In multiracial Singapore, it is not uncommon to see different races and religions coexisting harmoniously.

For instance, our Muslims continue to participate in Friday prayers in the middle of the first day of our Chinese New Year celebrations:

But some non-CNY-celebrating Singaporeans have gone as far as to join the celebrations this festive season.

Spreading CNY cheer

A mosque in Joo Chiat called Masjid Khalid has carried out a longstanding and meaningful tradition of distributing oranges and canned drinks to Chinese residents and business owners in the area.

Here are some pictures of Masjid Khalid's chairman, Haji Allaudin Bin Mohamed, in action with boxes of oranges and cans of Coke:

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To his surprise and delight, this store-owner even gave him a red packet:

Why go to the trouble?

Masjid Khalid has been around for a hundred years, and they've been doing this for the past two decades — a relatively short period compared with the years they've existed.

Speaking to Mothership.sg, Allaudin said the outreach initiative was started to build relationships and to strengthen bonds with its neighbours. These are the folks who could otherwise potentially get annoyed with traffic congestion and parking problems in the vicinity, especially during the Ramadan.

As a result of this close relationship the mosque has forged with everyone around, "many petty issues" could be solved easily without tensions.

"In this our neighbours have become friends, and (we) also help each other in many areas."

Yay for racial-religious harmony.

Top photo composite image, photos courtesy of Allaudin.