Christmas, Mawlid al-Nabi, and Arab uprisings

In a few days, Christians following the Gregorian calendar will greet Christmas Eve – the 24th of December. But on Christmas Eve this year, there is another, different date that will be marked – the day of the birth, according to many Muslim historians, of the seal of Prophets, Muhammad. For in 2015 of the Common Era, and 1437 of the Hijri calendar, the 24th of December and the 12th of Rabi’ al-‘Awwal – the ‘First Spring’. How much symbolism encapsulated in one convergence – and how much pain – and how much joy.

The opening of the article. The full text is at Al Arabiya English.