The masjid erected back during French colonial times ©Dian
Days in Vietnam were abysmally hot and the masjid was a welcome refuge in the midst of a Saigon I no longer recognised. This photo shows the portion of the masjid that has an unobstructed piece of the sky. In reality, this masjid lies inconspicuously between shophouses on a bustling road in the middle of the city. Rising above the masjid all around it, are various delapidated buildings, housing shops and cafes, bars and taverns. Looming directly behind it is the Caravelle Hotel. More distinctively, at the end of the road on the corner, is the magnificent marbled Sheraton Hotel, surging with money walking in and out of its great glass double- doors.
The then Russian Market is now the Saigon Tax Center ©Dian
In my teen years, I spent a large portion of my wanderings at the "Russian Market" where I practised my Vietnamese with the shopkeepers, who then spoke some English and Russian. Today the Russian Market is air-conditoned and the average Vietnamese in business no longer gestures emphatically in Vietnamese or speaks animatedly in gentil French, but shouts out in English, Japanese and Malay to the passing tourists. The drive for success of the civilian Vietnamese is amazing. From the slums of a war ravaged country, the never-say-die Vietnamese people are emerging with a dynamic economy, a progressive working class, and middle class citizens who are highly educated and speak good english, a mere three decades after the war.
A pool of water in the masjid area for ablutions ©Dian
I used to spend a great deal of time by this tranquil pool of water during Ramadhan and here I was again. Incredibly amidst all this development, the masjid and her inhabitants have remained virtually unchanged. With all the knowledge that was ever needed to succeed in life within hand, the intellect is so dulled by intra-community politics that the knowledge is not commuted into everyday life. And all around it, materialism catalysed growth which sprouted like mushrooms in the rain.
1 comment:
No, I didn't tell you.
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