A shining example of interfaith bonding – co-existence, understanding, and harmony – was shown by Christians and their leaders in General Santos City when they joined Muslims during the September 20 celebrations of one of Islam’s major festivals, Eid’l Fitr, or the Festival of Fast-Breaking.

Eid’l Fitr, known among Malay peoples as Hariraya Puasa, marks the end of Ramadan fasting every first day of Shawwal, the 10th month in the Islamic moon-based Hijrah calendar.

Catholic priests and nuns led the members of other faiths in the interfaith activity, greeting and shaking hands with the Muslims, a smile there and best wishes here to Islam’s followers.

Upon knowing this, Ustadhz Abdulhadi Daguit, vice president for External Affairs of the National Halal Accreditation Board of the Philippines, Inc. (NHABPI), expressed appreciation for the unselfish act shown by the non-Muslims.

“In the Holy Qur’an, you can read a passage that says Muslims can find their best friends among people who call themselves Christians,” said Daguit, a professor at the Institute of Islamic Studies, University of the Philippines (UP), in Quezon City.

Daguit said the act was a shining example of the reaching out between Catholics and Muslims which is contained in “A Common Word Between Us and You” that 138 Muslim scholars, clerics and intellectuals wrote on October 13, 2007, and presented to Pope Benedict XVI, a declaration of common ground between Christianity and Islam.

In a report written by Ghandi C. Kinjiyo, Islam believers performed the early morning Eid worship consisting of congregational prayer and sermon at the high school campus of the Mindanao State University (MSU) in the city.