This screengrab of a video shows experts from the academic, religious and publishing community attending a webinar titled "Islam in Hong Kong: A dialogue on tolerance" to discuss the role of tolerance in society, June 25, 2021.

While Hong Kong has fostered a reputation for being a vibrant, multicultural city, experts believe it can do more to elevate the awareness and understanding of cultures across different communities by promoting interfaith dialogue.

The event, organized by the Consulate General of the United Arab Emirates in Hong Kong, also celebrates prominent Hong Kong Muslim leader Imam Uthman Yang's 2020 book Understanding Islam, a part of Hong Kong publisher Joint Publishing Co's religious series.A gathering of scholars in Islamic studies, sociology, publishing and interfaith relations made the remarks at a webinar titled "Islam in Hong Kong: A dialogue on tolerance" on June 25. 

Paul O'Connor, adjunct assistant professor of the Department of Social Policy at Lingnan University in Hong Kong said that although religious differences were "far less of a challenge in Hong Kong", there seemed to be a lack of awareness when it comes to the food culture of Muslim Pakistanis, for example, who are born in Hong Kong and can speak Cantonese as well as engage in local Chinese culture.

"In a Chinese culinary context, the dominance of pork in everyday life makes eating in Hong Kong incredibly challenging. This element of diet (is something) you don't need to pay attention to if you're living in a Muslim country," said O'Connor, who is also a lecturer at Exeter University in the United Kingdom.

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One of the enduring challenges for Muslims in the city, according to Ho Wai-yip, an associate professor of the Department of Social Sciences at the Education University of Hong Kong, is finding adequate space for their place of worship. Not only do the Muslim communities need the small religious centers for prayer, but they also need spaces for learning about Islam.

Another issue for young Muslims in Hong Kong would be how to nourish their spirituality even if they attend school with non-Muslims. Ho said Muslim students may prioritize their spirituality more compared to their Chinese classmates and teachers who may place greater value on academic success and careers.

"How the Chinese (can) appreciate the importance of spirituality is one key topic the Chinese population has to learn, why it's important for the Muslims. The Hong Kong society is also trying (its) best to learn, to catch up," Ho said.

This screengrab of a video shows Mariam Alshamsi (top left), acting consul general at the Consulate General of the United Arab Emirates in Hong Kong, gracing the online event "Islam in Hong Kong: A dialogue on tolerance" on June 25, 2021 to discuss the role of tolerance in society. The virtual gathering was organized by the UAE Consulate in Hong Kong.

"As a Christian and a teacher, I would like more students to learn, not only from our perspective, but also encourage them to learn Islam."

Nadia Castro, an educator at Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College and a doctoral candidate at the Education University of Hong Kong, said that the school, along with groups she is affiliated with, and the Equal Opportunities Commission regularly communicate to help promote awareness on Islamic matters such as why, for example, a Muslim woman chooses to wear a Hijab, a veil worn by Muslim women.

They also give lectures on the continuing conflict in the Middle East as well as regularly conduct donation drives for the less fortunate, which have been supported by the UAE Consulate in Hong Kong.

"It's a small donation but it is the civic spirit we are trying to promote to the school," said Castro.

"Multiculturalism and religious freedom (are) very important in Hong Kong. It's about our lives," said Anne Lee, deputy editor-in-chief and publisher at Joint Publishing Hong Kong.

Lee said promoting religious freedom, multiculturalism and creative industries have always been her company's direction. They are now focused on promoting ethnic minorities in Hong Kong as not many publishers "do such a thing".

"I want to introduce more multiculturalism in the school, not just publish books on actresses or actors," said Lee.

Prominent local Muslim leader and author Imam Uthman Yang, who is the imam of Masjid Ammar and Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre of the Hong Kong Islamic Union, also attended the webinar.

Yang, while expressing his gratitude to Joint Publishing for supporting his book, encouraged Muslims to do more to help society understand what Islam is and clear up misconceptions about Islam, adding that he was open to inviting people from all walks of life to the mosque. He also encouraged people to get to know and tolerate each other.

"We have this responsibility to inform the people. Prophet Muhammad has done that job. He received the message from Allah. If he didn't do that job, nobody would become Muslims," said Yang.

"I just do little, very humble work. I need your support."

This screengrab of a video shows Imam Uthman Yang, who is the imam of Masjid Ammar and Osman Ramju Sadick Islamic Centre of the Hong Kong Islamic Union and also the author of Understanding Islam, encouraging people to know each other and tolerate each other at the webinar on June 25, 2021.

James Frankel, director of the Centre for the Study of Islamic Culture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and who moderated the panel, said the discussions were "very timely and important".

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Frankel said the last couple of years have been about living together – as well as the difficulty and necessity of living together – amid this pandemic, which highlighted the importance of tolerance.

"What's really essential here is to recognize that so much of what we want to preserve and celebrate about Hong Kong, this unique and very special place, is really in the DNA of the territory. And that's this everyday element of multiculturalism," said Lingnan University's O'Connor.

"I think sometimes (Hong Kong residents) might not be aware of this and it's important for them to be aware of this particularly … because so much of what people want Hong Kong to retain and to continue, can be understood from looking at how religious tolerance and multicultural tolerance, people working together is enacted as part of Hong Kong's attitude, work ethic and disposition."