IT was the first time Reverend Father Alan Pereira witnessed the maghrib prayers being performed at the Al Faizin mosque in Kepong, Kuala Lumpur, just across the road from the Chapel of Christ the Light, where he serves as a diocesan priest. 

The Catholic priest was among a congregation of over 200 Christians, Hindus, Taoists, Buddhist and Sikhs who stood 50 feet behind a row of Muslim faithful as they performed their prayers in the mosque yesterday.

Most of the non-Muslim visitors travelled across town, while some drove from as far as Negri Sembilan.  

Apart from Pereira, there were three other Catholic priests, and the Kuala Lumpur archbishop Julian Leow who was the guest of honour.

Pereira’s chapel had welcomed two dozen Muslims from the mosque to usher in Chinese New Year in February as a large number of parishioners were Chinese Catholics.

But yesterday was the first time non-Muslims were invited to the mosque for iftar, the meal that is taken after the Ramadan fast is broken at sunset.

“Communities have been separated over the past decades. But I feel we are coming together in recent years,” said Pereira. 

The Muslims had earlier broken their fast with some dates and water. After the prayers, crowds gathered to hear Leow speak before everyone dug into curried lamb, chicken and briyani rice served under a makeshift tent. 

“I think this kind of event is important for Malaysians. That we can come together, buka puasa and enjoy each other’s company and not be divided by faith,” said the archbishop. 

“That we are all Malaysians first and we respect each other. This is a fundamental foundation to have a great nation. We need to build on a strong foundation and religion can play a role to build up this foundation.” 

Arul Amaladass, a parishioner of the Chapel of Christ the Light in Selayang, Kuala Lumpur said this was a rare opportunity for non-Muslims to observe Muslims perform their prayers.

Anne Sumitra Sivanesan, a housewife from the Church of Visitation in Seremban, pointed out that this type of interaction was also good even for people who were not present at yesterday’s function.

“It dispels the notion that people might have of other faiths. Like if you see terror attacks, the first and only thought would be that it’s the work of Muslims. People can get fixated on that. When you interact, it teaches people to see others for who they really are.”

Playing host was retired army officer Col Bakri Bahalan, who is one of the mosque’s caretakers and committee members. During prayers, Bakri went through the meaning of each obligatory step to the inter-faith group. 

“Whatever your faith or belief, we should try to understand one another, without which we are forever in a state of confusion,” he told The Malaysian Insight after serving his guests. 

“It’s very necessary for all Malaysians to understand the truth about one another. By doing so, they can be filled with love for their fellow man. It can develop. Also when we invite them, after we fast together, they can tell their friends and brothers what proper Islam is about.” 

There was a group photo before the mixed crowd gathered around Leow, requesting wefies before the archbishop was taken for a tour of the mosque. 

“We’ve had Hari Raya open houses before. But this is the first time for many of them,” said retired teacher Norliah Wahab, who was accompanied by her friend Zumairah Husli.

Zumairah, a mosque committee member had guided women from the congregation, who were in a separate section of the mosque’s prayer hall.

“They were asking questions about why we bow three times. They were curious,” she said. 

It wasn’t the first time Muslims invited non-Muslims into their mosque. A similar gathering drew some 400 people at a mosque in Puchong, Kuala Lumpur last month, said Shalet Perix, a corporate services manager who helps run the Puchong Interfaith Muhibah group. 

“You know, this type of inter-faith interaction and dialogues have been going on for the past several years now,” said the 56-year-old parishioner of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

“But people felt suppressed and Muslims tend to be more conservative. But now it’s very open,” she added. 

And she put it down to the change of government. “It’s definitely due to the change of government. Definitely. It’s like something has been lifted and people can breath a little easier.”

“For a moment, sometime back, it felt like there was great division. Everything was so divided. I can see we are coming back together again, as it was decades ago.” – June 8, 2018.