Best Buy is wishing Muslims a happy holiday this year, but this is the same company that won't mention Merry Cristmas in its advertising even though it makes most of its money off of people buying christmas gifts? 

Immediately below is the best Buy quote regarding their xmas policy from an AP article in 2006.  And then below that is an article about the controversial ads.  My guess is they are going to lose some business near term given the amount of controversy.

AP article Nov 9, 2006

“We are going to continue to use the term holiday because there are several holidays throughout that time period, and we certainly need to be respectful of all of them,” said Dawn Bryant, a spokeswoman at Best Buy Co. Inc., whose advertising omits any reference to Christmas.

Best Buy Wishes Muslims Happy Eid al-Adha

Nov 23, 2009

- Todd Wasserman

Best Buy stands by its decision to wish U.S. Muslims a Happy Eid Al-Adha, a rep for the company said, and though some Best Buy customers took offense, a Muslim advocacy group praised the move.

The retailer got some flak this week for including, along with its circular advertising Thanksgiving Day sales, a note saying "Happy Eid Al-Adha," which refers to a holiday of sacrifice for followers of Islam on Nov. 27 this year. After

ran an item about the circular, some claimed offense and said they'd take their business elsewhere. "I spent about $3,000 with . . . your store. I will be shopping somewhere else," one consumer

. "BB has the Muslims covered with the 'Happy Eid,' but what about the rest of us Americans?" wrote another. "Do we get a 'Happy Thanksgiving'?"

(The American Family Association, a Christian advocacy group,

for using "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." Best Buy rep Lisa Svac Hawks, however, didn't agree with the claim, saying: "You will see more of Christmas in our holiday messaging. Christmas will be included in our insert and online. We have 'Merry Christmas' on our gift cards, too. In addition. we have developed the Christmas Morning simulator as an online interactive game.")

Not everyone was dismissive. "Stop with the hatin' and happy Eid," wrote one TechCrunch commentor. "For every anti-BB post, I'm going to spend $1 there," wrote another.

Hawks explained the thought behind the greeting: "Best Buy's customers and employees around the world represent a variety

of faiths and denominations. We respect that diversity and choose to greet our customers and employees in ways that reflect their traditions," she said.

Ahmed Rehab, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said he could not recall when any American retailer mentioned the holiday in its ads. "It makes perfect business sense to acknowledge and celebrate a holiday that one out of four people celebrate," Rehab said.

Best Buy's not the only retailer to be criticized for its holiday advertising this year. The

of Gap because the company has downplayed the word "Christmas" with a campaign that states: "Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, Go Kwanzaa, Go Solstice," and beckons consumers to "86 the rules."