Ahok got 2 years jail in Indonesia for blasphemy and the world cries foul. Yes its jail time. Not murder.
When The Rohingyas were persecuted, not many were outrightly denouncing the Myanmar government for its crimes against humanity.
Islam got slammed instead for bigotry. Clerics are ridiculed. Judges chastised. The press also solidifies the hatred/prejudice some people have for the religion by pushing out articles to make the religion look bad instead of correctly pointing the atrocities of humans, using religion to promote their political agendas.
Shanmugam recently has called on the United States (and the world) to pay attention to the rise of “political Islam” and radicalism in Southeast.
Instead, I say we should also pay close attention toward islamophobia.
With rising islamophobia across the world and Singapore, the Muslims in Singapore are walking on a tightrope. We get scrutinized even for raising fundamental issues.
The government’s distrust on the Malay/Muslim community dates back to LKY’s era. It has continued with the current administration led by his son Lee Hsien Loong but with a new dimension added to it. ‘Radicalization’
With radicalization on the rise, and the effort to look into its emergence in Singapore, rightfully, the government may have fail to also give due consideration towards an emerging trend in Singapore. Islamophobia.
I’d came across many postings on social media to kill the Muslim. To incarcerate anyone with the slightest differences of opinions. To remove citizenships of Singaporean Muslims and ship them ‘back’ to Saudi/Pakistan etc etc.
It’s a growing trend if left unchecked, may rip apart the delicate social fabric currently maintained.
Radicalization is a problem. So is Islamophobia. Deal with it concurrently without further aggravating the growing pressure my community faced from the gov and public.
Source: Khan Osman Sulaiman
