Regardless of what religion, race and nationality we belong to, at the end of the day, we are all brothers and sisters 🙂
The holy month of Ramadan is more than just about Muslims fasting from dawn until sunset, but also a month when they perform pious acts seeking God’s grace. Besides puasa, one other religious act that is unique to Ramadan is the Tarawih prayers which are traditionally performed in jamaah (in a group) at the mosque during nighttime.
Well, seeing how important the Tarawih prayers are for their Muslim brothers and sisters, the Christian-majority population of the Indonesian island of Papua went above and beyond to make sure that they could perform the religious act peacefully.
Source: Kompas
As reported by Kompas, a sizable number of Christian youths from the local church of East Mimika District of Papua volunteered to help the local authorities with guarding the safety of Muslims performing the Tarawih prayers throughout the mosques in the district, and have been doing so since the first day of Ramadan. What a thoughtful act of solidarity!
Source: Kompas
Iptu J Maryen, the head of East Mimika Police Department commented that,
“There are a lot of Christian church youths as well as youth organizations that help with safeguarding peace in our local mosques this Ramadan.”
He further commented that there are at least 21 Christian youths that have volunteered to help with keeping the peace during the performance of the Tarawih prayers at the mosques for this whole month of Ramadan. Most of the youths are from the Mapurujaya Mudika Catholic Church, GKI Solafide Mapurjaya Youth Club and Mapurujaya Youth Organization.
Source: Kompas
Iptu Maryen further commented that the involvement of Christian church youths as well as youth organizations showcases how the local multi-religious population are really tolerant and live harmoniously with each other. In fact, this thoughtful act of solidarity mirrors Indonesian Papuan Muslims helping with the safeguarding of local churches during the Easter celebrations back in April.
Source: Seputar Papua
This is definitely one of the most heart-warming stories we’ve heard in a while! Kudos to all the youths involved and this interreligious tolerance and harmony is something that we should all strive for.
Have you seen something similar to this happening in Malaysia? Share your stories with us in the comments section!
Also read: M’sian Muslims Win Hearts For Visiting Church & Temples to Show Solidarity Over Sri Lanka Bombings
