25th December, 2020
Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah sparked controversy on social media after he joined Christians to celebrate Christmas.
The Liverpool star posted a photo of his family in front of a Christmas tree.
The Liverpool star shared the picture of himself, his wife, and daughter on Instagram.
The post has garnered widespread attention and had been commented on more than 24,000 times on Wednesday, Egyptian Streets reported.
A quick scroll through the comments immediately reveals a bitter divide. Many of Salah’s fans reacted with overwhelming support for the Premier League football star, commending him for promoting unity across religious lines.
But others have attacked him on religious grounds, citing the Islamic view that it is impermissible to celebrate the Christmas holidays.
The debate quickly broke out on social media platform Twitter as well.
Salah was commended by many for his message of pluralism and peace.
Others shared their disappointment in the Liverpool striker.
https://twitter.com/emporary/status/1342252039791931393
The number of people criticising #MoSalah for posting thus #Christmas photo, both on Twitter and Instagram is depressing.
Shame to see such intolerance from supposedly well -educated Muslims. https://t.co/8WLOLqnGdK— Nervana Mahmoud (@Nervana_1) December 24, 2020
muslim does not celebrate christmas
You couldn't do justice to your name
Greetings to those who deserve their name pic.twitter.com/CkackKU3RG
— GayriNizami Harp (@falsepositiwe) December 24, 2020
https://twitter.com/legend2090kelso/status/1342249070769942530
Salah is a Muslim, and he's a good father… Happy Christmas ❤😴🎅❤🎄🎅 #TrueLove #Respect @MoSalah https://t.co/NlB8xMq9hO
— The Red 🔴 Johnsen (@JohnsenStle) December 24, 2020