A haven for travellers

Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak

Learning Curve: Perspective

New Sunday Times - 12-05-2013

 

SEEKING SOLACE: Spiritual facilities at airports

 

AIRPORTS around the world are busy competing with one another to be the best. They are outdoing each other in providing better services and that is, of course, good for travellers, especially for the majority who are not privileged to have access to special service.

 

Most airports seems to devote more efforts to duty-free shopping and dining outlets to encourage travellers to "indulge" and "be extravagant" because the offerings are relatively cheaper than at the "main streets".

 

Some airports feel like shopping malls, taking up precious space that is better used for the convenience of travellers.

 

But then airports are commercial ventures and the perks for travellers are in the form of material care, not the spiritual.

 

If it is the latter, then it is attended to in a cursory way. In general, upkeep is found wanting. Some amenities are not in tip-top condition, not like the retail outlets!

 

This is where airport authorities must be more mindful of tired travellers who seek solace.

 

In Europe, I am particularly fond of Schiphol Amsterdam Airport because there is a decent and neat "meditation centre". But there is also an airport casino nearby.

 

The centre is a very serene place accessible to all travellers to pause and reflect on their journey. Ample washrooms are in the vicinity, and one is specially designed with facilities for washing the feet, which is necessary for Muslim ablution.

 

These facilities are indeed extraordinary compared to another large European city airport. There were hate messages and caricatures scribbled all over a wall when I was there. What a contrast!

 

London's Heathrow Airport stole the show with its Multi-faith Prayer Rooms available at all its terminals. For example, in Terminal 4 where Malaysia Airlines is based, Muslim congregation prayers are held at Landside Prayer Room, (Zone G) on Fridays.

 

Multi-faith rooms are available at Heathrow Airport for traveller who want to reflect on their journey.

 

There is a prayer room near Gate 3, after the security checkpoint.

 

Prayer rooms are also at Terminal 5 (Zone A) and Gate A7, while the Central Area Multi-Faith Prayer Room near the Chapel of St George is another alternative.

 

Gone are the days when solat is performed in chapels due to limited (in fact, none) open facilities available for travellers to seek a quiet retreat to reflect.

 

The icing on the cake at Heathrow Airport are the Wudu Stones (sic) placed at the entrance of Terminal 4 facilities.

 

This is a pleasant surprise since the washrooms are nearby (sans the feet washing facilities though). The wudu stone is about 50cm in diameter, has a relatively flat surface and weighs about 30kg. It is an alternative to ablution when water is not readily available.

 

Muslims are permitted to use clean earthly objects such as stone and sand for ritual purification under this circumstance.

 

Instructions on how to use the "ordinary" stone by Dr Gamal Solaiman of Muslim College, London are inscribed below the pedestal where it is placed.

 

Two hands are placed on the stones (sic) and then passed over the face. The hands are placed back on the stone before being passed over the back of each hand. This act of tayamum illustrates the importance of solat to Muslims, travelling or otherwise.

 

The practice of tayamum has come alive yet again at the world's busiest airport.

 

A general service brochure available at the airport cites a prayer: "Guide us, so that we may share together in memory and truth, in courage and trust, in love and promise."

 

It ends with: "May our faith in you bring us closer to each other and may our meeting with past and present bring blessing for the future. Amen."

 

The time has come for airports to provide a haven for spiritual "indulgence" and "extravagances" as we undertake that journey of our lives before we soar to the skies, thankful to the Creator of the Heavens.

 

- The writer is the vice-chancellor of the Albukhary International University