AMMAN (CNS): Jordan’s King Abdullah II invited Catholic and other leaders to celebrate Christmas in the spirit of fraternity and harmony the holiday symbolises.
 
When the moderate Muslim leader ascended the throne in 1999, he declared Christmas a holiday to be celebrated by Jordanian Christians and Muslims alike.
 

BEIRUT (CNS): In their Christmas messages, the Catholic patriarchs of the Middle East—with hope, despite uncertainty in the region—called for peace, security, prayer and solidarity. 
 
From Baghdad, Iraq, Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako, expressed his hope for a new phase for the country and that the recent triumph over the Islamic State, along with the termination of terrorist control of Mosul and other cities, will marked a step toward security and stability. 
 

MOSUL (CNS): In a display of unity, both Christians and Muslims attended the first Christmas Mass to be celebrated in Mosul in three-and-a-half years at St. Paul Cathedral, following the city’s liberation from Islamic State militants.
 
Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako, from Baghdad, urged the faithful to pray for “peace and stability to reign in Mosul, Iraq and the world.”
 

ISLAMABAD (AsiaNews): Christmas celebrations went off without a hitch in Pakistan as people in the cities of Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta marked the birth of Jesus under military protection.
 
Following the December 17 attack on a Methodist church in Quetta, authorities beefed up security around all Christian places of worship to prevent other terrorist attacks and allow Christian celebrations to go ahead without any problems.