It was a weekend of mutual understanding for Malaysians in Putrajaya and Kuching, where multifaith events were held in conjunction with the Muslim month of Ramadan.
In Kuching, Muslims and Catholics gathered at the Archdiocesan Curia and Cathedral Pastoral Centre to break fast, with some Catholics fasting alongside Muslims last Friday.
Two days later, the Friendship Group for Inter-Religious Service hosted its annual interfaith breaking of fast and dialogue session at Masjid Putra, Putrajaya, supported by the Department of National Unity and Integration.
In his address at Friday's event, Kuching Archbishop John Ha said the idea for the interfaith event came from Kuching’s Islamic Information Centre chief executive Zabaria Matali.
He said Zabaria wanted to share Islamic practices with the Catholic Church.
"Her openness and the openness of the team that came with her gave us the confidence to accept her suggestion on the spot, and here we are, doing the breaking of fast together," He said.
In fact, some Catholics in Kuching had fasted on Friday, in solidarity with Muslims, he said.
Ha said political persuasions in multi-religious Malaysia can cause friction, but this depended on how Malaysians treated each other.
"Ugliness rears its head in the form of suspicion, dislike, aggression, condemnation and even in hate and violence.
"It arises when differences are harped on and struggle for domination is the order of the day.
"On the contrary, beauty takes its form in the harmony and peace, in which people of different faiths and ethnic origins live with one another respectfully – like the rainbow of different colours arching across the sky," he said.
He added that true believers of God accept everyone as God's creation.
"We pray that instead of being paralysed by the darkness created in our society by suspicion, dislike, desire for domination and even hate actions, each one of us will be a candle that has been lit by God’s light and brighten our state and country," Ha said.
source : hawzahnews
