A couple of weeks back, the entire world was devastated when news broke of the Sri Lanka bombings. Following that, people came together to show their support for those who were affected during the unfortunate incident in an honestly inspiring show of common humanity.
In that spirit of solidarity, a Malaysian Muslim group visited a church, a Hindu temple and a Buddhist temple to prove a point after the suicide bombings in Sri Lanka, wrote The Star.
22 members of Global Unity Network NGO visited the Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple, Kg Kasipillay, St Joseph’s Church and Sri Jayanti Buddhist Temple, Sentul to show their solidarity over the deadly bombings in Colombo.
Source: The Star
The NGO’s president Shah Kirit Kakulal Govindji was quoted as saying,
“In Christchurch, when Muslims were killed, non-Muslims showed their solidarity with us. Following the Colombo incident, when Christians were killed, we as Muslims must also show solidarity with all.”
“It doesn’t mean that only we show compassion and solidarity when Muslims are killed. Even if only one non-Muslim is killed, we must show concern. We must be fair to everyone.”
Truer words have never been spoken.
Source: The Star
Apart from visiting the holy places, the team also participated in a dialogue session with St Joseph’s parish priest Rev George Packiasamy. Shah Kirit mentioned that this was actually his fourth time visiting the church. He noted that they (the group) have a very good relationship with the church. Well, isn’t that nice to hear!
FYI, the NGO team consists of members who are students and professionals.
While visiting the places of worship, the NGO members were served halal breakfast at the church and later, they were served lunch at the Buddhist temple.
If you didn’t know, Shah Kirit revealed that the NGO has been actively involved in interfaith work for about 20 years in an effort to expose Muslims to other religions in Malaysia. He explained,
“Malaysia is a multi-racial and multi-religious country, so it is very important that we understand one another well.”
Shah Kirit reckoned that most of the problems in the world come from a place of “prejudice, presumptions and misconceptions about other religions and races”. He finally said that the best way to deal with these problems is through education and that is why they educate Muslims about other religions.
Source: The Sun
It’s definitely great to see people of all races and religions making an effort to show support during these hard times. On that note, we hope that people will follow in Global Unity Network NGO’s footsteps by showing tolerance and love to everyone. Spread love, guys!
Also read: M’sian Muslims Showed Their Love By Protecting Archbishop from Hecklers
