Salam everybody.Here’s an update, a pegawai executive from Masjid Sultan contacted me and he will look into this matter and investigate it with his staffs.
He ensured that in the future the staffs will not repeat the same mistake.
I hope everyone understand that this is because of an individual. I may be harsh with my last line to fault the whole organization but it does reflect them.
I hope too we can see a better Masjid Sultan staffs in the future.
Source: Saifudean Mead
Dear Sultan Mosque – Singapore.
My friends and I were chased out of your public praying area by one of your staff around 5pm because a “minister” was visiting your premises. After our (5 of us) Asr prayers we sat down for a discussion about Islam matters and fiqh. Out of a sudden one of your staff came to us and told us to leave the premise because “5 or more people sitting in the prayer hall is an offence”.
Since when is this a rule in Allah’s house. What make matter worse when he go on and on about Isis and illegal gathering. As this is Allah’s house my friends and I just want to leave the hall without any unnecessary argument.
As we were taking our belongings to leave he added “as there will be a minister visiting this mosque, it is advisable for you guys to leave because this might be an ugly sight for the minister and the mosque.”
You know what? May Allah judge you and your organization for this appalling incident and niat. So a minister is greater than Allah?
ITTAQULLAH!
Source: Saifudean Mead
The peak hour train at Jurong East was crowded as usual. I stood in front of a well-dressed lady in her 40s sitting at the priority seat. Upon seeing me, she promptly crossed her legs and kicked her shoes against my legs. On a normal day, I would speak up and educate such an individual on the virtues of courtesy. Lucky for her, I had just made a vow before bed yesterday to become a more tolerant person. I just smiled and thought to myself, maybe it was an accident.
The lady began talking on her mobile phone and I let my mind wander. Before long, my thoughts were interrupted by the lady’s rant.
“A lot of Chinese girls so stupid marry Malay men.”
It was strangely refreshing to hear a racist rant in person in Singapore. In the past I had only seen them in the comments section on Facebook. As a final year Sociology undergraduate, I was keen on hearing her perspective on the issues of race and inter-racial marriages. Also, being the child of a Malay-Chinese mother and an Arab father, miscegenation was of personal relevance.
In between rants of how her Chinese friends were the CEO of Singapore Airlines and secretary to the Prime Minister’s office, she complained about how poor Malay men were trying to prey on her and other Chinese girls.
At that moment it occurred to me: she was the infamous Catherine Tan known on social media for her videos where she aggressively expressed her dissatisfaction with Malays and Muslims. It also occured to me that there was probably no one on the other end of the line. She was believed to be mentally unsound. As soon as she began directing her racist rants at me, I realized that I was no longer a mere observer.
“Look at this Muslim girl in front of me, trying to get in my face. Trying to harass me. Ya look at her she’s wearing blue jeans, black shirt, red scarf and black shoes,” she said, glaring angrily at me.
As she was giving her Outfit-Of-The-Day commentary, I almost corrected her: Oh I’m not wearing jeans! These are trousers I bought on sale. I wear them when I feel fatter than usual because being able to fit in them is assuring. Do you like them?`
I stopped myself when I realized that she was obviously not trying to be friendly. She was trying to direct her hatred for Malays and Muslims at me. As she continued to passive-aggressively taunt me, I half expected her to say something more vicious. However, she did nothing of the sort. I have to say that for a racist person, she was quite nice. As the train reached Clementi, I prepared to alight.
“She’s alighting now,” she said as if to make sure I knew she was talking about me.
I smiled and walked on. I continued to wonder if her views were a reflection of common sentiments buried deep within the Singaporean psyche. We do not normally hear racist views in Singapore where racial and religious harmony is celebrated as a state policy. Violent racial riots in the 1960s have made us more careful about what we say about people from other races and religions, at least in public. However, laws such as Section 298 of the Penal Code which criminalises the “wounding of religious feelings” and other limits on the freedom of speech do not actually eliminate racial tensions. Instead, they drive these racist sentiments further underground. Once in a while, a mentally unsound person would express the racial tensions in our society that we do not feel free to speak about openly.
Within my racially diverse circle of friends, race is not a sensitive topic. It is discussed openly and respectfully in our casual conversations and also at university. We share the same belief that creating platforms for open dialogue about race and religion would facilitate tolerance and better understanding. Indeed, as Singaporeans, our relationship with one another should not be so fragile that it could be threatened by the words of some people. For us, what one wears on one’s head or the colour of one’s skin should not be of any concern. (Unless the colour of your skin is gangrene. In such a case we would be very concerned and would urge you to seek medical attention).
Source: http://kentridgecommon.com
Not only is he the Best Recruit for Mohawk Company, REC Muhammad Khidir Bin Kassim is also the Best Shot with a perfect score for his Basic Trainfire Package. However, it has not been a smooth sailing journey for REC Khidir. Prior to enlistment, he was initially deemed unfit for BMT as he was recovering from a skull fracture.
After having fully recovered, he cleared the medical review to undergo BMT. “During my training in BMT, all I want to do was to give it my all and do my best. However, I was happy yet shocked upon hearing the news that I was the Best Recruit for my Company.”
Source: The Singapore Army
Semasa mereka belajar di Korea Selatan, tiga sekawan – Cik Elaine Tee, Tengku Suzana Tengku Abdul Kadir dan Encik Melvin Goh – mengalami kesukaran mencari makanan halal agar dapat dinikmati bersama.
Justeru, setiap kali mereka bertemu restoran halal, tiga sekawan itu akan menulis artikel dan memuatnaikkannya ke laman blog Have Halal, Will Travel (HHWT).
Blog yang disebarkan melalui Facebook itu mendapat sambutan hangat sehingga dibaca dan dikongsi lebih setengah juta kali.
Ini mendorong Encik Goh, yang juga ketua pegawai eksekutif #HHWT, mencipta aplikasi memudahkan pengguna mencari makanan halal di Korea Selatan.
Aplikasi itu menyenaraikan bukan saja restoran halal, malah tempat ‘mesra Muslim’ serta ruang solat.
Encik Goh, 27 tahun, yang baru sahaja memeluk agama Islam Ahad lalu, berharap aplikasi itu akan menyemarakkan semangat menjelajah dalam kalangan warga Muslim.
“Saya difahamkan kebanyakan masyarakat Muslim selalunya menundakan niat merantau kerana kesukaran mencari makanan halal.
“Kami mahu membantu menangani masalah ini kerana Islam sendiri mendo- rong umatnya merantau dan melihat keindahan ciptaan Tuhan.
“Jadi, dengan aplikasi ini, saya harap isu makanan tidak lagi akan menjadi satu halangan untuk merantau ke luar negara,” ujarnya, yang akan bernikah dengan temannya, Tengku Suzana, 26 tahun, pada tahun depan.
Bagi Cik Tee, 26 tahun, juga pengasas bersama #HHWT, beliau kini tahu bahawa mendapatkan makanan halal bukan sekadar makanan yang disajikan tanpa kandungan babi tetapi lebih daripada itu.
Selain Korea Selatan, aplikasi itu juga akan menyenaraikan restoran makanan halal di Jepun dan London.
Source: www.beritaharian.sg