This is a post mostly for my Ismaili friends. This morning, I was listening to Jam'n 94.5, Boston's hip-hop / R&B station. They were wishing everyone a happy holiday - they said "Merry Christmas", "Happy Hannukah" ... and finally "Khushiali Mubarak." I was floored! It turns out one of the station's DJ's is Ismaili. He was on the radio, and started explaining that Khushiali Mubarak is the greeting for Ismaili Muslims on December 13th.
The two other hosts asked "What are Ismaili Muslims? Are they smiley? I guess they are the opposite of Frowny Muslims!"
I couldn't move - this was literally the most bizarre thing! The hosts then asked if Ismailis sing anything on Khushiali. They started singing some makeshift Christmas carols (including Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer) but replaced the words "Merry Christmas" with "Khushiali Mubarak." They also asked if Ismailis have the equivalent of Santa Claus. I could hear the Ismaili DJ hesistate for a second - I'm sure he was debating whether to say the Aga Khan or not.
HOW WEIRD! Reminds me of the times we explain Ismailism to our non-Ismaili friends. How many times have we had to answer the questions: "Who's that white guy" and "Is that your grandfather?"
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