On this Christmas, I thank God for this little story and the picture that goes with it.

Building bridges of friendship, trust, and understanding between Muslims and Christians – one purpose for this blog, one purpose for my life.

AMMAN (The Jordan Times) — A photograph of a Muslim cleric shaking hands with a priest under a Christmas tree in Abdali’s Boulevard has gone viral on the Internet, with sharers commending the sentiment it conveys.

The photo of the sheikh apparently offering his seasonal wishes to the priest has proven a hit on social media, with some 60,000 likes and 2,000 comments on Her Majesty Queen Rania’s Facebook page by Thursday afternoon.

First posted by Queen Rania on her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, and exchanged by thousands in Jordan and in the region, the photo was snapped by an anonymous photographer in the newly opened Abdali Boulevard in downtown Amman.

On the Jordan Times Facebook page, by Thursday afternoon, it was viewed by almost 100,000 people.

“This is Jordan, and, God willing, this is how it always will be,” wrote the Queen on her social profiles, wishing users a merry Christmas.