Saturday, September 08, 2007

Multi-faith prayers for Dr Mahathir

What? Multi-faith doa selamat for Dr Mahathir Mohamad
Where? Blog House, 66, Lorong Setiabistari 2, Bukit Damansara
When? Tomorrow, Sunday 9 Sept, 7pm

All faiths. Marina Mahathir is inviting ALL wellwishers to a special multi-faith doa selamat for her dad and our former PM.

The programme will go as follows:
7pm Arrival of everyone who'd like to come
7.15 pm Maghrib prayers for Muslims led by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf
7.30pm Prayers by representatives of Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh and Baha'i faiths.
8.15pm Dinner is served.

According to Marina here, Archbishop Murphy Pakiam representing the Christian community and His Holiness Swami Samyam Ananda representing the Hindu community have confirmed they will recite their respective prayers.

40 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:37 am

    Sdr Rocky...

    As a Muslim, ALLAH is our only GOD.

    WE pray ONLY to HIM....
    We should not push our luck too much...With all due respect my sincere advice.

    A Hj.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous11:47 am

    A Hj,

    I am sorry. But my understanding is that during the event, the Muslims will hold their prayers and the non-Muslims will hold theirs.

    We are not praying to their gods.
    We are allowing them to hold their prayers.

    I do believe Muslims know that Allah is God. And they pray only to Him.

    Thank you.
    And i think it is good of Marina to hold the event for the non-Muslims as well.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous12:29 pm

    To A. Hj,

    Allah may be your God, but Allah may not be God to others. Please be more open minded.

    You pray to your religion, others pray to their own religion. This is nothing about pushing luck.

    Don't get stuck in a rut.


    Peace.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous12:39 pm

    Multi-faith sermon maybe next ?
    Its not too late to repent !

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous1:00 pm

    big deal haji
    there is only one God.. push what luck? too closeminded la you..
    in the movie Manggal Pandey you can see the Hindus and Muslims having prayers at the same time, in the same hall..

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous1:56 pm

    'As a Muslim, ALLAH is our only GOD'

    This is the real dilemma. Isn't it? Not only in Malaysia, but the whole world. With this perception, how can the world be harmony in the true sense of the word. Sincerely, majority of the world's Muslim are not like that.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's great that there is an opportunity for Malaysians from all faiths to come together and pray to Tun Doc M in the manner of their respective beliefs.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous2:29 pm

    To Sdr rocky and All, particulalry A HAji:

    This is an excellent opportunity for a Bangsa Malaysia of various religions to gather.

    As we pray for the Tun's health, we thank the AlMighty for giving us the Tun and uniting us. Our religions are different but our faith is ONE.

    Peace.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous2:50 pm

    It will be even better if all faiths can pray for Tun, together, at the same time, venue. Be it at a mosque, church, temple or other venue.

    Meanwhile, it will be a good thing to see to have Muslim prayer, then other faiths prayer at the same venue. It will be an improvement indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous3:09 pm

    I am Jewish. Can I come?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous4:26 pm

    Cukuplah kepada Allah SWT, yg satu, yg haq, yg tidak beranak dan tidak diperanakkan, sbg pergantungan sekelian makhluk.

    Berwaspadalah Muslimin & Muslimat tentang bahaya syirik.

    Tuhan mengampunkan segala dosa kecuali dosa syirik.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Dear all, all Malaysians irrespective of religions have been praying for my father in the past week. Churches, temples and mosques have all been holding special prayers.

    My family and I are extremely grateful for everyone's kindness and support. We are so touched by the amount of love there is for Dad.

    Last night () we sponsored a doa selamat for Muslims at Masjid Wilayah. It allowed us to not just thank God for His blessings on our father but also to thank personally Muslim well-wishers. However we felt that non-Muslims should not be left out, hence the reason for this multifaith doa selamat.

    We are honoured that the leaders of each faith community have agreed to attend and say prayers on behalf of their respective communities. And we look forward to meeting all of you there.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jonah, sorry, forgot to respond. Yes, of course, you're very welcome.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Can you people pray for my sister, who is in a coma for the last 50 days at the GH intensive care unit. She is just an ordinary person but if you can help with your prayers I will appreciate it very much and may be it will help.

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous9:07 pm

    Pasquale, I'm sorry to hear about your sister.

    I'll doa for her recovery.

    ReplyDelete
  16. in a multi religous country like ours, let's not get too over zealous about whose god is better than whose, shall we? After all, the quran and the bible has too many similarities to deny that it was from the same source!
    here it is the intention that we pray to our own source for the health and recovery of our former leader who brought us development!
    it would be a real shame if we can't even do that! and may I remind you some 50 odd years ago, I would think that most Malays did sing 'God Save the Queen!'
    that really does not mean you prayed to another god, does that?

    A hj, please, for the sake of uniting a fast dividing country, ditch that narrow mentality of yours!
    i will not even insult Islam further for it is truly a well respected religion but for small minded people like you and the four guys in the 'Namawee' video!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous10:53 pm

    There's no god but God!

    Semoga Allah memelihara kesihatan Tun Mahathir dan seluruh manusia!

    HJG

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous10:55 pm

    The fundamental thing is let us all respect the diversity that exists in this country. Only this way the nation can move forward.To those who think that interfaith prayers like this one is "berdosa" then this country will have no future and this is not the islam that i know and i want.Peace to all.
    May Tun recovers well. We all berdoa.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous11:10 pm

    With people like A hj and another guy shouting syrik we know well a true national integretion is going to remain nothing more than a myth with few exception with people like Rocky, RPK.

    ReplyDelete
  20. A Hj.....even in prayer you try to disunite us. Your god would be ashamed of you. I am edtending a personal invite to you to come to pray with us as Bangsa Malaysia. Can we share the same God, unless tonight you can prove to me that yours is better than ours. Expecting you if you have the courage to pray with US.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Allah is Allah
    God is God
    And the two is the same
    Only the eyes of different people
    Say something to suit their faiths

    Surely there is One God
    In every race in the country
    It is our own doing
    We make history

    Brothers and Sisters
    The same line of descendants
    Colors make to look different
    Just peel off the skin
    You will see nothing is different

    Allah allows you the freedom
    God wants you to learn
    Yet we screwed ourselves
    Telling each other
    Who is the best?

    It is already said
    Too many wolves in the sheep skins
    So there you have it
    Open our eyes our minds
    There is One God
    Nothing else counts

    Peace be upon you
    Let the prayers heal our wounds
    Let our common praying to God
    Be the guide for us
    And Dr M and his health
    And his family members too

    Amen
    God bless you all

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous11:30 am

    Pasquale, please post your sister name for us to pray pray for her tohough I believe god would still know with us mentioning her name.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Anonymous12:01 pm

    A hj.......you are divisive.You are childish.Would you stop me from saying a prayer for your daughter if she is sick ? Please grow up and understand the realities of life.Don't be a polluter.Let me share this with you

    Rafiza (male)was an old friend of mine and we were upto so many naughty pranks during our long friendship.We became friends during our college days (1982)and he remained in KL while i moved on to JB.When Rafiza had an interview appointment in JB (1990)....he came over to my house and stayed for 2 days and ate the food that i cooked,bathed in the same wash room that I use and we slept in the same room .I took him to the interview site on my trusty Suzuki (without helmets).While he was not lucky to be selected for the job,we still kept in touch very frequently.I too spent many a times in his house (Shah Alam) whenever i visited KL.He did take me to his friends houses for the simple intro and thereafter for our teh tarik.
    3 years ago during one of my jaunts to his house...he introduced to me his future wife ...a tudung (black) clad girl from Kedah.When I extended my hand to salam her....she simply refused.
    Little did I realise that this was the start to the end of my friendship with Rafiza.His calls and emails to me became less frequent.He somehow forget to inform me of his marriage date as well. Last year me and my family planned to drive up to Camerons for the CNY holidays.Since Rafiza loved durians (the Segamat species) I stopped by the town and bought 5 good graded ones and headed to Shah Alam and wanted to surprise him.When i reached his house, an elderly Mak cik and Rafiza's wife came out to the gate and enquired. I reminded them about myself (I am Rafiza's buddy,we know each other for almost 20 years blah blah blah.)They told me Rafiza is out and will not know what time he would be back.I said I have durians for him and would love to give it him.Mak cik tolong pesan kat Rafiza, Manoharan dari Johor sampaikan buah buah ini I said before parting.
    Somehow after driving for about 20 mins I got lost in Shah Alam and since the kids were also craving for a Coke, so a pit stop had to be made.
    We stopped at a roadside stall and after quenching our thirst asked the Pak cik who manned the stall for our way back to Klang...he directed us accordingly and as luck would have it....we had to pass by Rafiza's house in order to get back to the correct route.
    Imagine to our horror.....our durians that were painstakingly brought all the way from Segamat was dumped in the rubbish bin in the same wrappings (and all unopened).I cried at the sight and my children were dumbfounded.And don't ask me what my wife blabbered.
    I pulled aside,reached for my mobile and managed to get Rafiza on the other end.After all the niceties,I found out from him that he was indeed insisde the house during my visit !!!
    As for the durians.....it is considered haram (i being a non muslim),and the saddest part of the conversation...he told me not to visit him again !
    He also told me that his wife and in laws don't like me and my family visiting him.

    Hello a.hj are you still there ?

    What did I do to deserve such treatment ? Why the dislike for my family when they don't even know us?
    BTW,Rafiza is transformed now....he sports a goatee....wears the long dress and is always in a skullcap and spends lots of time in the mosque.His brother Ameerul updated me last week when he dropped by my house on his way to S'pore!
    See what has has happened to frienships that was built over time in a very carefree environment.I feel very sad and people like A.hj are of no help either.

    Rastaman

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous3:06 pm

    A Hj. <<< this exactly the kind of artificial Muslims who give ISLAM the bad name. If you a truly a Muslim or hope to be one please re-study the religion and not try to confuse others.

    A Hj - I personally think that you're lost in your own religion....i wonder if IT is ISLAM because ISLAM doesn't teach what you're trying to preach.

    thks.

    Apanama

    ReplyDelete
  25. Commonlah, I thought bloggers are open to other viewpoints, tolerant to other viewpoints, defender of free speech, ...blah blah blah.

    We do not have to make accusation of disunity, narrow mentality labelling, anti integration call, and whatever. Perhaps AHj "language" is not in concurrent with others. Since when do blogs and internet bother over "language"?

    On the issue of faith, to each his own. As the Allah says in the Quran ... to each his own.

    AHj and another anon has a right to their viewpoint based on their own knowledge and understanding. They re not oblige to follow Imam Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf for they are responsible to their own faith and they alone will face god in the grave and judgement day.

    Follow the Quran ... to each his own.

    So lets lets not do a reverse bigotry also ... And, we must stop reverse bigotry ie to impose our point of view on others and accuse and label others negatively.

    If a muslim decide not to join the multifaith gathering for in their view this could be considered as syirik or perhaps grey area, others shd understand it also. THat does not mean they do not respect the right of others to freedom of religion.

    I am sure there are many ways of expressing solidarity, even if the conservative view is that celebratign the religious festivities of others is also inappropriate of Muslims.

    Ah well ... as I see, its just a private note from one muslim to another, ie Rocky. Perhaps ROcky could have withold the comment.

    As far as I am concern, I will consult a learned on this. If they say I can't join, than I can't join. The learned I mean is a learned in Islam nto those of other religion.

    But, to show my solidarity for other peopel of faith for our beloved TDM and freedom of religion for others, I can join the makan, can I?

    Surely in the age of "fitan" and godlessness, we shd encourage religion. MAlaysia encourage religous life. The first doctrine of rukunegara states that.

    With Jonah coming, that means no prawn, lobster and crab.... shuck. But me and jonah is okay with no animal from Melaka. To cater also for swami, vege saja pun tak apa lah :(

    ReplyDelete
  26. Here's wishing Tun a speedy recovery
    Along with the 'just noticed' discovery
    The interfaith prayers to give God all glory
    That will go down well in Malaysia's history.

    Samuel Goh 090907

    ReplyDelete
  27. Anonymous10:22 pm

    God is Allah and Allah is God. All the children on this planet belongs to the same God. A Hj is confuse because he didn't understand what is universal. God say this world belongs to everyone and eveyone can reach him. The law with God is if you only think you are correct than obviously you will be wrong, your mind is too narrow and you will be left out.

    Marina is truly a Bangsa Malaysia but sorry we have too many Tuan A Hj so Malaysia continue to walk backward.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Anonymous11:42 pm

    Hey A Voice,

    I am Jewish (Or at least I hv a Jewish name) and I came to Bloghouse, tonight.

    Everyone else,

    It was a good evening indeed.

    The evening started when Maghrib prayers were called with the usual azan. Tuan Imam Feisal presided the congregation of Muslims in the Bloghouse (it was well prepared - carpets laid and prayer mats (sejadah) placed in the right order & direction). Then he offered a doa for the well being of Tun Dr. Mahathir, both in Arabic and English.

    When the Maghrib ritual ended, the other worshipers assembled under the tent within the Bloghouse the venerable Brickfields viharra high priest offered his chants and prayers. Then followed by the Hindu high priest Swami S Ananda. Then the Taosist priest B S Tan. Then Archbishop Murphy Pakiam. The last, but not least, T K Lee said a prayer on behalf of the Bahai worshipers.

    All the prayers and chants were explained in English, so that everyone who attended understood the gist of the prayers/chants offered.

    Then Dato' Marina Mahathir was asked to give a short speech and she thanked all, in their prayers and chants for her father's well being. She was not shy to express her feelings being touched by the love and care shown, in the context of a multiracial-multifaith society. All hope for a good recovery of Tun Dr. Mahathir, strength to the family and peace and harmony for all.

    Then the MC asked Imam Feisal to say grace/recite a doa, before dinner and he coyly said with a smile "Bismillahirahmanirahim, in the name of God, we eat!".

    So we ate. And we socialised. The food was sumptuous. Some made new friends.

    Personally, I respect the different worshipers effort to say prayers for a Muslim, Tun Dr. Mahathir b. Mohamad in their own way, without crossing against other people's belief.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Anonymous3:10 am

    Apa bendalah korang nie. Mau sembahyang pun mau gaduh ke? Bukannya bermaksud Muslim menduakan tuhan.

    This is the same twisted logic that was employed by Mufti Perak when he said it was haram for Muslims to attend CNY festivals because its the same as worshipping other gods. Due to his ignorance he failed to mention that Chinese Muslims in China also celebrated CNY. Does it mean that Chinese Muslims in China are syirik? Its a cultural thing and a religious one. Besides in the Quran it clearly states that "iman" and Taqwa shall be measured only by Allah not even Muhammad is entitled to determine a person's iman. His job was just being a Messenger Of Allah. Thats it.

    This is the danger of reciting the Quran without understanding what it means. We failed to use our brain to think when the Quran; in nearly every chapter ask us this question "Tidakkah mereka mahu berfikir?". It means that Islam requires intelligence among its believers and clearly our Tuan Haji lacks the logic to comprehend the simple instructions stated in the Quran because it seems that he pawned his brains to the "figurative priests" when it clearly states that there is no priesthood in Islam (which by no accident means submission).

    Bacalah translation dan tafsir Tuan Haji. And then bacalah tafsir atau pandangan dari ulama-ulama luar negara seperti Tantawi, Qardhawi dan lain-lain. You will be amazed to see the difference of tafsir. Even among the four main school of thought Maliki, Hambali, Syafie and Hanafi there are some major differences. Kalau kita baca perbezaan ini kita akan lebih toleran dan tak melompat sangat bila kita cakap pasal islam. I know, because i used to be one of those people who will melompat just like Tuan Haji. Then i think you will get a better view of Islam from a different perspective.

    Penanak Nasik.

    ReplyDelete
  30. anyway, hello guys,

    anybody can pray for Dr. M or somebody else..
    we are doing good thing, pray for somebody good health...

    May God bless you all.. peace...

    ReplyDelete
  31. Anonymous3:25 pm

    Islam itu indah,
    Adakala kita lupa,
    Ia milik semua,

    Islam itu sempurna,
    Merangkum semua,
    Yang membahagi itu kita,

    Islam itu Cinta,
    Yang ulung dan luhur,
    Membenci dan marah itu kita,

    Islam itu tetap,
    Rukun, adaban tak berubah,
    Tanggapan kita yang merayau.

    Its a an appalling poem for an appalling suggestion that we should not invite others to show their appreciation and love for someone they love.

    Still hj is entitled to his opinion....

    ReplyDelete
  32. Anonymous9:58 pm

    dear rastaman, what your friend did to you is very unislamic... please do not judge Islam by his actions or the actions of most of the followers... they are far from the truth. If you need to understand Islam then read the Quran and the sayings of Prophet Muhammad. Do not judge the religion by the followers.

    Again my most profound apologies to you and your family for the rude and stupid actions of your friend Rafiza, his wife and mother in law in throwing the durians. Some people just do not have good character. They do not know how to judge what's right n what's wrong. The are lost coz they follow conjecture and not guided by the truth as ordained by Allah and His Prophet. Well they have all given Islam a bad name!

    I'm responding to you coz i've just lost my best friend on june 4,2007. Loganathan Arumugam, died of cancer.we are like brothers. I was with him for the entire 3 days wake , as well as for the cremation. Until today i still mourn and am in grief.My wife and son also grieve for our loss.
    Rastaman, i'm a 48 year old very devout muslim, a haji,and also a father to an 11 year old son who is doing quranic (memorization)studies. Maybe one day i'hope to meet you. till then take care and send my regard to your family. Salam

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  33. It's great for all Malaysians from all faiths to be together to pray to Tun Dr Mahathir in their own respective beliefs- multiracial-multifaith

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  34. Anonymous12:35 pm

    Nafi dan Insbat, the core of syhadah, no other god beside ALLAH, if a Muslim belief that there is exist other god beside ALLAH, automatically it disqualified his or her syhadah. To a muslim ALLAH is the only god for all mankind.

    Also this does not reflect Al Fatihah verse 4 : " Only to ALLAH we pray and only to ALLAH we asked for help. "

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  35. So which prayer that Marina believes cure Tun Dr M illness.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anonymous10:20 am

    Mesti anak MM nak kawin nanti ade banyak kenduri. "Aku terima nikahnya" sekali..keliling api sekali..."I do" sekali..

    multifaith laa katakan...

    ReplyDelete
  37. To whom it may concern,

    Muslims only hv and acknowledge 1 GOD and that is ALLAH. He is also the GOD for everyone. What MM did was syirik! If other religious figures wants to offer their prayers to Tun, they can do it themselves. You don't hv to invite them to perform prayers together. It's as though you are accepting that there are more than 1 GOD. Pls repent for yr sake.

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  38. Anonymous4:03 pm

    Dear all,

    Let us all pray regardless of what religion we are embracing. After all, i think there is no harm in praying for others' wellbeing, right? Who are we to judge? Only God the Almighty can... because He is our creator. So, why must we question whether something is 'syirik' or not. We are all mere human beings. To live in peace and harmony, let's just respect each other and stop being prejudice. Hatred and resentment will only bring us to doom. Love conquers all.

    Sincerely,
    NAL

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  39. Anonymous2:19 pm

    There is nothing wrong with Religious..
    Pray harder and ask God to lead us ..
    Keep yr heart free and surrender to the God almighty..
    I believe there is only one GOD..
    Have mercy on us GOD,,,
    Please help us to open our mind and heart to respect one another.
    I believer GOD is watching us and from this moment as we’re your Children GOD I called your name my Almighty GOD to forgives us and save us from any arguments but to be touch our heart to be more patient and love to one another .. Amen!!

    RSJ..

    ReplyDelete
  40. I just came across this exclusive video interview with Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad by Meet The Boss TV and wanted to share it with you guys!

    Watch the HD Video Interview at - http://bit.ly/dxlrg1

    ReplyDelete