Muslims Kneeling At Catholic Mass

Darlings!!!

If that doesn't spark enough controversy, I really don't know what else would!!!

Yes, it all happened today at St. Joseph Cathedral, Kuching, where several former members of the Cabinet of Tun Dr. M, was seen kneeling during the Consecration at the Mass. The Former Cabinet members are Dato' Abang Abu Bakar bin Abang Haji Mustapha, (former Defense Minister) and his wife, the Y.M. Tunku Datin Maziah binti Tunku Mustapha a member of the Kelantan Royal Family, Datuk Amar Sulaiman Daud (former Education Minister) and children, the Y.M. Tengku Daud Shaif ud-din bin Tengku Zain ud-din of Negeri Sembilan and his wife, Dayang Caroline Bintang Kanyan, Datuk Rahman bin Abdullah and his wife, Datin Norliah Binti Tun Rahman, several minor Muslim government servants, minor muslim politicians and ordinary Muslims from non governmental agencies and from all walks of life, assembled and prayed together in the St. Joseph, Roman Catholic Cathedral of Kuching. Why, one could basically see Muslim ladies in their tudungs kneeling at the elevation of the Host that brings back to my mind of images of Catholic Ladies attending the Old Rite Mass where all heads were veiled!!

Yes!! this only happens in Sarawak and before the Jabatan Agama Islam starts getting on their high horses, the reason we were all in the Cathedral today was to bid our final farewell to a community leader, archivist of native "puak" weaving, mother and loving wife, the late Datin Amar Margaret Guning Linggi nee Banyang.

Having suffered for over 8 years from cancer of the breast, she finally breathed her last on Monday, the 20th of this month. May she rest in peace.

However, apart from stressing on the funeral, what I wanted to highlight was that, today was truly a model of harmony and religious tolerance displayed at the funeral, where all the VVIPs basically sat on the first few benches in the Cathedral, behind the family and participated as much as they could in the celebration of the Funeral Mass, singing the hymns with gusto, following the scripture readings, fully engrossed with the sermons, kneeling at the Consecration and offering the sign of peace with their neighbours. Of course, being non-Catholics, they did not receive Communion but all in all, they participated with the fullness of non-Catholics in a Catholic Mass without any harm to their own faith or to their own beliefs!!

This Funeral Mass of multi religious nature in the congregation has been a constant happening in Sarawak, where religious tolerance is truly in existence and where we are not corrupted by stupid Imam's from West Malaysia with their radical teachings!!

Police Officials were they, not to restrain the crowds but to ensure smooth flow of traffic, they were no crazy religious fanatics who were about to drag the Muslims who were kneeling during the elevation of the Sacred Body of Christ and the funeral passed with peacefulness and grace and harmony. A symbol of what Malaysia should truly be, a place of religious tolerance and harmony!!

So, darlings, if those big shots and Malaysian royalty to boot, can peacefully attend a Catholic Mass and have no aversion to showing respect to the faith of others by kneeling during the Consecration of the Mass, why not you ordinary Muslims just open your eyes and see that true religious tolerance comes with respect for everyone and not by forcing your religion down people's throats!!

Another point I want to highlight, all the great politicians and successful Muslim businessman that I've known in my life in Sarawak, have been educated in Mission Schools and took Scriptures for their form 5 examination's as it was the easiest to get an A but they still turn out to be excellent Muslim's, without having any misgivings of the Muslim faiths!! I recall some of my Muslim friends who studied with me in Mission schools, can still up to this very day, recite the Our Father and the Hail Mary fluently and I recalled one Muslim girl insisted that her parents allowed her to go caroling with us during Christmas!! They still remained true Muslims, true to their faiths!! Its only when extremist religious teachers who come and makes things complicated that creates all this frictions between Muslims and people of other faiths.

So darlings, think about it, don't you wish for true religious tolerance as can be seen in the funeral of the late Datin Amar Margaret Guning nee Banyang? or do we want some chaotic mess like the case of the SMS where Muslim's view other religion with fear and trepidation because of their religious teacher's idea!!

Think about it darling!!

buzz buzz