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Category: Agama

  • Tang Tea House – Serving Halal Dim Sums, Building Prayer Rooms For Diners And Staff

    Tang Tea House – Serving Halal Dim Sums, Building Prayer Rooms For Diners And Staff

    In the last 13 years, the number of halal-certified businesses in Singapore grew to over 2,500. They join the race to tap into the global halal food market, estimated to be worth over $760 billion. JUDITH TAN ([email protected]) speaks to three eatery owners on their forays into this market.

    Tang Tea House

    She wanted to break into the halal market with dimsum.

    An unusual choice since dimsum is usually made with copious amounts of pork.

    “I thought it was an untapped market and there are delicious alternatives,” says Tang Tea House’s boss Sylvia Ler, 58.

    That was eight years ago and that astute gamble paid off. Today, hundreds of baskets of salted-egg custard buns fly off her shelves.

    Nine in 10 of the customers of the restaurant in Bedok Road are Muslims, and they flock to the place on weekends for a dimsum treat. In fact; they have expanded from a corner coffee shop, to taking on three more units. Madam Ler says: “I wanted to introduce good Chinese food to the Malay community and what better way than the traditional dimsum fare.”

    The restaurant now serves more than 300 Chinese dishes, and her staff churn out the dishes that come from her own recipes.

    “It is usually by word-of-mouth,” says Madam Ler.

    “My Malay customers come for lunch. Then they bring their families here for dinner. Their family members tell their friends and so on.”

    To cope with the demand, she expanded across the next three shops and even built a prayer room for her Muslim patrons and staff.

    “This way, they do not have to gulp down their meals and rush to pray. They can pray here and have a leisurely lunch before going back to work,” she adds.

    Going halal means her expenses also go up by 10 to 20 per cent, yet she manages to keep prices at Tang Tea House “affordable for HDB heartlanders”.

    “For instance, our seafood hor fun, which is an all-time favourite, remains at only $4.80,” Madam Ler says.

    She continues to “absorb the goods and services tax and we don’t charge for service either” to ensure that her restaurant remains popular in the long run.

    *Article first apeared in The New Paper, 12 Oct 2014.

     

    Source: www.soshiok.com

  • When Must We Be Tolerant And When Are We Asking Too Much?

    When Must We Be Tolerant And When Are We Asking Too Much?

    My friend related a story to me over the weekend…

    His company employed a Muslim worker for the first time since the company started. The staff did well and got along well with the rest of the employees. Not long later, my friend employed another 3 more Muslim workers.

    This is when things gets a bit complicated. The Muslim workers started asking for a prayer room and also longer lunch break on Fridays for them to attend Mosque. Not wanting to appear discriminating against them, my friend agreed and informed the team leader to re-distribute the workload on Friday so that the Muslims could go for prayer. The rest of the team members were then asked to double up. This cause a bit of morale problem within the company as others are unhappy because all are paid the same salary. Over time, the productivity of the team was noted to have gone down due to longer absence from duty.

    The office also has a pantry where workers could use during their lunch break. This time, the Muslim workers asked if they could have their own fridge and microwave oven since the old one had been used for non-Halal food. Again, being religion sensitive, my friend agreed and bought new items for the pantry.

    A year later, my friend noticed that there is clearly a separation in the company. There are different utensils and also washing items for Muslims.

    At one point of time, the Muslims workers even asked if they could have a separate pantry which by now, my friend openly rejected the idea.

    The workers explained that they felt their religion was not respected by others as they were using the common table cloth to clean the table after eating pork and the taps were oily (presumably lard) when they were using it. They asked if the management could stop other workers from bringing in pork/lard into the pantry and they are okay with other non-Halal food.

    Now my friend is in a dilemma. While he respect the Muslim’s religious obligation, he does not want to impose other’s religious restriction and deprived other of their rights. He is wondering where should he stop?

    Gordon Tay

    *Article first appeared on https://www.facebook.com/gordon.tay.75/posts/972387889460449

     

    Editor’s Note: 

    Let’s refrain from making insulting comments on this issue. It is a real issue, which also applies to other religious customs and cultural customs too. Where do we draw the line between tolerance and over-demanding? It is important to be able to have open, logical discussions about such issues.

     

    Source: www.therealsingapore.com

  • Sex, Lies And Sharia Law: The Secret Life Of The Sultan Of Brunei

    Sex, Lies And Sharia Law: The Secret Life Of The Sultan Of Brunei

    HE’S worth an estimated $25 billion (AUS), lives in a 1700-bed palace, indulges himself in western luxuries and has a reputation for enjoying beautiful women.

    In a story on 60 Minutes, viewers saw how the Sultan of Brunei lives a very extravagant but somewhat moderate Muslim life.

    But last year the Sultan introduced Sharia Law – where thieves would have their hands cut off and adulterers and homosexuals would be stoned to death. It applies to everyone living in Brunei except the Sultan and his Royal family.

    While parts of the ancient Islamic law have been introduced in stages, Brunei is now on the verge of adopting public stoning.

    60 Minutes’ Alison Langdontravelled through the small Asian nation undercover to see how the strict regime was affecting citizens and spoke to a woman who was once part of the Sultan’s harem revealing the hypocrisy of the current state of affairs.

    “We’ve been trying for six months to get access and permission to visit Brunei to speak to the Sultan and that was denied, so in the end we decided to go in as tourists,” Langdon told news.com.au ahead of the program.

    What they found, she explained, was a beautiful but repressed country where its citizens never criticise the royal family – mainly because it’s a crime – and seem to be unaware of the Sultan and his playboy brother, Prince Jefri’s debauchery.

    Both brothers have a reputation for indulging in beautiful women.

    Vanity Fair dubbed them the “constant companions in hedonism” in 2011 for their lavish lifestyles and penchant for collecting women like children collect toys.

    And Prince Jefri is on the outer, accused of siphoning $19.2 billion (AUS) from the country’s coffers.

    Prince Jefri Bolkiah, brother of Sultan of Brunei, during polo match at Cirencester Park,

    Prince Jefri Bolkiah, brother of Sultan of Brunei, during polo match at Cirencester Park, England, in June 1998. Source:AP

    According to Jillian Lauren, the American woman who spoke to 60 Minutes about her year in Prince Jefri and the Sultan’s harem, the pair indulged a lot – and they didn’t care how old the girls were.

    “She (Lauren) was in the harem when she was 18 and when she was there there were between 30 to 40 other girls, some as young as 15,” Ms Langdon said. “She spent a year there. She received hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts, jewerlly and clothing. She was very well looked after but that’s because she caught the eye of the Sultan’s younger brother Prince Jefri.

    “She was his play thing. They had sex hundreds of times and then Prince Jefri gave her as a gift to the Sultan and she goes into great detail (about) the sexual activity she got up to with the sultan.”

    Jillian Lauren spent a year in the Sultan of Brunei’s harem. Picture: 60 Minutes

    Jillian Lauren spent a year in the Sultan of Brunei’s harem. Picture: 60 Minutes Source: News Corp Australia

    Jillian Lauren when she lived in the Sultan of Brunei’s harem. Picture: 60 Minutes

    Jillian Lauren when she lived in the Sultan of Brunei’s harem. Picture: 60 Minutes Source: News Corp Australia

    Jillian Lauren when she was part of the Sultan of Brunei’s harem. Picture: 60 Minutes.

    Jillian Lauren when she was part of the Sultan of Brunei’s harem. Picture: 60 Minutes. Source: News Corp Australia

    Ms Langdon said the crew spent five days in Brunei secretly recording, trying to find out if people felt anger towards the new changes. But instead they found citizens seemingly apathetic to Sharia Law.

    Brunei has a population just over 415,000 and was ranked the fifth richest nation in the world by Forbes thanks to its large oil and gas reserves.

    Its citizens enjoy free health and education, most are employed in the public sector and none of them criticise the royal family – because it’s not allowed.

    When 60 Minutes went in, they found it hard to find anyone who was willing to say a bad word about anything from the introduction of Sharia Law or the royal family.

    It seems only the Hollywood elite were repulsed by the introduction of the ancient Islamic law.

    Last year stars such as Ellen DeGeneres, Jay Leno, Sharon Osborne, Elton John and entrepreneur Richard Branson boycotted the infamous Beverley Hills Hotel which is owned by the Sultan as part of his Dorchester Hotel luxury chain.

    All vowed to take their business elsewhere. And the stance worked according to aVanity Fair article last year.

    Jay Leno protesting outside the Beverley Hills Hotel last year after it emerged the Sulta

    Jay Leno protesting outside the Beverley Hills Hotel last year after it emerged the Sultan of Brunei had imposed Sharia Law in his country. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

    “It’s a really bizarre place Brunei,” Ms Langdon said. “No one has any ideas about what the sultan and his brother have got up to. They have no idea about the women, the sex acts and the drinking of alcohol. They don’t get exposed to that.”

    The Playboy Sultan aired on 60 Minutes.

     

    Source: www.news.com.au

  • Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia: Muslim Men Do Not Require Wife’s Consent To Have Sex With Her

    Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia: Muslim Men Do Not Require Wife’s Consent To Have Sex With Her

    BANGI, April 27 — A Muslim does not need his wife’s consent to have sex with her as marriage gives a man a right to his spouse’s body, hardline Islamist group Hizbut Tahrir Malaysia (HTM) has claimed.

    HTM spokesman Ustaz Abdul Hakim Othman said it is sinful for a Muslim woman to reject her husband for sex and that Islam only permits her to do so if she is “exhausted”, not “merely tired”; ill; or if intercourse will harm her health.

    “Even if it’s by force, it’s not sinful for him; the sin is on his wife,” Hakim told Malay Mail Online when met at HTM’s headquarters here yesterday.

    “But if he hits or kicks his wife in order to have sex, that’s wrong. You have to look at the level of their struggle — if it doesn’t harm her, it’s okay; but if it harms her, it’s wrong.

    “The wife, though, must know that it’s wrong to reject him,” he added.

    Several Muslims said on Facebook recently that marital rape does not exist in Islam even if a Muslim has non-consensual sex with his wife.

    They were responding to DAP’s Damansara Utama assemblyman Yeo Bee Yin’s rape awareness campaign called “Rape is rape. No excuse” that lists as rape — sex with an intoxicated woman, sex with a girl below 16 years of age, sex with one’s own wife without her consent, and sexual assault by strangers.

    Hakim said marriage legalises a Muslim to have sexual relations with a woman.

    “Your body is to be used by your husband, to put it crudely. When you marry a woman, there’s no need to get consent [for sex], no need at all,” he said.

    He also said a Muslim woman cannot reject her husband’s sexual advances on the basis that she has “no mood”, but stressed that a Muslim man is similarly obligated to fulfill his wife’s requests for sex.

    “Those are the rights of husband and wife…When you have premarital sex, it’s sinful. But if you do it with your wife or husband, you get blessings,” he added.

    The spokesman of the conservative Muslim group told a forum earlier that according to several hadiths, a woman who rejects her husband for sex will be “cursed by angels throughout the night”.

    Hadiths are sayings and actions attributed to Prophet Muhammad.

    Association of Women Lawyers president Meera Samanther said marital rape is not a criminal offence in Malaysia, noting that Section 375A of the Penal Code only criminalises the act of a husband hurting his wife, or putting into her the fear of death or hurt, in order to have sexual intercourse with her.

    “It’s not the act of rape that’s an offence; it’s putting the fear,” Meera told Malay Mail Online.

    “There’s this view that women are property of husbands. That archaic view is still there,” the women’s rights activist added.

    Meera also said the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality, a coalition of women’s rights groups, has been lobbying since the 1980s for marital rape to be criminalised.

    Criminal lawyer Datuk Geethan Ram said he knows of cases where both Muslim and non-Muslim women lodge police reports about being raped by their spouses, but the complainants do not continue to have their cases prosecuted in court.

    “In most instances, they want a report to be used in their divorce application or proceedings,” he said.

    The former deputy public prosecutor said women do not want to proceed with prosecution of their rape complaints because some of them are homemakers who are financially dependent on their husbands and noted that even when their spouses are charged with rape, they still have to continue living together.

    “[There’s also the] misconception that they are duty bound to ‘provide’ sex since they are married,” said Geethan, noting that this misconception is not unique to Muslim women but is prevalent among “most women, even the educated”.

     

    Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

  • Malaysian Police Arrest 12 Linked To ISIS, Foils Attempt To Attack Government Buildings

    Malaysian Police Arrest 12 Linked To ISIS, Foils Attempt To Attack Government Buildings

    Police have foiled an attempt to attack government buildings in the Klang Valley after 12 people linked to the militant Islamic State (Isis) group were arrested, said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.

    Khalid said police also seized explosive materials and items likely to be used in bomb-making.

    “The 12 were arrested in the Hulu Langat area, in Cheras in Kuala Lumpur, and in Selangor yesterday and today, ” Khalid said in a statement.

    He said the group was planning attacks on several strategic locations in the Klang Valley, in a bid to avenge police clampdown on Isis sympathisers.

    The youngest among them was a 17-year-old. The others included a school dropout, a university student, a businessman and a wireman.

    The arrests, under anti-terrorism provisions in the Penal Code, were made yesterday and today by the counter-terrorism unit of the police’s Special Branch.

    The targets, according to police intelligence, were “strategic and important” government buildings, Khalid said.

    An Isis flag among bomb-making items which the police say it seized from the 12 suspects. – PDRM pic, April 26, 2015.An Isis flag among bomb-making items which the police say it seized from the 12 suspects. – PDRM pic, April 26, 2015.Among the explosive materials seized were 20kg of a powder suspected to be ammonium nitrate, 20kg of potassium nitrate, two litres of kerosene, two remote controls, batteries, digital weighing machines and other items believed to be “ingredients” and tools in bomb-making.

    Khalid said the planned attacks were in response to a call by a senior Isis leader in Syria to the group’s members and sympathisers to launch attacks against the interests of “secular Islamic countries” which the group deems as its enemies.

    The planned attacks were also meant as retaliation against the Malaysian police for the arrests of suspected Isis members and sympathisers, and those detained on suspicion of terrorism, he added.

    Khalid’s statement this evening follows his announcement on Twitter earlier today on the arrests and seizure of explosives.

    “12 people in Ulu Langat/KL were planning to create chaos in the country. Explosives were seized,” he had tweeted.

    To date, more than 90 people have been detained by Malaysian police for alleged ties to Isis.

    Earlier this month, 17 people were arrested for suspected involvement in the planning of terrorism activities in Kuala Lumpur.

    Khalid had said then that the April 5 arrests included two people who had just returned from Syria.

     

    Source: www.themalaysinsider.com