Fasting together for a cause
A group of non-Muslims stepped into the shoes of their Muslim friends to promote peace and unity.
AS the folks of London come to terms with the devastating tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire, they were pacified by how people rallied together to assist the affected residents.
The whole community pulled together: local churches, mosques, gurdwaras, sports clubs, shops opened their doors to victims made homeless by the blaze, collected relief supplies and raised funds. Londoners of all ages, races and religions rushed to the North Kensington neighbourhood to help.
Amid the moving stories of humanity are the heart-warming images of people sitting together by the roadside with the Grenfell survivors – the majority of whom are Muslim – for iftar (breaking of Ramadan fast). Many wanted to share the meal not just for solidarity in grief but also in respect of the Muslim holy month. As many eyewitnesses recounted, it was the fast-thinking reaction of those who were praying and having sahur (pre-dawn meal) at the time the fire broke out that saved many lives in the tower block.
This touching unity – minus the tragic circumstances, of course – is something that the #Puasa4Malaysia campaign hoped to foster when it invited Malaysians from all religious and racial backgrounds to join their Muslim friends in fasting for a day yesterday.
As a participant who only wants to be know as Maria puts it, “Malaysians are good in uniting at times of tragedy, but we want everyone to come together at all times.”
Researcher and educator Lyana Khairuddin agrees that shared experiences have shown time and again to bring people together.
“I remember the year that I joined #Puasa4Malaysia on the heels of the MH17 tragedy. The act of coming together, as a community, as Malaysians, is powerful.”
She says she loves how Malaysians from all backgrounds are able to just sit together every time they come together for #Puasa4Malaysia.
“It reminds me of the days when we used to visit each other for festivities. It makes me grateful to be living in such a diverse, vibrant city, and by extension country.
“Fasting is an act that cannot be explained, and needs to be experienced, I think. The act of solidarity, and doing something meaningful is a powerful way of bridging understanding and bringing people together.”
For John B, it is not only the solidarity that is meaningful, “It is also the sharing of the lessons of Ramadan like acquiring patience, cultivating good manners and empathy.”
The annual #Puasa4Malaysia campaign was initiated on Malaysia Day in 2009 by Malaysians for Malaysia – a loose collective of Malaysians celebrating the country’s social and religious diversity – to urge Malaysians of all races and religions to experience fasting for a day to promote unity and peace.
This year, the campaign bids to foster unity and show solidarity with Muslims in the country, “especially in light of recent events around the world, which are pushing various religions and ethnicities away from one another,” co-organiser Rev Dr Sivin Kit had earlier told The Star.
So before dawn yesterday, some 30 people fought their sleepiness to meet up for sahur
in Bangsar, while many more joined them later at sunset for iftar.
Various groups and individuals outside the Klang Valley, including Malaysians overseas, also organised similar events in support of the unity campaign.
Social activist Azrul Mohd Khalib believes Ramadan is a good time for Malaysians to unite.
“When done during the month of Ramadan, #Puasa4Malaysia allows for Malaysians to come together to do something which their Muslim sisters and brothers are already doing as part of their religious obligations,” he says, pointing out that fasting in some form is practised in various cultures.
“Making it Malaysia-centric allows us to think beyond our individual selves and communities towards wishing the best for the country. It isn’t necessarily the fasting that makes the impact but the common action and act of solidarity and community spirit embodied in #Puasa4Malaysia which is most influential,” he adds.
Ultimately it is the feeling of collective hope and solidarity that makes the “sharing” memorable, he says. “Fasting might seem minor in the scheme of things and in the face of today’s problems, but seeing friends, family and total strangers coming together to fast, tell and share their experiences and struggle to fast throughout the day, and then break fast together is a wonderful thing.”
He strongly believes that any activity that gives reason and opportunity for people to come together, enjoy each other’s company and build stronger community bonds should be supported.
“What we don’t celebrate enough are the best and good things about the people of this country – the generous, humanitarian, compassionate and courageous acts and experiences which make up Malaysian society at its best.
“These need to be emphasised and remembered, to remind us of the strength represented by our ethnic and religious diversity. That together we are greater than the sum of our parts. And to beat back extremism and the tide of racism and religious bigotry,” he notes.
IDEAS chief operating officer Tricia Yeoh, who fasted for the full month of Ramadan for two consecutive years on her own, says fasting together with so many other Malaysians gave her the feeling that she was part of something bigger than herself.
“For that short period of time, me being part of the collective whole was more important and more substantive than me as an individual.
“In fact, the entire act of fasting together is so powerful in feeling that you are part of something bigger than yourself
“I felt like I could better understand the sense of sacrifice, purity and submissive humility, because it was being actually lived out as opposed to talking about it in theory. With this understanding, I think I am better able to empathise with my Muslim friends around me,” she shares.
Yeoh also feels the simple act of breaking fast together is a precious occasion to be shared and cherished.
“There is a need for us to come together and promote a better, deeper understanding amongst all of us as Malaysians,” she says. “We need to know each other, to spend time with each other and appreciate each other as friends.
“These friendships transcend the politics of race, and this is what I hope fasting together can begin to do – create and deepen friendships with each other, before we become cold strangers in a common land.”
I felt like I could better understand the sense of sacrifice and submissive humility because it was being lived out as opposed to talking g about it in theory.
Tricia Yeoh
It isn’t the fasting that makes the impact but the common action and act of solidarity and community spirit embodied in #Puasa4Malaysia which is most influential.
Azrul Mohd Khalib