On Sunday, 26th February, a
group of 80 Muslim students who are in their fourth semester from University of
Sultan Azlan Shah, Kuala Kangsar, Perak (KUISAS) came to our Church of St Joseph,
Sentul, Kuala Lumpur for an exposure study programme. Prior to this they had
visited the Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu temples in KL City. They were assigned
to do comparison studies on all religions in Malaysia and how the people of
other faiths worship. They were led by Professor Puan Siti Nurleha Binti Safie
from the faculty of Islamic Studies of KUISAS.
They arrived at 8am and joined
us for our English Mass at 9.00 am. Our Parishioners of St Joseph welcomed them
and thanked them for choosing our parish for their assignments. After Mass, they
adjourned to the Hall for a simple breakfast followed by a one hour Q & A forum
at our Formation Hall.
I began the forum by
introducing myself and explained briefly about the history of our Church. As we
were discussing, I subtly corrected them of their concept of using the words
“Comparison Studies of All Religions.” I suggested to them that in search of
truth every religion has its beauty and uniqueness and we should understand
them in the perspective of interfaith dialogue. Among the many other
discussions, they also raised the question on how Catholics fast and observe
the season of Lent. After the session, they went around our Church to take a
few photographs and left at 12.00 noon.
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