With several religious festivals being observed and celebrated in the past week, the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) believes this country leads the way in religious tolerance and respect.
IRO President Pundit Lloyd Mukram Sirjoo told Guardian Media, “This shows that we are way beyond other cultures, other countries in the world, we are so far advanced, and the world does not recognise the uniqueness of Trinidad and Tobago. I do not think anywhere else in the world could boast about what we are observing this Easter weekend.”
While Muslims fast for Ramadan in the lead-up to Eid-ul-Fitr, last week Hindus celebrated Phagwa, there was also Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day and the religious observance of Easter.
The IRO head said like murders and robberies, acts of religious and racial intolerance are only perpetuated by a few in society.
“We share all the time, our compound even, sometimes two are next to each other and if there is a religious function in one of them the other say ‘yes come and use our car park, use of our washrooms’ and show that comradery and that is very pronounced in Trinidad and Tobago,” Pundit Sirjoo asserted. He added, “Even when we meet on the street you will look at a Muslim brother and say As-Salaam-Alaikum’ and many Muslim people who know me as a Hindu priest would say ‘Namaste or Sita Rama’.”
Referencing a spate of robberies and acts of vandalism committed against Hindu temples in 2023, the IRO head said there is still no evidence to suggest those crimes were religiously motivated.
“I told them I can’t make any comment because I don’t have any proof to blame anyone community, I cannot say well Christians are doing it or Muslims are doing it or even Hindus are doing it, it was a lot of hearsay,” Pundit Sirjoo contended.
He said, at the time, the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) did not agree with his position.
“And when I put that in the papers, Vijay Maharaj of Maha Sabha came down on me and said I cannot speak on behalf of Hindus. But I don’t know what proof he had that other people were attacking Hindus, and when the whole mark came out after many of these places where vandalism took place, it was because of internal executive struggles causing it,” the IRO head said.
Yesterday Guardian Media sought a response from Maharaj, who said he too still stands by his position that the attacks were an act of blasphemy.
“I would have made a statement and that statement holds, it was in reference to Sirjoo, to Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the Prime Minister, and if they do not recognise what blasphemy, what sacrilege and what desecration is they have a problem in their lives. If you are cooking beef and opening sardines in temples I have a problem with that,” Maharaj posited.
With respect to the IRO head claiming that this country is highly tolerant of all religions, the SDMS Secretary General said as a member of the IRO, the SDMS’ position is the same.
Meanwhile, the Anjuman Sunnat ul Jamaat Association (ASJA) fully endorsed the IRO’s belief in a high level of religious tolerance in this country.
President Imam Ahamad Hosein said, “Of course we tolerate each other, we attend each other’s function in fact just last night I was speaking to the IRO President, and I invited him to our Eid dinner on the 27th of this month and he agreed to come.”
The Imam added, “The IRO members are made up of Christians, Hindus and Muslims etc... and we all tolerate each other, and we are best of friends and tolerate with respect of course.”
However, Dean of Communications of the Archdiocese and Parish Priest of Penal, Father Robert Christo said while tolerance is high, it is time to use that unity to tackle society’s ills.
“Generally, there is a respect intra, but there needs to be respect into society to come to a common good and start with our commonalities for the common good. If you look at the commonalities, charity, love, the service that we all have values for and transfer that into life that is where the challenge is,” Father Christo posited.
He gave a recent example that he believes show the power religious institutions have as genuine change agents.
“Our church in Morne Diablo was able to call out the Minister of Public Utilities to let him know that people were stealing water in Scott’s Road and the church, and the State and the community came together and made a recommendation for the human right to have running water in their houses,” the priest said.