was more
precise. See, Chinese were great astronomers, as Arab Muslims would become later.
Actually, Chinese and Muslims share a lot of things in common throughout history.
In fact, Asia is the part of the world where you can find most Muslims in the world;
Arabs represent only 15% or so of the entire Muslim population in the world!
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Wow! This is why we are not Arabs, mom?
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That’s right, Su. So, where were we in this conversation? Why did I mention about
the calendars?
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Because Christians use the Roman calendar since Christ birth?
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Yes, but before that?
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Because Iesa (PBUH) is one of the prophets; he is not a god at all, so we do not begin
our calendar at the same date or with the birth of somebody in particular.
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And before that, Su?
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Hum… We were talking about Christmas and why Muslims do not celebrate
birthdays or Western celebrations.
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Here we are Su!
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Mom?
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Yes, dear?
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If Christians believe Christmas is Prophet Iesa’s birthday, why do they give each
other’s gifts? They should give Iesa (jesus) gifts!
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Oh! That’s another question! See, Su, Christians mix pagan beliefs with their
religion. They do that because they mix worldly things with spiritual things; they mix
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