say a prayer

It is still raining in Kuching. There are a few brief sunny moments but it usually followed by heavy downpour. I did my own laundry but it takes at least two days for the clothes to dry up. Luckily I brought enough spare shirts and pants to be recycled and perfumes can be quite handy at this time around J

Apart from the expected rains at this part of the year, the multi ethnic lives in Sarawak makes this place a very unique place. There are Iban, Bidayuh, Malanau, orang Ulu just to name a few, each with their own cultures and language makes it confusing but attractive at the same time. Some words are quite similar to Malay language (this is not a surprise as it was argued that malay ethnic in peninsular Malaysia and the ethnic in Sabah and Sarawak came from the same root). Some terminology can be found in the old Malay language.

And of course the foods, I find it very exotic and the variety seems to be bottomless. I can try something new every day, something that rarely served in Kuala Lumpur.

I found that the local ethnic who had embraced Christianity are very devoted followers. They practice the religion not only in religious occasion but in every part of their life. They will say the prayer before every meal in their own language. I guess in this way they will know exactly is being said and requested from God.

This is practice similar to Muslims but usually Muslims say their prayer in Arabic. Some learn the prayer by heart and take the effort to learn about the meaning of the each verses of the prayer. The followers may know the meaning or perhaps just becoming a ‘follower’. Do not get me wrong, I am not against Arabic language and would encourage people to learn the language used in the holy Quran. I am saying that some may not be so privileged to learn and understand the Arabic language. The imam (the one who lead a prayer) will recite the prayer in Arabic and the makmum (the follower of the Imam in a prayer) will say Amen to the prayer without even know what is being recited by the imam and expect their prayer to be answered by God.

Perhaps Malays is trying to be more Arabic in order to be more ‘muslim’. We can see that trend from every aspect of practice from religious occasions to banking system. For example, there are comments that Islamic banking practice in Malaysia is not Islamic enough and we should follow the Islamic banking as practiced in the Middle East. I am quite perplexed as we are not short of Islamic scholar ourselves but even some Muslims in this country share the same sentiments. There is no certainty as to the cause of this phenomenon. Perhaps it is due to one interpretation of Islamic banking, ignorance, inferiority complex, herd mentality or combination of all or none of the above. And I thought that values of Islam are universal as it goes beyond borders, cultures and ethnicity. But again it is just my opinion.

It is interesting and arcane at the same time when learn more about myself when I started to learn about others.