Category: Singapuraku

Mufti: Credibillity Of Religious Authority Need To Be Earned, Open And Engaging Discussions Necessary

Counter-messaging must be a key weapon in the fight against terrorism, yet it can be a difficult one to wield due to the myriad of factors fuelling the rise of extremism today, said speakers at a symposium yesterday.

Speaking on the second day of the East Asia Summit Symposium on Religious Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Singapore’s mufti, Dr Fatris Bakaram, questioned if acts of terror could simply be attributed to a misinterpretation of religious texts.

He also asked if radicalisation could be caused by a sense of disenchantment with the state, a rejection of the secular culture or a political agenda.

“One could certainly add on to the list of questions, and I suspect the reasons are as multi-various as they are interlinked,” he added.

Retired General John Allen from the United States noted that the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is an “offshoot” of a series of socio-economic and political circumstances.

“And unless we solve those underlying causes, Daesh (an acronym of ISIS’ Arabic name) will simply be … a symptom … ultimately, the coalition’s activity will not be cured,” said Gen Allen. He was appointed last September as the Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, a term by which the ISIS is also known.

Gen Allen noted that the Internet has aided extremist operations in their global expansion, resulting in an “unprecedented generational challenge”, with young men and women able to fight for the cause from even their home countries.

To fight terrorism, he said, we must “dominate the information environment” across different platforms and languages, with messages that contest ISIS’ “propaganda machine”.

“(We must) take back the information sphere from Daesh and eliminate its pre-eminence.”

Gen Allen added that a multi-pronged approach against terrorism must also involve efforts to clamp down on the movement of foreign fighters as well as the financial resources of extremist outfits.

However, Dr Fatris stressed that messages must be crafted and conveyed by credible leaders, and noted that credibility had to be earned over time. “Our credibility as a religious authority is not a right … we (cannot) implicitly assume that people will listen to us … we are essentially partaking in a battle for the heart and soul of Islam.”

He added that religious leaders cannot shy away from addressing “dark and difficult episodes of warfare and persecution”. Educating the young today is not simply about telling them what is right or wrong, he said. “It is engaging their learning process, hearing them … engaging them on ideas and letting them speak their minds.”

Dr Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said there were more than 10,000 terrorist-related Facebook accounts, 47,000 Twitter accounts and more than 9,800 websites. “We need a point-by-point rebuttal of (ISIS’) justifications for using violence … you specifically question, show me in the Koran that this is permitted,” he said.

Source: www.todayonline.com

April 18, 2015
Open And Objective Analysis Of Multiple Factors Contributing To Religious Extremism Is Needed

Alhamdulillah!

Kudos to our Mufti for speaking up! TODAY reported:

Speaking on the second day of the East Asia Summit Symposium on Religious Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Singapore’s mufti, Dr Fatris Bakaram, questioned if acts of terror could simply be attributed to a misinterpretation of religious texts. He also asked if radicalisation could be caused by a sense of disenchantment with the state, a rejection of the secular culture or a political agenda. “One could certainly add on to the list of questions, and I suspect the reasons are as multi-various as they are interlinked,” he added.

Yes! Yes! A VAST majority of ‘analysis’ by so-called ‘scholars’ of terrorism only want to focus on this ‘misinterpretation’. As if the fault lies in Islam and Muslims. Perhaps it would be opportune for these people to come out of the woodwork and do intellectually-honest pieces on the underlying causes of terrorism? Rather than flog the issue of ‘interpretation’ of religious texts alone? RSIS asatizahs and other myriad bunch of scholars?

Mufti is absolutely right. One could certainly add to the ‘multi-various’ reasons for the phenomenon. Probably the most important being American foreign policy in the Muslim world.

Which brings me to my next point.

As usual, the so-called ‘terrorism expert’ must open his mouth. Rohan G said: We need a point-by-point rebuttal of (ISIS’) justifications for using violence … you specifically question, show me in the Koran that this is permitted,” he said.

Typical. Flogging the same ol ‘misinterpretation’ issue. The hallmark of the intellectually bankrupt.

Let me reply to Rohan’s question with a question of my own.

What would Rohan do if he sees his own mother being blown up by a drone 10km up in the sky, with Uncle Sam acting as judge, jury and executioner? And then claiming its an unfortunate incident of mixed up intelligence and chalking it up as collateral damage?

Once again, Well done Mufti! A man of multi-faceted talent and formidable communication skills.

We expect more. A lot more.

After all, one does not applaud Ronaldo or Messi for merely making a throw-in; or a world class tenor for merely clearing his throat.

Source: Syed Danial

April 18, 2015
Hypocrisy In Dealing With Muslims Must Be Addressed

Our Mufti questions whether terrorism can solely be attributed to misinterpretation of texts. He then suggests that the reasons could be multi-faceted, and include disenchantment towards the state.

Thanks to our Mufti for saying something that has been ignored for far too long, by far too many people (‘experts’).

If i may add: the hypocrisy in dealing with Muslims must also be addressed. When a Muslim commits a terrorist act, everyone rushes to condemn – Muslim ‘spokesmen’ and leaders included – and words such as ‘lone wolf terrorist’ are used. When Muslims are the victim of such attacks – as in the case of the Chapel Hill shootings – not only do these spokesmen disappear, but the perpetrators are described as people with ‘mental issues’.

There can be no peace without justice.

Source: Walid J Abdullah

April 18, 2015
IDA Says University Of Mumbai Is Reputable University
Yesterday (16 Apr), TRE published a story about an Indian national turned Singaporean, Nisha Padmanabhan, who is employed by IDA (‘IDA defends staff who obtained MBA from degree mill‘).

As it turns out, the MBA that Ms Padmanabhan obtained was from a degree mill, the Southern Pacific University (SPU).

SPU is not accredited and it was closed in Hawaii by a court order. Subsequently, it started operating from Malaysia [Link]. A blogger also alerted that a group of “students” had made a police complaint against SPU for losing RM18,000 each “for the junk” [Link].

Earlier this year, a Vietnamese News also mentioned SPU [Link]:

[Google Translate of relevant paragraphs]:

“It was bought by domestic and overseas buyers by. Fellows get doctorates abroad but do not learn, do not know a word of English double break. After the University of the South Pacific (Southern Pacific University) was uncovered, it was pouring through a PhD Philippines. PhD but is actually traveling, combined with purchase.

If the degree is not worth relating to the appointment, be promoted in the system state agencies, there is no degree trafficking as grocery shopping today.”

Many netizens began to ask IDA if it knew about the matter. After weeks of silence, IDA finally replied.

It said that her Bachelor’s degree is from a reputable university and she was recruited based on the Bachelor degree. Her MBA was “not a relevant certificate for her position in IDA”, it added.

IDA’s full reply on its Facebook page [Link]:

However, netizens are not convinced of IDA’s reply. Many are saying it’s a question of integrity even though she may have been hired based on her bachelor’s degree.

University of Mumbai not in top 500

In its reply, IDA has mentioned that Ms Padmanabhan’s basic degree is from a “reputable university” and she was recruited because of this.

In her LinkedIn information, she said that she had graduated from University of Mumbai with a Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Telecommunication.

TRE did a check with regard to the world’s ranking of University of Mumbai.

In the Times Higher Education Top 400 World University Rankings 2014-2015 [Link], University of Mumbai was not listed at all.

In fact, only 4 Indian universities were ranked among the World’s top 400:
- 276-300th, Indian Institute of Science
- 276-300th, Panjab University
- 351-400th, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay
- 351-400th, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee
Singapore, a much smaller country than India, had 2 universities ranked among the World’s top 400:
- 25th, NUS
- 61st, NTU
In the QS World University Rankings, another popular ranking commonly cited, the University of Mumbai is ranked 551st in the world [Link].

NUS on the other hand is ranked 22nd while NTU is 39th.

So, do you think that University of Mumbai is a “reputable university” as stated by IDA?

What do you think?

Source: www.tremeritus.com
April 17, 2015
Lim Teck Yin’s Fan Criticism Unfair

Football fans, former internationals, as well as the community, were divided yesterday as they responded to criticism that Singaporeans are fair-weather supporters of the national team.

This came in the wake of comment on Wednesday by Sport Singapore’s chief executive, Lim Teck Yin, who said that the time had come for fans here to show their mettle and come out in force to support them during the SEA Games.

Some felt the comment was too harsh and that they had the right to expect commitment from players, whether they were the Lions or the under-23 side, to win matches.

Both the Lions and the under-23 side have lost a string of matches in the run-up to the World Cup qualifiers and the Games in June.

“I feel that, though he meant well, (Lim) was a little harsh with his words. It is almost as though he feels nobody really supports local football,” said Ian Ding, 24-year-old Lions fan.

Deepanraj Valluvan, 19, said fans had a right to feel disappointed when their sides do not perform to expectations.

“Fans do go through highs and lows in supporting the team, but this doesn’t mean we can’t expect a win,” he said. “As fans, we want our team to go as far as they can succeed.

“The SEA Games are no different and we want to make sure our country performs and we will be cheering for them whether they win or lose. But we do have a certain level of expectations from our national teams and are be disappointed if they don’t meet them.”

Win or lose, Kumaravel Selvom will be behind the team when they kick off their SEA Games campaign. He told TODAY: “Any sport, and especially football, thrives with supporting fans. Whether it’s a team at its best or worst, it will always be good to know that there are people watching and hoping the best for you.”

Former national and S-League footballers whom TODAY spoke to were also divided.

Aleksandar Duric remembered only too well the fickle support from fans. They were solidly behind the Lions in their triumphant years in the Suzuki Cup in 1998, 2004, 2007 and 2012, but he felt the desertion when they were knocked out of the group stages of the 2010 tournament.

This, he said, can have an adverse effect on young athletes, especially the under-23 side heading for the coming SEA Games.

“I agree with Teck Yin totally. I only retired recently from football, and I know our fans very well, and they like it when we are winning. But this is not good, and the mentality of Singapore fans is something we wish we can change.

“If you are a fan, you should follow your team all the way, win or lose, and you share their happiness and sorrows. These are young boys and they need our support. Singaporeans should back our young athletes, because they need it. There is no better chance to do that than at the SEA Games, right here in front of the home crowd.”

However, former S-League player and coach Shasi Kumar said the players needed to improve to get fans back in the stadium. “You cannot blame the fans as well, because we had a really poor run of results,” he said. “How can a fan stand by their team without feeling disappointment or even angry when we cannot even beat a team like Guam, and (we) lose to Syria? It is a chicken and egg situation, because at the moment, the team is not performing, and fans are understandably disillusioned.”

Source: www.todayonline.com

April 17, 2015