“Wa alaikum was salaam!” “Eid Mubarak!” Mufti Irfann greeted me back. This day is Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Fitr is celebrated by Muslims worldwide because it marks the end of the month-long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan. This is the third Eid that I had visited him and his family. Today, they offered me some traditional Burmese sweets and the popular Eid snack called “samay,” which is a warm sweet snack with coconut meat and the Sa-Nwin-Ma-Kin, which is a semolina pudding.
Mufti Irfaan is an Islamic scholar and lawyer. He runs a language center where he teaches English and Arabic to many students. That day I met some of his students who also wanted to speak English with me. So, I engaged with them and spoke with them. They were asking me how long I had lived in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and if I could speak Burmese. I replied in my broken Burmese. And they commented that I spoke Kachin with their teacher, Mufti Irfann.
Mufti Irfaan is a Kachin by blood from Sumprabum, one of the remote Kachin hills. His family converted to Islam. It is very rare to find Kachins who have converted and are practicing Muslims. Most of his relatives are still Catholics. His grandmother is a regular church-goer in the parish where I used to serve and I would often see her and Irfaan when he visited his grandmother. Sadly, his grandmother passed away just a month before Ramadan.
He went overseas to complete his Islamic studies. He is a master of the Arabic language and the Quran. Mufti Irfaan’s house and center is located in Rambo Quarter. This is where most of the Muslim families of Myitkyina live and work. In Myitkyina, like many cities, people often congregate and live together based on their religion or social status.
As I entered this part of the city, one can sense the joy in the people along the streets and the houses. Children visit houses and families and would be given some sweets or money. Irfaan said that most kids would refuse the sweets and snacks and prefer money instead. Times are changing, he added.
Mariam, his little child, is sweet and very intelligent. She can speak Burmese, Kachin, English and of course Arabic. I mentioned to Mufti Irfaan the new document Al-Mizan, A Covenant for the Earth, which was released recently by Muslim scholars to address the climate crisis. He took out his English-Arabic Quran and showed me the text used in the new document on care for the environment.
“The Most Merciful, Taught the Quran. Created Humankind. Taught him Eloquence. The sun and the moon move in precise calculation, and the stars and the trees prostrate, and the heaven He raised and imposed the balance (Mizan). That you not transgress within the balance (Mizan) and establish weight in justice and do not make deficient the balance (Mizan).” (Quran SS:1-9)
He asked Mariam to recite the text by memory. Mariam recited the text smoothly without looking at the Quran. In Islam, the term ‘Al- Mizan’ refers to balance or justice, and it is often used to describe the equilibrium that should be maintained in all aspects of life, including the relationship between humanity and the environment. After a few minutes of conversation in Kachin, more and more people started coming to see him and the family, so I told him that I had to leave and thanked him for the welcome. I told him that we would meet again soon to discuss more ways we can work together.
Myitkyina is an example of how Myanmar is diverse in terms of cultures and faith traditions. In Myitkyina, you can find temples, monasteries, masjids, and churches. Interreligious or interfaith dialogue for social cohesion is an important ministry that we Columbans can animate and work with the local community. We are looking forward to working with the network of interfaith youth and women in the coming months.
Myanmar continues to experience war and conflict, but it is important to continue to work for social cohesion and peacebuilding — to keep things in balance.
Columban Fr. Kurt Zion Pala lives and works in Myanmar.
