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Keep Alcohol Out of Kampong Glam URA

If you have not done so, you might want to check out Facebook community, Alcohol Free Kg Glam Conservation Area.

For the local Arab and Malay Muslim community who have longed for the ban of alcohol in the vicinity of Kg Glam, this is the page where you can be heard and where you can obtain latest updates on the matter. The more ‘likes’ the page receives, the more the relevant authorities will have to listen to our voices. Isn’t this the hallmark of a more consultative government that PAP aspires to be?

Politics aside, this is a serious matter which has been brought up and championed by numerous individuals such as Habib Alwi Al Habshi and Dr Ameen Talib, the owner of Cafe Le Caire. Despite their best efforts, there has yet to be a satisfactory response from the authorities.

Alcohol has never been a part of Kg Glam’s heritage. It should not be part of its future. There are many examples of alcohol-free zones around the world, including in Western countries like Australia and the UK. Here, the authorities have also acted to enforce an alcohol-free zone in Little India following the riots. They have also acted to weed out sleazy activities and booze in Joo Chiat and Clarke Quay after much lobbying by the residents.

So why not in Kg Glam? Today, people drink alcohol openly without any regard for the majestic place of worship that anchors the area, Masjid Sultan. Some blatantly consume alcohol even in front of ‘halal’ banners in the area.

This is a man-made situation. It was never this way. A reminder of what Kg Glam used to be, taken from URA’s own website (www.ura.gov.sg/uol/conservation/conservation-xml.aspx?id=KPGL).

Kampong Glam probably derived its present name from the gelam tree. The bark of the gelam tree was used by the Orang Laut to make awnings and sails. Its timber was often used for constructing boats and also served as firewood. Its fruit was ground and used as pepper – mercha bolong; and its leaves boiled and concocted into the Cajeput oil, a medication for rheumatism and cramps.

The area is well known for two major landmarks: Sultan Mosque, Singapore’s most important mosque, and the Istana Kampung Gelam, the former Sultan’s palace. Aside from the Sultan’s family, residents of the area included the Arabs, Boyanese, Bugis and Javanese, and by 1824, at least 1/3 of the residents were Chinese.

Different streets were settled by Muslims from different parts of South-East-Asia. Other major community and religious landmarks are the Hajjah Fatimah Mosque (National Monument), the Malabar Mosque and the Madrassah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah.

The commercial landscape of Kampong Glam was characterised by many traditional businesses that catered to the Malay/Muslim community and beyond: frame makers, tombstone carvers, textile wholesalers, spice traders and perfumers, sandal makers, Muslim food caterers, and retailers of gemstones, rattan handicraft and religious paraphernalia.

Many streets also had their own unique trades. North Bridge Road was known for many tailors and Chinese-run goldsmith shops. Sultan Gate used to be dominated by stone masons and blacksmiths. The Beach Road waterfront before reclamation was the focal point of trading and shipping services that thrived on the arrival of Bugis ships and traders. Haji Lane, named after the ‘Hajj’ – which is the pilgrimage undertaken by Muslims to Mecca and Medina, and the stretch of Bussorah Street nearer to Sultan Mosque were residences and also centres for pilgrimage services, serving Muslim pilgrims from around the region.

Kampong Glam was also a centre for publications dealing with Islamic and Malay literature, and education for the Muslim community. Madrassahs, educational institutions based on Islamic principles were set up. One such institution is the Madrassah Alsagoff Al-Arabiah.

Kampong Glam has a rich history which should be acknowledged by the authorities. This is how we want to remember Kg Glam.

Not like this.

So friends, please do your part to ‘like’ the page. Share it with your friends and family and encourage them to ‘like’ the page too.

Contributor: Aku Tak Mau Glam-our

December 28, 2014
6 Muslim Beliefs About Jesus That Every Christian Should Know

Muslims and Christians have much in common, both groups have enjoyed an amicable relationship throughout history (apart from a few unfortunate hiccups). After all, it was the then Christian ruler of Abyssinia who granted refuge to early Muslim converts who were fleeing persecution from the Polytheists of Makkah. They were advised to go there by the Prophet Muhammad himself (peace be upon him).

The following are 6 Muslim beliefs about Jesus (peace be upon him) every Christian must know.

1. One cannot be a Muslim without believing in Jesus

Muslims must believe in and respect all of the prophets in order to be counted as a believer. From Adam to Noah and from Moses to Jesus up to the final prophet, Muhammad (peace be upon them all).

Say, [O believers], “We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.” Qur’an, 2:136

Photo by Lebnen18 via Wikimedia Commons

2. He had a miraculous birth

Muslims also believe Jesus was born miraculously without a father to the Virgin Mary. His mother is also respected and venerated across the by Muslims and she is known to have been a pious and devout person. An entire chapter of the Qur’an is named after her.

3. He performed miracles

Muslims believe Jesus performed many miracles such as creating a bird from clay or curing the blind and leper and bringing the dead back to life.

And [make him] a messenger to the Children of Israel, [who will say], ‘Indeed I have come to you with a sign from your Lord in that I design for you from clay [that which is] like the form of a bird, then I breathe into it and it becomes a bird by permission of God . And I cure the blind and the leper, and I give life to the dead – by permission of God. And I inform you of what you eat and what you store in your houses. Indeed in that is a sign for you, if you are believers. Qur’an, 3:49

Notice how God explains that all the miracles were carried out only with the permission of God lest people start thinking he was God.

4. He is not God

Muslims believe he was one of the greatest prophets sent by God but he was not divine. Muslims do not believe he was the son of God or God incarnate, they believe he was a human being who was given the task of conveying the message to the people and to preach that there is only One God.

5. He was not crucified

Christian belief holds that Jesus was crucified but Muslims differ. Muslims believe Jesus was raised to the heavens by God and instead, one of his foes was made to look like him who was crucified instead.

And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah .” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. Qur’an 4:157

6. Jesus will return

Muslims believe Jesus will return before the final days and will establish peace and justice on Earth. As part of a longer narration, the Prophet Muhammad is reported to have said:

“By the one whose hands my life is in, surely the Son of Mary will descend amongst you as a just ruler…” Sahih Al Bukhari

By Abu Safiyyah Follow on Twitter @AbuSafiyyah88

Source: http://ilmfeed.com

December 28, 2014
TNI Layak Dianggap Sebagai ‘Abang” Dalam ASEAN

JAKARTA: Tentera Nasional Indonesia (TNI) layak dianggap sebagai ‘abang’ (big brother) dalam Asean memandangkan kesemua 10 negara anggota pertubuhan mengiktiraf kepimpinan TNI, kata Jeneral Moeldoko, panglima tentera republik itu.

Namun, pada masa yang sama, jurucakap Kementerian Ehwal Luar Indonesia, Encik Arrmanatha Christiawan Nasir, cuba meredakan nada kenyataan panglima TNI itu. Beliau berkata, Asean akan sentiasa menjadi asas utama dasar luar Indonesia.

Kenyataan berani Jeneral Moeldoko itu dinyatakan beliau dalam satu sidang akhbar selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat pucuk pimpinan TNI Isnin lalu.

Laporan The Jakarta Post kelmarin memetik jeneral yang dilantik panglima pada Ogos tahun lalu itu sebagai berkata Indonesia sebagai anggota terpenting Asean mendukung kedudukan genting dalam memastikan keselamatan dan kemantapan serantau.

“Kami punya sebuah forum yang dihadiri panglima tentera Asean (dan ketua pertahanan). Kesemua mereka mengiktiraf keunggulan kami,” kata panglima asal Kediri dan berusia 57 tahun itu.

“Kami punya satu perjanjian kerjasama antara TNI, Asean dengan negara Asia Pasifik. Kami cuba menjadikan TNI sebagai abang dalam Asean,” kata Jeneral Moeldoko, yang menerusi kenyataannya itu jelas merujuk kepada sidang tahunan Forum Serantau Asean (ARF).

Tambah beliau, dalam mesyuarat yang dihadirinya itu mereka telah membincangkan tentang isu pertikaian di Laut China Selatan dan harapan Indonesia untuk menjadi perintis dalam mengekalkan kestabilan di kawasan tersebut dengan melaksanakan diplomasi dengan China dan Amerika Syarikat.

“Selepas saya dilantik (sebagai panglima tentera), saya ketemu panglima dari Filipina dan Vietnam. Kemudian, saya ketemu panglima tentera dari China untuk menyampaikan keprihatinan kita (tentang pertikaian di Laut China Selatan),” kata Jeneral Moeldoko.

Indonesia bersama-sama Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, Filipina dan Vietnam, telah mengemukakan tuntutan bertindih dalam soal Laut China Selatan di China.

“Saya menyatakan kepada ketua turus tentera China bahawa Indonesia dan negara (lain) Asean faham tentang pembangunan tentera China. Namun demikian, kami menjangkakan China tidak akan menimbulkan ketidakstabilan dalam rantau Asean,” katanya lagi.

Jeneral Moeldoko berkata, beliau turut melahirkan sentimen serupa kepada panglima tentera Amerika Syarikat, Jeneral Martin Dempsey.

Source: http://beritaharian.sg

December 27, 2014
MUIS Staying Silent Despite Calls For Greater Transparency On Its Accounts

There have been some disclosures made about MUIS on this page recently.

Whether it is turning away the needy, the use of zakat to pay MUIS staff salary, lack of transparency in waqf or riba, there are real concerns in how MUIS is conducting itself.

For instance, is MUIS dealing with riba with its own subsidiaries?

According to MUIS annual report, MUIS charges 3.75% interest on a $29,528,837 loan to its subsidiary.

Why is MUIS, supposedly the highest Islamic authority in Singapore dealing with riba?

When Allah has declared war against anyone who are involved with riba.

We emailed MUIS last Friday and did not even receive an acknowledgement.

Nevertheless, we will like to remind our brothers and sisters to reserve judgement until there is full disclosure.

And reserve judgement until we hear from MUIS.

We are raising questions. We have contacted MUIS to gain clarification.

MUIS has refused to respond.

This is one of the problems we face as a community. MUIS does not respond to the community. It is a statutory body that reports to the government.

Not to us.

And yet, they are supposed to be the highest Islamic authority.

This is where the problem lies. It demands the authority to lead us but refuse to explain itself or its decisions.

Not even the Khulafah Ar Rasyideen behaved in this way. The Khulafah accepted being questioned and corrected in public.

MUIS refuse to even respond. Instead, they took out advertisement to tell the community a half truth.

Insha Allah we will reveal a lot more issues concerning MUIS. Until they respond, we suggest that while all of us recognise the problems, let us continue to reserve judgement.

May those granted amanah live up fully to it.

May those who lead us gain the courage to truly lead.

And May we be a community that is always on haq.

Source: Singapore Muslims for an Independent MUIS Facebook Group

December 27, 2014
Singapore Students Spends Third Longest Time On Homework

Students in Singapore are among the world’s most hard- working at home, clocking the third-longest time spent on homework, a report released this month has found.

The country’s 15-year-olds said that they devoted 9.4 hours to homework a week, in the study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

They came in behind students in Shanghai, who spend 13.8 hours a week on homework, and those in Russia, who take 9.7 hours.

Students in Finland and South Korea spent fewer than three hours – the least among the 65 countries and regions surveyed – on homework each week.

The global average was about five hours’ worth of homework each week.

The report was based on results from a questionnaire in 2012 for the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), a test to measure academic achievement for 15-year-olds.

Around 510,000 students took part in the test. They were asked questions about their school environment, families and attitudes towards subjects and school.

The study found that students who did more homework scored higher in Pisa. For instance, Shanghai and Singapore, where students spent much of their time on homework, came in first and second respectively in the Pisa mathematics test in 2012.

Across the countries and regions surveyed, students who came from socio-economically advantaged backgrounds tended to devote more hours to homework.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Education (MOE) said Singapore’s weekly average of 9.4 hours on homework is “fairly reasonable for upper-secondary students, who would be preparing for the national examinations”.

She said: “Homework, when used appropriately, can reinforce students’ learning, contribute to their progress and cultivate a healthy disposition towards learning.”

But in response to parents’ concerns about excessive homework in recent years, schools have adopted policies to monitor and coordinate the homework load across subjects and departments.

The MOE spokesman said: “Some teachers may get their students to complete their assignments in class or after school, rather than at home.”

Swiss Cottage Secondary School student Nurul Amirah, 15, said her daily routine of homework and revision starts at 9pm and ends around midnight.

“I spend more than 10 hours on homework every week. If exams are coming, I spend at least 15 hours. But I benefit from assignments that make me think more,” she said.

She added that teachers and students list homework assignments on their classroom boards, so students do not get assigned too much work at any one time.

Associate Professor Jason Tan, an education policy expert at the National Institute of Education, said: “The 9.4 hours do not seem that overwhelming, when students are taking six to nine subjects in Secondary 3.

“But (the report) also doesn’t give any indication of the subjects the time is spent on, or the nature of homework, so it’s hard to draw any conclusions from this.”

Prof Tan added that although students in South Korea and Japan were ranked low in the number of homework hours in this survey, they were not “learning any less”.

“Their students spend long hours after school in cram schools similar to tuition centres, called juku in Japan and hagwon in Korea,” he said.

It is difficult to set a “right” amount of homework for everyone, said Prof Tan.

“Every student is different in terms of learning styles and interests, and each may need a different amount of time for practice.”

Source: www.straitstimes.com

December 26, 2014