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  • Aftermath of Closed-Door Dialogue: Muslim Leaders on Hijab Issue

    “I sincerely apologise on behalf of some of the Malay community who might get carried away by their emotions in expressing their thoughts. They might not understand how difficult it is to solve the issue. I regret that their usage of language is inappropriate,” said Singapore’s Mufti Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram.

    “PM Lee shared examples when some participants picture us as ‘sparring partners’, but PM Lee in all honesty said we are not a sparring partner but a dancing partner,” said Haji Mohamad Hasbi Hassan, President of Pergas.

    “This is a larger issue that concerns the type of society that you want to become. While we can pretend that we can remove any vestiges of race, language and religion, it is still below the surface,” said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim.

    “I think that is something that we cannot ignore. And I think people recognise that because when you look at it from a single perspective, you think it’s about your rights, but when you look at it in a wider context, where other people have other rights also, it becomes a battle of who is right and who is wrong.” said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim.

    Madam Moliah Hashim, former CEO of Mendaki, said: “My hope is we exemplify what it is to be a good Muslim woman. Not only in the way we… dress but in the way we… work, the way we uphold our integrity, in the way we are competent in whatever assignment we are given. That is to me is much more important than wearing the hijab or not.

    Dr Intan Azura Mokhtar, MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, said: “I think we need to continue this dialogue so that we understand one another better, not just from the community, to the government, through the MP, but also from the perspective of the government, the challenges that it faces and how the community and the society can understand those challenges better.”

  • Remaja bertudung lepak hisap rokok

    Kontribusi dari seorang pembaca ingin dikenali sebagai ‘Anakku Sazali’.

    Apa sudah terjadi pada anak remaja kita sekarang?

    Kalau pun mahu membuat aktiviti yang kurang manis, mungkin ada baiknya bertukar pakaian dahulu.

    Adik ni dah cukup umur 18 tahun ke belum? Aduh pening kepala, sakit mata.

    fyzaa_2_minahtudungsmoke1
    Sumber: Liana
    fyzaa_1minahtudungsmoke2
    Sumber: Liana

  • Smoking in a headscarf

    Not too long ago, a friend of mine posted a photo of a woman wearing a headscarf and holding a cigarette in her hand. There was a minor ruckus on her profile about this picture. Why does this image shake up some of our worlds?

    Because in Singaporean society Muslim women who wear the headscarf have been constructed to be examples of virtuous, moral, proper women. If you wear a headscarf, you’d better behave in these certain ways –

    1. No smoking in public (cigarettes at least, but smoking shisha/hookah/Arab water pipe is mysteriously tolerated),
    2. No kissing in public (even if married!),
    3. No unruly behaviour like shouting or fighting, and
    4. No close contact with men in public.

    Otherwise, you’re going to be pointed out as a bad example of a Muslim woman. Interestingly, holding hands is still kind of acceptable, as is wearing trousers (not the same case in other Muslim communities).

    In our context, the headscarf is a visible sign of morality. You can’t tell if someone believes in God, or prays, or fasts, but you can see a headscarf. The wearer is assumed to be a morally-upright person who has to follow certain rules of (Islamic) behaviour, and therefore also assumed to be discipline-able by any member of the public.

    No one has any qualms about telling off a woman with a headscarf if she’s seen to be ‘violating’ any of the above rules. Many older and young women and men, have no qualms about policing young women who are not ‘properly’ dressed.

    However, women without a headscarf can do any of the above things without nary a public comment because her morality is invisible (Or you can argue that her ‘immorality’ is visible, haha.). Being under constant surveillance can be annoying at best, and exhausting at worst. Is it really a surprise then that some women choose to appear in some situations with a headscarf, and some without?

    Sadly, there are no equivalent markers for men in our Muslim community. In some other societies, perhaps a beard plays the same trick, albeit to a lesser extent (and a beard doesn’t entail an entire dress code). Baju kurung? No one wears that anymore except to the mosque or during Ramadan or Eid. Long sleeves and long pants? Come on man, Singapore is too hot and humid. But why do young men wearing (tight) T-shirts get picked on far less?

    Because of the invisible morality of young Muslim men, they can get away with a lot of things. For example, wearing a T-shirt that says “Playboy” on it. The contrast is even starker when you know that they are probably good, practising Muslim men, who have ‘proper’ social relations with young Muslim women.

    Heck, the best contrast is to see them in the company of ‘properly-dressed’ young Muslim women at Islamic events. Young men are free to go everywhere in their T-shirts and no one is going to say, Hey dude, your T-shirt is a bit too tight, eh? But you can hear, Eh your hair is sticking out! Or, You should wear a top that covers your butt, or, You look so beautiful in an abaya!

    There will be people who say that if a woman really wore the headscarf for God, all this would not matter. But my focus is not on the reasons for wearing it. My focus here is on the headscarf as a visible signifier of morality and its implications for the daily lives of young women.

    I can’t change the way people think, but I think awareness of why we think the way we think is the first step.

     

    Source: http://bit.ly/1jOTlBF

  • Pandangan alternatif Sheyha Sulong tentang isu Tudung

    Anda setuju dengan pendapat wanita ini?

    http://www.facebook.com/sheyha.sulong.9
    http://www.facebook.com/sheyha.sulong.9
    http://www.facebook.com/sheyha.sulong.9
    http://www.facebook.com/sheyha.sulong.9

    I am a Muslim but I do not have to dorn the tudung to show that I am a Muslim. It is an individual choice. Singapore is not an islamic country therefore demanding to enforce on the tudung is not a good idea; if our Prophet Muhd peace be upon him is around, he would not allow disintegration of the other races regardless of language or religion to take place..all for the sake of peace and harmony and staying united as one people.

    Sheyha Sulong

    *Foto kontribusi Faizal Mohd

  • Sesi Dialog PM Lee, Pemimpin Islam tentang isu Tudung

    Foto: The Straits Times

    Sesi dialog tadi berjalan lancar.  Saya gembira kerana para peserta berkongsi pandangan mereka dengan jujur dan secara terus terang, objektif dan matang.  Kami berbincang dari hati ke hati.

    Saya akur isu tudung ini suatu isu penting dan sensitif bagi masyarakat Islam Singapura.  Tapi sebenarnya isu pokok bukan tentang tudung tetapi lebih luas lagi iaitu apakah bentuk masyarakat yang kita inginkan di Singapura.

    Pendirian pemerintah atas soalan pokok ini terang dan kita telah mengambil pendirian ini sejak merdeka 50 tahun lalu iaitu kita mahu bina di Singapura sebuah masyarakat yang berbilang kaum dan berbilang agama dan yang memberi peluang saksama kepada semua kaum dan semua agama di Singapura.

    Kita juga harap kaum-kaum minoriti akan dapat ruang yang cukup untuk menjalankan kewajipan mereka dan cara hidup mereka untuk mengambil bahagian dalam kejayaan dan kemajuan negara Singapura.

    Seberapa boleh pemerintah akan menolong dan memberi sokongan yang lebih kepada kaum-kaum minoriti kerana kita harap mereka akan maju ke hadapan dengan kaum-kaum lain dan termasuk kaum Melayu/Islam.

    Tapi untuk capai matlamat besar kita ini, kita harus bersikap tolak ansur supaya semua kaum selesa dengan satu sama lain.  Kita tidak boleh berbincang tiap-tiap satu isu secara terpencil kerana kalau kita berbincang secara begitu dan berbincang mengenai hak, wajib dan bagaimana kita mesti dapat sesuatu isu, boleh jadi segala-gala objektif kita yang lebih penting akan dihapuskan.  Itu saya fikir sangat buruk untuk Singapura.

    Jadi kejayaan Singapura tidak diukur berdasarkan satu-satu perkara sahaja tetapi dalam konteks yang lebih besar – sama ada kaum-kaum yang berbeza hidup secara harmoni; sama ada semua rakyat berpeluang untuk maju dan hidup dengan aman dan selamat.  Inilah perspektif yang lebih luas yang saya ambil dalam perbincangan tadi dan saya percaya peserta-peserta faham dan terima pandangan saya.

    Jika kita lihat selama 10 tahun lalu, jelas dalam isu tudung telah ada kemajuan.  Banyak badan berkanun telah membenarkan kakitangan mereka memakai tudung bersama pakaian uniform mereka.
    Dan keadaan yang kita lihat hari ini, saya tidak fikir, akan selalu kekal begini kerana masyarakat kita sedang berubah, dunia sedang berubah, negara sedang maju ke depan. Saya fikir setiap tahun secara beransur-ansur, perlahan-lahan, apa yang kita buat di Singapura dalam masyarakat kita akan juga berubah.  Tetapi perubahan ini mesti berjalan dengan teliti, dengan berhati-hati, mesti berjalan tidak terlalu cepat atau menghapuskan apa yang kita telah capai iaitu suatu masyarakat di mana semua kaum dapat hidup dengan harmoni dan dapat menjadi orang Islam yang dapat menunaikan wajib Islam dan pada masa yang sama seorang warga Singapura yang menunaikan kewajiban sebagai warga Singapura.

    Jadi pemerintah inginkan yang terbaik untuk masyarakat Singapura dan untuk masyarakat Melayu/Islam. Dalam isu ini ada pandangan-pandangan yang berlainan tetapi hasrat kita tidak berbeza.  Kita harap yang terbaik untuk kaum Melayu/Islam dan kita harap kita boleh bekerjasama dengan kaum Melayu/Islam untuk mewujudkan hasrat kita.

    Tadi dalam dialog ada yang kata kita patut bertanding antara satu sama lain supaya dapat menjelaskan isu ini.  Saya kata tidak.  Kita patut menari bersama, supaya kita boleh bekerjasama, supaya kita boleh capai apa yang kita sama-sama harapkan.