Muslim star Mohamed Salah releases photos celebrating Christmas with his family
Tis the season to be jolly, especially in the Salah household as Egyptian forward Mohamed releases the 2022 installment of his annual Christmas family photo.
The Liverpool ace who is a devout Muslim continues to celebrate Christmas which is a Christian holiday, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
In the picture shared on his social media pages with the caption #MerryChristmas, Salah can be seen sitting in front of the Christmas tree, posing with his wife and two daughters, all wearing matching pajama pants.
The 30-year-old displays courage and defiance by posting his annual Christmas family photo after the outrage and criticism that followed the 2021 version.
The Liverpool forward posted pictures of himself and his family dressed in matching festive-themed onesies, posing in front of a large Christmas tree on Christmas eve as is his tradition.
However, this seemingly innocent act appeared to anger Muslim fans who took to social media to express their discontent at the Egyptian's celebration of Christmas.
Salah has posted a family Christmas photo in each of the last three Christmas eve and has received backlash on each occasion which led many to believe he would not do so this year.
But it seems Salah has not allowed the words of his detractors stop him from publicly enjoying the festive season with his family.
While there was a lot of backlash on his celebration of Christmas, Mohamed Salah also had a number of supporters who leaped to his defence.
Some said that, for many people, Christmas was now a cultural holiday rather than a religious one.
They said people of various faiths wear Santa hats and watch Christmas-themed films during the festive period, which is perhaps Salah's reason for celebrating the holidays.