Joint ‘Buka Puasa’ a sign of mutual respect and acceptence

KUCHING — The photographs and news on the buka puasa or the breaking of fast on Friday 17 June at the Archdiocesan Curia and Cathedral Pastoral Centre (ACCPC), Kuching went viral in the Malaysian internet. The Star Online used the title “Harmony in Hornbill land” as they carried the news in their website on 20 June. This event saw peoples of different religious background coming together in the name of good will and harmony.

Archbishop John Ha, the head of the Catholic Church of Kuching welcomed and thanked the CEO of Islamic Information Centre (IIC), Puan Zabaria Bt Haji Matali, for the opportunity to have a joint buka puasa together with Muslims and Catholics. In his welcoming address, he said the idea was mooted by Puan Zabaria when she was invited to share the tenets of the Islamic faith and practices with the Catholic priests in February this year. “Her openness and the openness of the team that came with her gave us the confidence to accept her suggestion on the spot. And so here we are, doing the breaking of fast together,” he added.

Present at the buka puasa were Archbishop John Ha, Auxiliary Bishop Simon Poh, priests, religious Sisters, seminarians and parish councillors, some of whom came as far as Lundu and Bunan Gega in the Mongkos area. They joined their Muslim brothers and sisters from IIC to experience the breaking of fast together.

While acknowledging that there are differences, Archbishop Ha said: “This evening we choose to focus on what unites us rather than what divides us so as to embrace mutual respect and acceptance and live together in harmony and peace in our beloved and beautiful State of Sarawak and Country of Malaysia.”

Another key point that Archbishop Ha pointed out was the need to use terms like “mutual respect and acceptance,” instead of “tolerance”. He elaborated: “Harmony and peace are brought about not by tolerance which has been advocated for decades and failed for the most part, but by mutual respect and acceptance. For tolerance by nature implies mutual dislike and even mutual offence, while mutual respect and acceptance make room for one another in society.”

The prelate spoke about the common practices such as prayer, fasting and giving alms as practised by for Christians and Muslims. “In this month of Ramadan and in our Christian season of Lent, the highlighted common practices we have are of course prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Both Islam and Christianity pay great attention to these important practices as God-given ways to build up a relationship with him and in doing so with one another,” he said.

“This evening we come together to buka puasa – to break the fast that we have observed today. We are also here to pray together – to worship God and ask his blessings for all. In doing so, we are expressing together our desire to do God’s will and grow in our relationship with him as well as with one another. An inevitable end-product of such an exercise can only be mutual respect and acceptance – and even mutual love. This surely is an important pillar of harmony and peace for our State and Country,” said the Archbishop.

As a preparation for the buka puasa, the Bishops, priests and Catholics also fasted that day as a sign of solidarity with the Muslim brothers and sisters.

Archbishop John Ha concluded his address by imploring God’s blessing, “May God bless us and our little gesture this evening. May all adherents of the Islamic faith truly experience closeness with God during this month of Ramadan so that they will truly have a fruitful celebration of Aidilfitri.”

After breaking fast with dates and drinks, the Muslims went off for their Maghrib prayer in a room specially prepared for them, while the Catholics remained in the Grand Hall and prayed the Rosary. When praying was over, they got back to their fellowship dinner.

Before the event concluded, Puan Zabaria expressed her thanks and gratitude for this shared experience of fasting and prayer. She shared that Bishop Simon Poh had spoken to her about the need to go beyond sharing meals and festivities, towards sharing of theology and understanding of each other’s religion. Thus as a symbol of the mutual respect between Islam and Christianity, Archbishop John Ha was presented a copy of the translation of the Holy Quran. In turn, the Archbishop presented a Christian Alkitab Bible to the Islamic Information Centre as a sign of the commitment toward deepening this inter-faith dialogue and sharing of religious experience and theological exchange.

Bishop Simon Poh

——
Some comments from the attendees:

“The buka puasa event was a new interesting experience for me. Developing mutual respect, rather than merely tolerating one another was not something that can be learnt overnight. This is a good beginning of nurturing genuine appreciation for the ways other people express their faith and beliefs.” – Elmer Adonis, Seminarian (Diocese of Sandakan)

“It was the first time I joined my muslim brothers and sisters in buka puasa. Personally I feel that the event was not about religion but rather the relationship between Muslims and Christians. We are one big family, united in harmony.” – Johanaz Ling, Seminarian (Diocese of Sibu)

“It was my first experience of such gathering and fellowship with our Muslim brothers and sisters. The exchanging of the Quran and Bible really moved me to respect the faith that one has in his/her religion. I hope this occasion will be organised yearly”. – Alban Bong (St Jude’s Parish, Bunan)

“The breaking of fast between Muslim and Christian can be a way to show that we, in Sarawak particularly, can live and practise our different religion harmoniously.” – Simon Budam (St Jude’s Parish, Bunan)

“To break fast together with our Muslim sisters and brothers is an enjoyable and beautiful experience. Praise God for we share the aim to promote racial and religious understanding, to live in peace and harmony with each other.” – Catherine Lee (St Joseph’s Cathedral)

“The buka puasa event was a very enriching and meaningful occasion as it reminded me very much of our seraphic founder St Francis of Assisi who said we are to go beyond our boundaries to reach out to our brethren of other faiths, where we could relate to one another as sisters and brothers in this one big family.” – Sr Irmina Peter, SSFS

Today’s Catholic Vol.28 No.4 July 2016