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Singapore

Mosque visit introduces Catholics to Islam

Updated: August 25, 2009 11:12 AM GMT
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As a stream of about 50 Singaporean Catholics entered a single-story mosque next to a busy road, the muezzin could be heard in the background leading the call to maghrib (sunset) prayers.

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Imam Syed Hassan Al-Attas speaking to his Catholic visitors

"Muhammad is the Prophet of God. Come, let us pray," said Syed Hassan Al-Attas, briefly translating the prayer call for the mostly Chinese visitors gathered at Ba´alwi Mosque. Hassan is imam (prayer leader) of the 57-year-old mosque, which invited the Catholics to visit and learn more about the Islamic faith. The Aug. 20 visit was organized by the Archdiocesan Council for Inter-Religious and Ecumenical Dialogue (IRED) as part of its formation program for Catholics to learn more about the other religions in Singapore. Hassan´s father was of Yemeni origins. He built the mosque in 1952 and served as imam until his death. Hassan, who took over in 1976, is a well-respected spiritual leader in Islamic circles in Singapore and an active participant in interreligious dialogue. He explained to the Catholics that his views on interreligious harmony originated largely from his own upbringing. Since he was a child, Hassan has lived next to the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. On the other side, his neighbors were a devout Catholic family, one of whose members became a priest. Another neighbor was a Hindu priest who frequently helped to take care of Hassan and his siblings when their father had to travel overseas. His father also regularly brought him to visit friends in Taoist and Buddhist temples. Hassan credits his parents with having been "a big inspiration." Besides learning about Islam, the Catholic visitors were treated to a generous buffet spread of seven dishes. Syed Farid Alatas, head of the Department of Malay Studies at the National University of Singapore, gave a short talk after the meal. He called Catholic- Muslim dialogue the most developed among interreligious relations in Singapore.
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Syed Farid Alatas

Interreligious dialogue is not simply talking to each other but involves a "relationship between two religious communities that results in the building of a new civilization," he said. "Dialogue is more than just visiting each others´ places of worship. It creates new schools of thought, new cultures, new civilizations." He traced the birth of universities, which he said were modeled on the concept of the madrasah, an Islamic school, to dialogue between Arab Christians and Arab Muslims. The Muslim academic also noted that the distinctive dome shape of most mosques was inspired by the famous Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey, a Byzantine Catholic basilica that later became a mosque and is now a museum. Mona Ng, who came with her husband and 8-year-old son, later remarked: "I learned that there is quite a long history between Muslims and Christians that I didn´t know about. The visit has helped me to know more about the relationship between the two religions and how we each have a role to play to forge a closer relationship and to understand each other better." The visit included a tour of the mosque, which contains Islamic artifacts Hassan´s family collected over the years. Each Catholic took home a box of dates as a gift. The IRED also organized a visit to a Hindu temple, Sri Krishnan Temple, on July 29 as part of its interreligious formation program.
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