20/8/11 AL AZHAR TURNED ME BLUE...

I saw both. The khusuk and the smiles. But what do they both see? I hope there is a true hope!

I have been wanting to visit the Mosque in Vientien, Laos even before I took off from Kuching airport. I wan to have a feel of the minority Muslim live there. Purposely, I planned my journey in such that I would reach Vientien just before the 29th August, 2011 morning so that I won’t miss the Aidil Fitri pray which I predicted either on 29th or 30th morning. Alhamdullillah, Allah gave me the chance to have my wish accomplished. My assumption, the Aidil Fitri pray will really indicate the strength of the local Muslim.

(2) The Mosque that was built by the Chambodian Muslim, particularly the Champa, is located in Nong Buothong at the outset of the City. This Mosque is named Al Azhar. This is a Sunni Mosque while the one in town was built by the Indian-Pakistani, which is Hanafi based. The main different between the two is that, here we could have the women to attend the pray along with the men, but not in the other one.

(3)Having the women to pray along the men is a great idea. Though this is not a wide practice in Sarawak, but observing the same in Indonesia and over here, I could see the women tend to bring along even their small babies for the pray. This, I would say is an excellent practise to expose the kids even from the very early days of their lives, closer to the spiritual intercourse. Men normally take a bit of the grown up kids to the mosque. They won't want to be bothered by the younger one.

(4) In this sense, the Muhammadi Mosque of Kota Bharu is superb since it clearly makes available a separate hall for the women. I hope the one that I planned for Darul Hana development will stick to this concept of facilitation.

(5) I figured the main praying hall is about 30 feet by 50 feet. There is a common room at the back which facilitate for the cooking and even dining. The size is almost equal to the main praying hall. At today prayer, about 30 percents of the hall was occupied by the women and kids. The Mosque was well packed. Some more room will be needed soonest. Most of the prayers were Champa, some Indonesian, Malaysian and Brunei Embassies staff. I met a group of seven Pattani young dakwah group in the pray. My encounter with them was simply by the way they of their dressing and surely by the moment they opened their mouths. Pattani and Kelantanese, they really can’t hide their accent.

(6) A young Champa Imam, by the name of Vina led the Takbir. Later another Imam, also a young Champa led the makmum for the pray and gave the sermon. His sermon was both in Malay and Laos. During both occasion, my focus was to Vina. He seem very khusuk. When the doa was read, he really sunk into the pressing words of Allah. From the Imam, the very words that really struck my heart were: ”Among us the Muslim, there are the have, there are the educated, there are the stronger, there are so many who are able and capable, and all are to help each other, the have not, the less previledged, etc. If we dare to care, we will never be weak and disadvantage”.

(7) All through, his sermon made me think hard. I began to scan around the makmum. The kids. The women. The men. The elders. All among us who were there. And surely here was me, a foreigner in a foreign state. Why was me being here? What do am I looking for? Was it fair to my kids not to be with their dad at that moment? Was I not cruel and have no sense of responsibility to deny them of what they should get at that moment, to be with the parent? That was also the moment that I remembered someone whom I wish to be closed to. All I have was loneliness and wonder in this alien state.

(8) Later my eyes travelled to the walls, the ceiling, the windows, the fans, the loud speakers, the microphone, the curtains, the floor, the carpets, the painting, the architecture, the…every corner of the Mosque. After the pray, I stood across the road facing the Mosque. The compound is lower than the surrounding. During the rain, the surrounding water spilled over into the pavement. Creating a water lodged. There is no more space for expansion. The Msque is surrounded by hoes.

(9) A nice big home, which belong to a rich Thai Muslim is immediate to the left. Fronting is another big rich Muslim home. To the right, is a Muslim family home with the in between is a vacant land about 250 sq meters. The land is advertised for sale. I enquired at what price? It is on sale for U$25.00 per sq meters. It belong to a none Muslim. In total U$70,000.00 is needed to purchase the land. The back side of the Mosque is filled up with dense housing area.

(10) My mind is working hard to see the future of this Mosque. One by one the passerby caught into my screening radar, men, women, ladies, kids and among those were Malaysian Embasador and his staff. The Mosque later vacated. It falls into it usula lonely state.

(11) This Mosque is a frontier. Could it stand strong and later expand? Can it defense it present post and move on to a greater height? I wonder. I began to worried. Not for the Mosque, but to those people who now able to be in the Mosque, will there be there forever to stand for the Mosque?

(12) Those young ladies, they are cute in their tradition. They are happy in the seclude of their parent and guidance of the reponsible. But, come a day, will their next, be able to enjoy the same? Who should think for this? What did the Arabic saying of the next 100 years generation onto the presence? Here was I, standing here, watching, without a clue. SubhanaAllah, give me the greatest strenght to think and do something to serve my purpose being here and as who am and will I be!

(13) I made an appointment to see both the Imam and the Chairman of the Laos Muslim Society. As promised we met or Maghrib. Mr. Ahmadokhan, the President of the Muslim Association, later shown me around the whole Mosque building. The back part is divided into the common hall for either classroom or dinning area. There is a small cooking place further to the back. Another smaller two rooms on the side which are used by visiting missionaries. I was told recently the Malaysian Embassy had helped to raised the level of the Mosque floor, tiled it all and improved on the leaking roof.

(14) So far the community is very happy with the Malaysian, Indonesian and Brunei embassies in giving hands wherever needed. Mr. Ahmadokhan wish that the Mosque could purchase the small piece of land next to Mosque for future purpose. Accordingly, he planned to raised the compound to above the road level to avoid the surrounding water to flood the mosque compound.

(15) I spent till Isya at the Mosque. I just want to observe what are those young kids and some adults doing there to kill their time. The group of adults were just sitting around and chit-chating. The young kids, they read the Al Quran, together with some elder women.

(16) To me basically, the Laos Muslim community, whom originaly were migrant Champa from Chamodia, are still a struggling community for a life. Just like many others Laos natives, they are just a poor citizen that kais pagi makan pagi, kais petang makan petang. To me their life view is still blocked by the need just to survive. Their sense of survival accordingly, doesn't go beyond their norms.

(17) Probably interesting to study, how, the Jews when they were dispelled from their homeland and migrated to all sort of places on earth, especially to Africa, Europe and North America they could survived and managed to dominate the local economies and businesses.

(18) The same applies to the Chinese, who migrated oversea, and now able to controlled al of the ASEAN economies and businesses, and I believe now they are working hard in making a strong presence in Africa and the Pacific.

(19) The Champa, the Malays probably had neglecetd too much our sense of economic and busines survival that to this day we can't even organised ourselves for our best benefit. We are so dependend to seek help from others and normally we just want what is a norm to us: buliding, expanding, renovating, and maintaining the Mosque.

(20) To me the future prospect of the minority small Champa of Laos is with regard to give their kids an upper educational advantages. They must go beyond Madrasah concept. They should turn the Mosque into the Community Center of Educational Excellent where learning English, IT, Leadership and Business Management should be runned parallel to those spiritual classes.

(21) The International and Local communities should work on this. I hope to develop the idea together with Mr. Ahmadokhan on this and definitely, insyaAllah I want to work on this through the Madrasah Kg Pulo which I believe should be turnned into Academi Darul Hana, let see how those thing in the early Baghdad and Cardova being organised. InsyaAllah.

al azhar, non buothong, vientien
30 august, 2011 @ 1 syawal