Youngsters dress up in Muslim attire, sing carol

A group of youngsters dressed up in traditional Muslim attire sung a carol song, that too in the tune of folklore Muslim song (Mappila song), at a church in Kerala to express solidarity with the refugees as well as to counter Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that protesters could be identified by their clothes.

Six youths wearing Muslim skull cap and eight girls wearing hijab, all members of the Marthoma Youth Association of the parish, participated in the carol inside the church premises on December 23. 'Where Is our King - Christmas : Celebration of the Refugees' was the theme of the carol.

The St.Thomas Marthoma Church at Kozhencherry in Pathanamthitta district in South Kerala did the out of the box act, which is now receiving appreciation from various quarters as it also highlighted the communal harmony prevailing in Kerala.

Fr. Daniel T Philip of the church told DH that Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem as refugees and even Jesus Christ had to be a refugee. "Theology should be always contextual. Hence the carol song was composed based on a theme to express solidarity with the refugees," he said.

Fr. Daniel said that no one in the parish expressed any displeasure about this act, except for some criticism in the social media. Generally the response to the carol was positive, he said.