I am so relieved to hear the pronouncement by the Federal Territory Mufti that it is permissible to wish those celebrating the Yuletide a Merry Christmas. This may seem obvious in other parts of the world, but in Malaysia, Muslims cannot take anything for granted.

I have always enjoyed this year-end holiday season, especially the food and the music of course. There is less traffic on the road and the golf courses are also less crowded. Those who can afford holidays in London, Shanghai and Melbourne have all left and they will only be back in two weeks. The rest of us have more of the facilities to ourselves.

I can never understand the rivalry between Christians and Muslims. They are all believers in the religions of Abraham and share many of the core values of compassion and forgiveness. They may disagree on the text of the holy books and the usage of “Allah” to describe God’s name, but Malaysia would be a better place if the believers of both Islam and Christianity opted to focus more on the similarities rather than the differences between their respective faiths.

The same can be said of the followers of Islam. I know Saudi Arabia has been dictating what they say is the “true” Islam in the last 100 years, and that some Muslim leaders are so against Shiites that many Muslims regard them as enemies. That explains why many Islamic leaders are up in arms condemning Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s visit to Iran. I do not support Hadi as a political leader, but we all must defend his right to visit any country, especially another Muslim country.

I never get any satisfactory answers from my Muslim friends when I ask them why they are so against Shiites. They are Muslims too and they make their pilgrimages to Mecca like everybody else. Yes, Sunnis frown upon their adulation of Saidina Ali, the Prophet’s son-in-law, and think the celebration of the Ashura is a deviant practice. But why can’t we focus on their good deeds? Just because Saudi Arabia’s holy men are against the Iranians does not mean we should follow suit. Islam surely is different from politicised Islam — the religion belongs to us all, not just to those in Riyadh or Medinah.

Anyway, I just had a wonderful Christmas tea party with Bridget Welsh, Datuk Mahadev Shankar, Ambiga Sreenevasan and Maria Chin Abdullah. Our Christmas pudding and mushroom and salmon puffs were delicious. Muslim preachers never tire of telling us that we Muslims must not enjoy ourselves too much. Even during fasting month they keep telling us not to eat too much when breaking fast. Why not? Life is hard enough most of the time, so be merry and celebrate when we can.

I want everyone to feel good as we have a hard 2017 approaching. We need the energy to face GE14 and we must be prepared for some rough moments ahead. I have managed to secure an invite from Bridget for Christmas lunch and I look forward to another out-of-this-world spread of food on Sunday. It would be wonderful if we could have Andy Williams’ Christmas songs playing to keep the mood right.

Muslims are permitted to enjoy themselves, I am sure. I have seen Iranians celebrating their New Year with dance and music too. In any case, I would like to wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Zaid Ibrahim is a former law minister.

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