Thanks Geoff...!

In the beginning, it was an unusual Friday praying that I have ever had in Flinders "Mosque". A senior man, whom I know as a chairperson of the Flinders Religious Centre, was sitting on a chair in the backside of prayer rows. It seemed strange as all people were sitting on the floor but him.

I was wondering that he might want to monitor today’s sermon since the government, I heard from TV news this morning, has warned Australians about the possibility of terrorist attack in Melbourne and in Australia in general. Such a monitoring was common in Indonesia in the 1970s-1980s to save Soeharto's power.

Until then, I knew that I was wrong. This person did not even monitor anything from the Friday praying. In fact, after the praying, he gave a very friendly speech and read the Flinders Multifaith Chaplaincy's statement in response to the effect of John Howard’s statement on Australian Muslim integration.

One of his statements, which is very impressive, was: “We shun and condemn any attempt to caste suspicion on, single out any religious group for condemnation or chastisement, and we regard such statements as a betrayal of Australian traditions, and an abandonment of the Australian ideal of a “fair go”.

To me, it was really like water in the desert. It just implied that there are still many friendly Christians, who have better sight and better view on multiculturalism. Geoff Boyce, the man I tell you now, has shown his solidarity towards Muslims in Australia. Although he was appointed to Flinders University by the Uniting Church, he has been working to serve not only Christians but also other religious communities at Flinders University including Muslims, Buddhists, Jews, and even pagans.

In the end, I feel, it was not just an unusual Friday praying. It was the most impressive Friday praying that I have ever had in Adelaide.