The Muslim man was named “Slamet Hari Natal” or loosely translated as “Merry Christmas”
JAKARTA, Indonesia – The word Muslim would automatically mean that one is not a believer of Christ or a Christian but in a world of Muslims, a man was named a very Christian way, only because he was born on the day Jesus Christ came to Earth.
Indonesia is the largest country in Asia when it comes to Muslim population but out of the thousands of Indonesians, a man of the same faith is named “Slamet Hari Natal” or “merry Christmas”, an annual celebration to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.
The Muslim man, now aging 54 years old, is a resident of Malang regency in East Java. According to him, he was named Slamet Hari Natal, meaning Merry Christmas, after a Christian midwife suggested him to be named that way.
The man even showed his identification card to prove that despite his being a Muslim, he was named a very Christian way.
“Yes, that is my name”, showing an ID card bearing the name “Slamet Hari Natal” with his picture.
According to Natal, his name was supposed to be Selamat Hari Natal but because his family was Javanese, it was put as Slamet.
According to Natal, his mother gave birth to him in the humble abode of the midwife named Akas Kiyo located in Tumpang, Malang.
Kiyo was a Christian and she suggested that he would be named as Selamat Hari Natal, which is an Indonesian Christmas greeting.
Natal’s parents welcomed the midwife’s suggestion, although they were a Muslim family, but slightly changed the term from Selamat to Slamet.
Slamet is a common name among the Javanese people and loosely translates to “safe”.
Natal said that his parents did not want to thing hard for the name and they had that name ready, which prompted them to just accept the suggestion of the midwife.
Natal was not the only child. He has one sister named Mujiati.
Slamet, although named very “Christianly”, says he would choose to be a Muslim until the end of his life.
And despite of his unique name (at least for the Muslims), Natal said he was never criticized by their neighbors, saying that their community does not practice tolerance.