“It’s a good thing this went through, sir,” one of the Filipinos who delivered our freight from Holland three years ago remarked as he unpacked my nativity painting, a clone of Murillo’s. “They normally withhold stuffs like this.”

“There is really nothing religious or offensive about it,” I answered. I did not put halos on the characters so the painting should be indistinguishable from classical artworks like Night Watch or Ire of Achilles. I was confident that, huddled together with my other paintings, it would be considered as art and not as a religious object people kneel and pray before. Otherwise, I really should have been afraid.

Before relocating here, we were sufficiently warned about not bringing, among others, religious items opposed to the official religion of the country. These could be confiscated and, in some cases, become grounds for imprisonment or deportation. This advisory really made packing extremely difficult for us. Where on earth were our bible, rosaries, crucifixes and other prayer aids? We opened every drawer, suitcase, envelope, etc. during the hunt. If we could not find them and they got packed by the movers, it could spell trouble for us if the censor stumbled upon them because they might think we were trying to smuggle something into the country. We came here to work with no intention of showing disrespect to local customs and traditions. So, we had to triple check our boxes for potentially offensive materials. It was not easy especially because we had a houseful of them. In fact, it was even frustrating.

Of course, nothing could be more ironic if not shocking than when our guide during our familiarization tour of Doha asked us if we wanted to visit the parish church.

“A church? How could there be such a thing here?” I asked, trying to hide my displeasure upon suddenly realizing our weeks of religious paranoia in Wassenaar was absolutely baseless. “I know one can easily conceal a rosary or a bible in one’s luggage and use it in the privacy of one’s room but where can one possibly hide a church?”

“It‘s not really a church. It‘s a parish center where Catholics hear mass on weekends,” our South African guide explained. “I‘ll bring you there for you to get their schedule.”

Military barracks would have been a more appropriate term to describe the “parish church.” It looked more like a cluster of cargo ship containers abandoned in the middle of nowhere with nothing to indicate it was a parish, let alone, a church.

But, to me, its appearance didn’t matter. I was still trying to get over my disappointment that we didn’t get on time the right information about the real situation. After all the trouble of ‘cleansing’ our freight and after nights and days of nagging anxiety of whether our absent-minded packers in Wassenaar had accidentally included ‘heretical’ objects or not, I really didn’t find it funny that all the while you can bring in a “church” and perform “sacrilegious” acts of worship right under the very nose of the authority and not get penalized for it. Where was the religious intolerance the country was known for?

That was three years ago. My disappointment is now gone and so is the parish center.

Last year, the parish left the “military barracks” and moved to a new and bigger venue at the outskirt of the city to accommodate the ever-growing number of Catholics attending masses. The huge newly constructed building and the sprawling lot at Abu Hamour were donated by no less than the government for the spiritual needs of the Christian community in Qatar. It is run and managed by Franciscan missionaries from India and Philippines. The parish priest is a Filipino, Fr. Tom Veneracion, and the church is called Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. The new parish caters to the needs of all the Catholic denominations present in Doha: Maronites, Syro-Malabarese, Orthodox, Roman, etc.

During its inauguration on March 15 last year, about 15,000 faithful from all over the world attended. About two thirds of them had to follow the consecration from outside because the sitting capacity is only 5,000. Cardinal Ivan Dias came all the way from the Vatican to celebrate the Holy Mass, assisted by over 30 priests of various Catholic Rites. He expressed his deep gratitude to the Emir for the “great gift.” Many said the event was unprecedented and the church was a sign of a possible dialogue among different faiths. The Apostolic Vicar of Arabia said it was “the act of rulers who have vision, who are really concerned about the country's future.”

Of course, Qatar’s first Christian church was not without controversy. Many local residents see its presence as radically opposed to their faith’s fundamental principle that only one religion should exist in the Arabian region. Other nationals argued, however, that if their mosques are allowed to be put up in other countries it is just fair to let churches be erected in theirs. Besides, when the spiritual needs of foreign workers are met, they will devote themselves more happily to the well being of the country where they live and work. As a compromise, the church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary was built on condition there should be no crosses, steeples, and bells. In addition, the churchgoers have been urged to be discreet so as not to hurt sensibilities.

Six month after, before the controversy could die down, the Anglican Church celebrated the laying down of the first stone for its own church. The Anglican Center will provide a place for conducting worship services and fellowship meetings. Clergymen, lay leaders and prominent members of the Christian community attended the ceremony. No doubt, when the church is finished and inaugurated, it is going to be another huge affair.

And, just last month, another church, the Inter-Denominational Christian Church, was inaugurated in a district adjacent to Doha by the Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah. The church caters primarily to the Indian community. Al Attiyah relayed the Emir’s message that the the Qatari government was encouraging everybody to accept all religions. "That’s why the government is allowing churches of any denomination to be constructed in Qatar."

After such statement, for sure, more churches and places of worship for other religions will be built in the future.

From all this, it is clear religious tolerance in Qatar is a reality and not just a show, even if it is totally unexpected from a country located in this part of the world.

One thing we realized upon arrival was that this is a prayerful country. In almost every street corner there is a mosque; in every shopping mall and office buildings there are prayer rooms. People can be seen hurrying to the mosques and to the prayer rooms during prayer time. Our transit apartment was close to a mosque and we could hear their prayers on their PA system in the morning, at noon, mid-afternoon and dusk. For a nation that prays a lot, allowing others to pray in their own way should come naturally.

Since its inauguration, the Church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary has been bustling with parish activities. Masses are celebrated on weekdays in English, and on weekends in Arabic, Italian, French, Tamil, Malayalam, Konkani and even Tagalog. The Faithful can avail of the Sacrament of Penance before each mass, and Baptisms are held every Friday at noontime. Different novenas are prayed regularly including the Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Wednesdays. The parish also conducts Catechism classes and this summer a Filipino group will be formed. The church choir composed mainly of Filipino volunteers rehearses regularly and sings during solemn masses.

Needless to say, last week the parish was extraordinarily busy, being the Semana Santa. Parishioners had the chance to attend Lenten retreats organized in preparation for the occasion. The church was filled to the brim during the masses and services. “It was as if we had our holy week in the Philippines,” Ryan, our barber, said. He particularly liked the salubong, a reenactment of the meeting between Our Lady and the risen Christ, held in the church on Easter Sunday. “If only we had a day-off, it would have been complete,” he added.

Ten years ago, Semana Santa in Doha might have been a contradiction in terms or, at least, reduced to prayer services in private homes or egg hunt competitions on Easter Sundays. But, things have changed and, rapidly, at that - more rapidly than relocation primers get updated. With so many ongoing constructions of churches around, it is difficult not to believe that Qatar’s policy of religious tolerance is genuine. Expatriates who finally get the chance to practice their faith once more after so many years cannot be thankful enough for the host’s delicate gesture of hospitality and magnanimity.

 

 

Munting Nayon News Magazine