Nik


you can put anything here

Friday, August 19, 2011 @ 2:10 PM PERMALINK

Whats rattling people's chains and making them take to social media?
Today? Alex Chang.

Mr Chang sarcastically posted on McDonald's Facebook wall about the airing of evening prayers to signify the end of the Muslim fasting day and to inform Muslims that they can break their fast by asking if they could play Buddhist chants during Vesak Day (so passive aggressive by the way)

This lead to further discussion on his wall before he refered to the prayers as slightly annoying and said it was not respecting other religions. Another one of his friends joined in and echoed his sentiments responding that religion should be kept private.

How is it that as our country progresses, our people get more stupid? 

Extending Mr Chang and his friend's logic to other religious events and practises, shouldn't we ask ourselves if:

church bells be allowed to chime before Catholic Masses are celebrated?

the cultural Buddhists of Singapore be allowed to burn their offerings in public during 7th Month?

funeral chants and processions which often incorporate loud instruments or music be allowed on our streets?

Christmas songs (ultimately a Christian celebration) be aired in public places for the entire month of Nov and December?

Chinese New Year songs mentioning the God of Wealth be allowed to be played in public? Should decorations be allowed to depict him?  It is afterall not everyone's religion who believes in him.

Maybe Singaporeans should just be disallowed to practise religion or maybe we should all only practise one country-wide approved religion.

How can indiviuals who grew up in a multi-cultural society be so insensitive and intolerant?  I fail to see how Mr Chang feels he can throw around the term "respect other religions" when he can't even garner enough respect to shut his mouth about prayers that don't even last half an hour.

Personally, I have never inquired the significance of Islamic fasting for Ramadan. But nonetheless on a personal level, I feel for the Muslims who have to go without food while going about their usual day. Even though they get to eat before daybreak thats still about 12 hours without food or water.

I work with a number of Muslims who have to tolerate breaking fast late because insenstive management does not put aside them to properly break their fast and my heart really goes out to them. I also work with several older muslims who still fast even though it must be very trying on their bodies.

Apart from the fact that Mr Chang is bastardising the concept of 'religous respect', do you really need to be super religously tolerant or multi-cultural to put aside your self importance and realise that these people have been abstaining from food and water (things that we are never mandated to give up) and that the airing for the prayers makes it more convenient for them to know when to break fast?

Seems to me that its not so hard, you just have to be a nice person without an inflated sense of self ; something that I guess, Alex Chang and his friends are simply not. What a pity.

And besides, to use a term many of us Singaporeans are familiar with : "WILL DIE MEH?" 

Labels: Insights, race issues, What's got my goat

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