Muslims, Christians come together in Kuching church in show of “Sarawak’s religious harmony”
It was a show of religious harmony by Christians and Muslims in Sarawak yesterday even as the debate over the October 14 court ruling on the word Allah raged on.
The Borneo Post reported that non-governmental organisation Angkatan Zaman Mansang Sarawak and the Islamic Information Centre organised a forum called “Tweeting Up Unity: Social Cohesion Through Social Media”, under the Soul2Soul 2.0 interfaith forum series, at the Christian Ecumenical Worship Centre in Kuching.
The event's keynote speaker was social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, who was also a panellist. It was attended by over 200 youths from higher learning institutions and government agencies.
State Youth Development assistant minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah hailed the event as "a shining example of Sarawak's religious harmony".
He said the choice of the venue was a testimony of "the state’s religious tolerance and the unique harmony among the people".
“I don’t think it would be possible to do this in the peninsula without some people inciting tension,” he said, noting that racial and religious tensions in West Malaysia were never the case in Sarawak.
Karim recalled his school days in a mission school, saying he even went to church as part of the education system, but all that never made him any less a Muslim.
“In fact, the old system made us more understanding and tolerant of each other. It was beautiful in the past. I hope youths today will learn and not be too engrossed with what politicians or non-governmental organisations say.
"Young Sarawakians should be proud of the cohesion that is unique in Sarawak,” he said, adding that they should also not take harmony and stability for granted and keep the community together.
Karim cautioned youths against abusing the social media, and called on them to use the Internet to enhance the existing social cohesion among Sarawakians.
Meanwhile, Marina said the social media could promote cohesion and mobilise people to take part in charitable programmes.
“In the old days before the Internet, news also travelled slower and reactions also slower but now with the Internet and social media, news travels faster and further," she said, while cautioning that social media, despite its potential, was not the answer to everything.
She said interfaith harmony could be achieved if there were respect and equality among those involved in discussing issues.
What children learnt in schools was important, said Marina, adding that different views was not wrong.
“Children must be taught to have critical thinking skills to judge what is right or wrong,” she added. - November 2, 2013.
