Muhammad Siddiqui, the chief operating officer of MTN Nigeria, recorded a greeting to millions of customers of the South African telecommunication giant and though the video was targeted at the Christmas holidays, he avoided using the word “Christmas” at all.
“Hello, our esteemed customers. My name is Muhammad Siddiqui. I am the chief operating officer for MTN Nigeria,” he began his greeting message.
“As we approach the end of 2016, I want to take this opportunity to thank you, personally, for giving us the opportunity to serve you for all the years.
“Serving the people of Nigeria is a pride and honour for all of us at MTN Nigeria.
“On behalf of myself, on behalf and all the MTN family, I wish you, your family, and loved one’s peaceful end-of-the-year celebration and a happy new year. May God bless us all. Thank you very much,” he ended.
The theme of the 55-second video is clearly Christmas as it shows winter symbolism and ends with an animation of Father Christmas flying away with his reindeer.
Somehow, MTN also found a way to insert a crescent (quarter-shaped moon), the symbol of Islam in the closing clip of the video, right before an image of Santa Claus (Father Christmas). The moon has nothing to do with Christmas and whenever a moon is used in Christmas imagery, it is full moon, and forms the backdrop for the fantasy Santa Claus journey to (or from) the North Pole.
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