Religious Tolerance

Anyone who has traveled abroad with me knows that I can’t walk past a cathedral without stopping to look inside. This isn’t driven by any particular religious conviction, but they are usually architecturally fascinating and it’s always worthwhile to explore a place that people respect and hold sacred.

I wouldn’t want to discriminate, so as you’ve probably guessed I have extended this personal philosophy to cover all houses of worship. I had a banner day in Singapore: visited a Hindu temple, a Buddhist temple, and a mosque all in the span of a few hours and a couple kilometers!

Mosques are a little intimidating for me, as the unfamiliar often can be. My normal approach to this is to watch others and follow their cues (shoes on, shoes off, etc), but I hadn’t seen any women going in and out of mosques so I wasn’t really sure if I’d be welcomed in one or if I’d misstep once inside. I thought the place to figure this out was Kampong Glam. When Singapore was first colonized by the British, they created different ethnic communities, and Kampong Glam is the historic neighborhood originally intended for the Sultan and his household as well as for the Muslim community.

The streets are lined with shophouses that hold cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops, carpet shops, and the odd 7-11. On Arab Street, these shops overflow with brightly colored and patterned fabrics and tailors offering their services. Tempting! From a few blocks away, the minaret and the dome of Masjid Sultan (Malay for Sultan Mosque) peeked over the rooftops. I circled it outside a little tentatively, looking for the entrance and found it at what I had assumed was the back of the building.

There were the standard shoe racks found at many temples, a rack of heavy sky blue hooded robes and a couple of American women standing there putting the robes on. I followed right on their heels, being warned by an old man on the steps that the robes would be very hot, and then being welcomed at the door by guides who were there to explain the small exhibit on Islam and answer any questions we had. There wasn’t a huge amount to see, as we were limited to the entrance area, but I was happy to finally be able to satisfy my curiosity!