The initiative to visit church and temples promoted by the NGO Global Unity Network. The president: "Compassion and closeness even when non-Muslims die". The delegation holds a meeting on dialogue with the parish priest of St. Joseph. For almost 20 years the group has offered itself as a tool to expose Muslims to other faiths.
Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews) – A group of Muslim activists for dialogue yesterday visited a Hindu temple, a Catholic church and a place of Buddhist worship, to show solidarity with the victims of the terrorist attacks, which struck on 21 April Sri Lanka. Claimed by the Islamic State (IS), 253 people lost their lives and over 500 were seriously injured in the attacks against three churches and as many hotels.
Led by President Shah Kirit Kakulal Govindji, a 22-member delegation from the Global Unity Network NGO began a round of visits from Sri Maha Kaliamman, a Hindu temple located in the village of Kampung Kasipillay. Later the group arrived at the parish of St. Joseph in Sentul (photo 1), district of Kuala Lumpur. Activists finally visited the Sri Jayanti Buddhist temple in the same area of the capital.
"In Christchurch, when people of Islamic faith were killed, non-Muslims showed us their solidarity. Following the attacks in Colombo, where Christians were murdered, we Muslims also need to show our closeness. We must not manifest compassion and solidarity only when Muslims die. We must express concern if even a non-Muslim is killed. We need to be fair to everyone," says Shah Kirit to the Malaysian newspaper The Star.
At the church of St. Joseph, the delegation attended mass (photo 2). At the end of the function, the group - composed of students and professionals - held a meeting with the parish priest, Fr. George Packiasamy. "We have an excellent relationship with the church," the president said, adding that this is his fourth visit to the local Catholic community.
The NGO has been engaged in interreligious dialogue for almost 20 years and offers itself as a tool to expose Muslims to other religions. "Malaysia - explains Shah Kirit - is a multi-racial and multi-religious country, so it is very important that we understand each other well".
The activist believes that today many problems in the world stem from prejudices, presumptions and misconceptions about other religions or ethnic groups. "The best way to remove all this is to learn from each other. That's why we must teach Muslims to learn about other religions," he concludes.