“Space has definitely changed my view on life,” Malaysian astronaut Datuk Dr. Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor told the packed and attentive audience at Kuala Lumpur’s Bukit Jalil stadium at the Global Peace Festival Malaysia on October 19. “When I was in space, I felt very sad,” he said. “I saw how small, how perfect our planet really is, and then I reflected on all the conflict and suffering we cause each other. I started to be more concerned about the suffering of women and children, and I decided I had to do something about it.”
Sheikh Muszaphar and a host of the nation’s most influential citizens were gathered to celebrate the latest in the Global Peace Festival series and to promote the GPF vision with the slogan “Let’s make Malaysia the world capital of peace.” The Festival was jointly sponsored by the Universal Peace Federation, the Ministry of Unity, Arts, Culture and Heritage, and the United Nations Association of Malaysia (UNAM).
“We’re proud of the fact that our multicultural, multiracial, and multiethnic society – Malay, Chinese, and Indian – has managed to live together in peace for 50 years since independence,” says Tan Sri Datin Paduka Zaleha Ismail, chairperson of GPF Malaysia. An energetic Muslim woman with enthusiasm all over her face, Tan Sri Ismail says the Festival’s simple message of “One Family Under God” can help spread the Malaysian success story to other nations in the region, where racial and religious tensions all often erupt into violence and bloodshed. “We need a new generation of leaders to bring peace,” she said.
Speakers at the International Leadership Conference called for a greater understanding between Islam and other Abrahamic faiths. “We share the same two commandments,” said Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf of the Cordoba Initiative. “We are to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Today, everyone is my neighbor. But we are not actually living the commandments.” Rauf, a leader of US/Muslim dialogue, heads a mosque near Ground Zero in New York, and is author of the book What’s Right with Islam.
The Honorable Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohammad, Malaysia’s Prime Minister for 22 years from 1981 to 2003, agreed that religious and political leaders need to work together much more closely for peace. Denouncing radical interpretations of Islam that seem to call for violence, he said that Islam must be a force for peace. “We must anchor peace on earth,” he said, “and that can only come through faith.”
Meanwhile, thousands of students were engaged in a far-reaching campaign of community service aimed at conquering poverty and despair in the region. “Every young person can make a difference,” says Dr. Teh Su Thye, who serves as the Executive Director of GPF Malaysia. “When high school and college students can give just 10 cents a day we can say ‘Bye to Poverty’ once and for all.
Several of Malaysia’s top recording artists, including 'Malaysian Idols' Danell Lee (2005) and Jaclyn Victor (2004), along with Ella, the 'Queen of Rock,' offered free performances at the Festival and helped record public service announcements in the weeks leading up to the celebration. The Royal Malaysian Air Force Band and the Cultural Dance Troupe of the Malaysian National Department of Culture and Arts, together with a host of rising young stars, kept the crowd of almost 20,000 on their toes.
“One Family Under God should be the clarion call of this age” said GPF Chair, Dr. Hyun Jin Moon. “It is not the dream of just one family, religion or nation. It is the dream of all humanity, and more than that, it is the dream of God. If Malaysia can take ownership of this dream it can bring hope to all of Asia.”
