Religious 17/06/20 Ramadan a chance for interfaith unity through iftar meals - Pakistani Christians respect Muslim holy month to help dispel myths

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Ramadan a chance for interfaith unity through iftar meals

Pakistani Christians respect Muslim holy month to help dispel myths

Pakistani volunteers arrange food and drink for iftar, the breaking of the day's fast, as part of the holy month of Ramadan on May 28, in Rawalpindi. (Photo by Rizwan Tabassum/AFP)

Kamran Chaudhry, Lahore
Pakistan

June 20, 2017

Every year during Islam's holy month of Ramadan, a group of Christian Pakistani sanitary workers hosts the breaking of the fast iftar dinners to counter the taboo of "untouchability."

One of those fighting the terrible label is 50-year-old Masih (not his real name), a sanitation worker in a government hospital in Lahore. As the clock struck 7 p.m., Masih and several other volunteers started laying white sheets for Muslim guests to sit on and break their fast at the Soul Revival Church.

"We invite Muslims to the church to increase awareness and dispel the myths around the concept of "uncleanliness." They appreciate Christians respecting Ramadan and its traditions," Masih told ucanews.

Pakistan Christians are often referred to as "churha" (low caste), a racial and abusive term reserved for Christian sanitation workers.

Watch this ucanews.com video on Pakistani Christians and Muslims taking part in an iftar meal.

"There is no dignity in our work. We bring our own utensils. The office employees never join us for meals. Muslim sanitation workers are called to clean offices but toilets are usually our responsibility," he said. "Job promotions are slower as we are not recognized as part of the labor force."  

However, the attitudes change as Muslim neighbors, politicians and colleagues enter the small church located in the suburbs of Lahore. The Sanitary Workers Union of Lahore General Hospital has hosted these gatherings for the past 10 years. Lahore General Hospital, the third largest hospital in the Punjab capital, has more than 400 Christian paramedic staff whose salaries do not exceed 30,000 rupees (US$286) a month.

The arrangements are the same every year. Squash and fruits are offered for breaking fasts. The guests offer Maghrib (evening) prayer inside the church. Poems and speeches are then made on interfaith harmony before the dinner. 

Interfaith Iftar meals are an annual tradition in Muslim majority Pakistan where religious minorities such as Ahmadis, Christians and Hindus live in daily fear of violence or harassment. Church compounds are usual venues for interfaith commissions and Christian non-government organizations. Catholic Bishop Benny Mario Travas of Multan attended a similar gathering on June 3 at the Anglican St. Mary's Cathedral.

The threat

Sanitary workers in Lahore are the only such group to host an iftar event. Lending his support is Shaan Taseer, son of murdered governor Salman Taseer, who advertised the union's invitation on his Facebook page. 

"They do the job for you that no one else wants to. All they ask for was some dignity. But there are those among us who find sanitary workers unworthy of even that, and all in the month of Ramadan. Let them show you the spirit of Ramadan #Umerkot," he posted on June 9.

The hashtag reference was to Irfan Masih who died June 1 in a government-run hospital in Umerkot town after medical practitioners refused to touch his sludge-stained body. 

Media have reported at least 70 Christian deaths between 1988 and 2012 while cleaning sewerage pipelines.

Earlier this year, Shaan Taseer also received death threats after criticizing the country's notorious blasphemy laws in a Christmas message on social media forums.

He has been a vocal supporter of minorities following the assassination of his father Salman Taseer in Islamabad in 2011.

Salman Taseer lobbied for Asia Bibi, the Catholic mother of five sentenced to death in 2010 for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed. Bibi denied the charge arguing that the case is based on a row with a fellow worker who refused to drink water she had touched, arguing that it had become sullied because she was a Christian. 

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in its report "Life at risk" stated the 5 percent employment quota for minorities in federal jobs, educational institutions and government schemes "was generally observed in low-level jobs such as sanitary workers and peons (laborers of low rank), without giving the due share of senior ranks to these citizens."

Samson Salamat, chairman of Rawadari Tehreek (Movement of Tolerance), said he deliberately invites Hindu community leaders to attend interfaith iftar dinners he has been hosting for four years.

"Despite government efforts and increasing media awareness, many people still do not eat with us. We are trying to dispel misunderstandings that create conflicts. The holy month of Ramadan gives us an opportunity to maintain peace, pluralism and religious coexistence. Our country needs this message of unity," he said. 

The month of Ramadan, which this year started May 26, is considered by Muslims as a holy month where they observe a dawn-to-dusk fast without food or even water as an exercise in spiritual self-purification. Ramadan ends with the Eid al-Fitr festival that will begin in the evening of June 25.

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