Harmony Of Minds

Written by Lim Dao Yuan, a student from Hwa Chong Institution

President S R Nathan launched a coffee table book titled Harmony of Minds – Celebrating Interfaith in Singapore on August 2nd. The book, the brainchild of the Photographic Society of Singapore (PSS), contains pictures accompanied by 100 religious sayings – the first coffee table book of its kind. The sayings are from the 10 major faiths in Singapore but the book is intended to promote universal values. The National Steering Committee on Racial and Religious Harmony worked closely with the PSS on this project. Proceeds from the sale of this book will go towards President’s Challenge 2007. 3,000 copies of the book will be printed.

Harmony of Minds – Celebrating Interfaith in Singapore includes short write-ups and forewords by President S R Nathan, who was the Guest-of-Honour for the event, Mah Bow Tan, who is the advisor to this project and Mr David Tay, President of PSS. In his speech, Mr Mah believed that this book would touch the hearts of Singaporeans of all faiths, as we respect the teachings of our diverse religions. Mr Mah himself is one of the contributing photographers for the book. Other notable contributors include former MP Yatiman Yusof and PSS Honorary Chairman Kwek Leng Joo. Special editions of the book were autographed by President Nathan and presented to 10 sponsors, who had donated $10,000 each for them.

The launch was accompanied by a photo exhibition at the HDB Hub Mall, which showcased all pictures and text from the book. This exhibition has continued till August 14th, after which, it is now travelling to the five CDC districts. Its first stop is the North West District, at the Woodland Regional Library from 1 to 17 September.

I found the whole exhibition to be very meaningful and beneficial experience where I learned a lot of Singapore’s multi-religious heritage.

It thrilled me to note that a large part of the crowd at the exhibition was made up of multi-racial group of students. What I felt was not only the collective energy of a group of young people, but also the synergy and cohesiveness of many young Singaporeans. Here was a Singaporean community in microcosm - a group of young people of different races bound together by a shared purpose.

Secondly, I also learnt that in admitting pupils of different races and religions, our national schools provide us with an invaluable experience of growing up together in a multi-racial society. At school, where we study and play together, we foster friendships, cultivate emotional ties and develop a sense of commitment to one another as fellow citizens. It is also at school that we learn to appreciate and respect the common space that enables members of the different communities to get to know and understand each other. In preserving this common space, the youth of Singapore will learn to stand together to fend off any divisive force that threatens to tear our society apart along the carefully interwoven seams of race and religion.

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