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At 5 p.m. Oct. 7, Andrew Liemon assisted his pastor, Aldo Siahaan, in opening the Philadelphia Praise Center, a non-denominational church at 17th and McKean streets that is part of Mennonite Church U.S.A. About an hour later, about 50 adults and children began filtering in for a service — but instead of praising Jesus Christ, they honored Allah.
A year ago, Siahaan, an Indonesian Christian, extended an offer to the Indonesian Muslim community of South Philadelphia to use his church for services, since the closest mosque is in West Philly. But this wasn’t the first time a church has opened its door to another faith. For the last couple of years, St. Thomas Aquinas at 18th and Morris streets has held regular Muslim services, but has since stopped.
With no center of their own, South Philly Muslims have floating services at followers’ houses.
After declining a year ago, they took Siahaan up on his offer, needing a place for Ramadan services. "To my surprise, this year they are the ones who called me," he said.
A time of fasting, healing and prayer, Ramadan is the most holy month for followers of Islam. The month on the Islamic calendar ended Oct. 12 when a sliver of a new moon appeared that evening.
"Ied Mubarak is when the moon is ended and the new moon is come for the beginning of Syawal [the month following Ramadan]. It means the fasting has ended and we are hoping that we purify the bad things from us," Hani White of 19th and Wharton streets said.
The 30-year-old real estate agent and Indah Nuritasri, who lives at 18th Street and Snyder Avenue and is a close friend of Siahaan’s, was one of more than a dozen women who attended the Oct. 7 service. White immigrated to this area from her native Indonesia in 2001. Of the several-thousand-strong Indonesian community in South Philadelphia about 500 are Muslim, White said.
Aside from the obvious difference between the two religions, long-standing strife between Muslims and Christians in Siahaan’s native Indonesia made his gesture even more poignant. Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation in the world where Christians are the minority and persecuted for their beliefs, Siahaan said.
But, in keeping with Philadelphia Praise Center’s vision of serving the community, the pastor welcomed the Muslims despite criticism from some of his own who didn’t think it right for a church to become a mosque.
"I saw them as my brothers and sisters from Indonesia first. There is no difference between me and them even though we have different faiths. They are still my brothers and sisters regardless of the persecution that we [Christians] face back in Indonesia," he said.
Another reason Siahaan felt compelled to open his doors is he knows what it is like to be a minority having been a Christian in Indonesia, he said. In America, Muslims are the minority. "I know what the feeling is. That is why I offered them to use the space," he said.
For Nuritasri, worshipping in a church was not difficult. "For me it’s not a big deal, it’s just going to another place. I feel the same whether I have the service in a church or mosque. Aldo offered the place and he is a good friend of mine," she said.
At the guests’ request, Siahaan covered a cross hanging on a wall. Before doing so, the pastor consulted with church leaders who agreed it would be all right, he said. The decision to cover the ubiquitous representation of his faith was not difficult for Siahaan. "The cross is the sign, but the cross is in our lives, in our heart. Whether we have a cross or not, everyday we have to live right before God’s eyes — how can we be the light and salt of the Word every day? That is the real cross," he said.
While White appreciated the gesture, it was not mandatory in her eyes and, like Siahaan, understands symbols are not the center of one’s faith. "For me [it didn’t matter if it was not covered], for some people, it might have. It’s just another symbol. I pray anywhere I want: I pray at the airport, at the market. For me, the faith and prayer is more internal," she said.
Dozens of the nearly 200 congregates, including its youth contingent of which 19-year-old Liemon from 13th and Jackson streets takes part, were on hand to welcome the guests carrying prayer rugs and the women in their traditional white Muslim garb. "We understand how hard it was for them to have that ceremony at our church so we tried to treat them as welcoming as we could. We were excited about this event and were like, ‘We can’t believe this is happening.’ I was in disbelief that this is happening here in Philadelphia and in our church. I had an overflowing joy that this was happening," the teen said.
The evening lasted from 6 to 11 p.m. and began with an opening prayer then a break for the traditional Indonesian appetizer, Korma, followed by a service and guest speaker KH Hasan Abdullah Sahal from Java, Indonesia. After the service a dinner was served with chicken satay and the traditional beverage, dawet, made from green tapioca. Muslim women prepared the feast.
"I feel it went very well," White said. "I feel a great dynamic between Muslims and Christians — we help each other. Aldo’s church is always so willing to help other people. The Muslim community in Philadelphia is like a new baby. It needs help standing up and walking. We feel like [Philadelphia Praise Center] helps us every step of the way."
When the last morsels of food were consumed and the final prayers uttered, the guests helped clean up and set-up chairs that were put away to make room for them. As people filed out, Liemon recalled Kahal’s wife’s comment to Siahaan and others that she wished this could happen in Indonesia because things would be more peaceful.
"That is why we opened our building — to start bridging the gap," Liemon said.
