Catholics, Muslims to pray for peace

Catholics, Muslims to pray for peace

SINGAPORE: Wars may be raging elsewhere but Muslims and Roman Catholics in Singapore are getting together for a big dinner on Dec. 27 to jointly celebrate the Idul Fitri and Christmas holidays.

Some 300 people from the two faiths will take part in a function hosted jointly by the Islamic Fellowship Association and the St. Anthony's Canossian Convent.

"It's a historical event because this is the first time that the Muslim and Catholic communities are jointly celebrating Eid al-Fitr (idul Fitri), which is the after-Ramadhan festivities, and Christmas," Ameerali Abdeali, secretary general of the Islamic Fellowship Association, said on Friday.

The celebration will kick off with readings from the Koran and the Bible, followed by an exchange of gifts. The supreme Muslim religious leader and the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Singapore will sit down to dinner along with guests from nine other faiths. -- Reuters