Who is Bilal Philips?Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, (born Dennis Bradley Philips, 1946) is a Jamaican-born Canadian Muslim. He is a teacher, speaker, and author who lives in Qatar. He appears on Peace TV, which is a 24-hour Islamic satellite TV channel. Philips considers himself a Salafi who advocates a traditional, literal form of Islam. He received his B.A. degree from the Islamic University of Madinah and his M.A. in Aqeedah (Islamic Theology) from the King Saud University in Riyadh, then to the University of Wales, St. David's University College (now University of Wales, Trinity Saint David). There at the Lampeter Campus he completed his 1993 PhD thesis, Exorcism in Islam.
What is Christmas?Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. It is observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.
Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world's nations, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season centered around it. Although the month and date of Jesus' birth are unknown, by the early-to-mid fourth century the Western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25, a date that was later adopted in the East. Today, most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, which has been adopted almost universally in the civil calendars used in countries throughout the world.