SIBU: The inaugural An-Nur Mosque’s Hari Raya open house attended by some 200 people from churches, Buddhist, Sikh and Hindu temples here is a precursor to more future interfaith gatherings.
The festive gathering on Saturday afternoon hosted by the mosque was participated by Association of Churches Sarawak (ACS) Sibu branch, comprising Roman Catholic, Methodist, SIB and Anglican churches besides seven Buddhist associations and Sikh and Hindu temples.
The 1Malaysia spirit resounded all around the mosque which had just undergone a RM5 million facelift.
Among the notable guests were ACS Sibu branch chairman Venerable Archdeacon Jamal Senada, Bishop of Sibu Right Reverend Joseph Hii, Sibu Buddhist Association chairman Charlie Tan and Sibu Buddhist (Thai) Learning Centre advisor Joseph Lim.
Nangka assemblyman Dr Annuar Rapaee described this as a momentous occasion, where for the first time other faiths were invited to jointly celebrate the ‘Ramah Tamah Aidilfitri’ at the mosque.
“This is a historic moment for all of us here and the turnout was overwhelming. We have decided to make it an annual affair.
“At the same time, this will be the start of something new, and I have suggested to Buddhist (associations here) to organise a similar event during Wesak Day and likewise on Christmas celebration to gather people from all walks of life,” Dr Annuar told reporters after officiating at the unique event organised by the mosque.
Pointing out that this was a very important occasion, he said it should be the way forward to preserve and pass on the prevailing religious and racial harmony.
“In Sarawak, we are all like brothers and sisters despite coming from different backgrounds, and we work closely with one another. There is no issue here.
“This is the way we should maintain it to promote greater religious and racial harmony,” he added.
Hoping to invite more people in future, Dr Annuar said the event was held at the most appropriate time.
“This time, we only invited the committee members from the temples and churches to build networking.”
In future, he suggested, the event could be held in mosques, churches and temples to create better understanding among the different faiths.
In his speech earlier, Dr Annuar said Awang Ramli Amit Road was testimony of religious harmony as the An-Nur Mosque is located within walking distance from St Mary’s Church and Sikh and Hindu temples are on the same stretch of road.
Associate Lay Leader of Methodist Church Sarawak Chinese Annual Conference, Hii Chang Kee described the gathering, being the first of its kind, as very encouraging for religious harmony.
“This is a step forward to further strengthening interfaith, inter-religious and inter-racial harmony,” said Hii, who is also Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) secretary.
He pointed out that Sarawak was unique because its people had high tolerance for one another.
“The different faiths have no issue in coming together during celebrations or festivities especially open house.
“This is the first time the mosque actually invited us to join the Hari Raya open house.
“We hope maybe other religions will emulate the fine example to hold this sort of open house to strengthen religious and racial harmony.
“For example, churches can invite Buddhists and Muslims during celebrations and likewise during temple celebrations invitation be extended to other faiths.
“I think this will create mutual understanding to promote racial harmony in Sibu and Sarawak in general,” he said.
An-Nur Mosque chairman Latif Coupon hoped the event would be made bigger next year to cater for more people.
He disclosed this was actually one of the mosque’s activities.
“You see, a mosque is not only a place to pray but an avenue to exchange ideas among different faiths,” he said.
The activity, he believed, would help foster better understanding among the different faiths.
Venerable Archdeacon Jamal, who led the ACS Sibu branch group, was elated for being invited to the celebration.
“Each church is represented by five committee members and we are all delighted to join in this closing of Hari Aidilfitri celebration.
“Through this occasion, we will be able to build closer cooperation between one another here,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lim said all the seven Buddhist associations joined in the joyous occasion.
He too hoped this could be made an annual event to foster inter-faith harmony.
Lim regarded Dr Annuar as a man of action, and hoped to see more of such activities to foster the 1Malaysia spirit.
Meanwhile, the folk mingled with each other while helping themselves to a wide variety of local delicacies.
The event ended with a group photo-taking.