Eid Mubarak! 開齋節快樂! As-salāmu ʿalaykum – (阿拉伯語的問候語)
香港700萬人中約有18萬穆斯林人口，當中有10萬人為信奉伊斯蘭教的外傭，其餘8萬人來自中國、巴基斯坦、印度、馬來西亞、菲律賓及阿拉伯各國。 他們在不同時期定居香港，當中不乏土生土長的香港居民，一直默默地為香港付出。
上月起是伊斯蘭曆的 #齋戒月(Ramadan)，所有穆斯林人每天在日出至日落之間皆停止飲食，自我反思，接近真主(Allah)。 齋期推行「克己複禮」，節食節用，藉忍耐飢餓和口渴，讓每個人親身感受貧窮人士的困難，建立惻隱、憐憫之心。無論是否回教徒，這些價值都值得每個香港人頌揚。
齋戒月昨日剛剛結束，為期三日的開齋節(Eid al-Fitr)隨即展開，慶祝新月開始。
在我的 #香港想像 裡，社會共融是重要一環。主動關注和了解不同宗教傳統是建立和諧香港的第一步。
Photo credit: Serving Islam Team - Hong Kong
Hong Kong is home to over 180,000 Muslim residents. Among them, 100,000 are domestic workers, while the others come from China, Pakistan, India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Arab countries. Be they immigrants, or citizens born in Hong Kong, they have toiled hard for the success of our city.
#Ramadan started last month. During this period, Muslims reflect on the purpose of life and the existence of Allah. By only drinking and eating before sunrise and after sunset, they challenge themselves to gain control over bodily desires – thirst and hunger – and to better understand the difficulties of people living in poverty. They fast to build empathy, a value that should be appreciated by believers and non-believers alike.
The Ramadan festival ended yesterday. Muslims are now celebrating Eid al-Fitr.
#SocialInclusion is an important part of our vision, #ImagineHK. The first step of achieving inclusion is to understand the different religions and cultures that fellow Hong Kongers belong to.
