Tag: Islam

Mufti: Teachings That Promote ‘Exclusivity And Isolationism’ A Cause For Worry

Teachings on the Internet that promote “exclusivity and isolationist” inclinations are a “serious cause for worry” because they can go as far as to deny the rights of others to exist, said the Mufti of Singapore, Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram.

It is not unfounded for some to be sceptical about the role of religion in enriching the “common space” in society, if religion preaches isolation, said Dr Fatris, who was delivering a speech at the SRP Distinguished Lecture and Symposium today (Jan 20) on Islam and developing the common space.

In extreme cases, Dr Fatris noted, isolationist tendencies with the potential to fragment societies are not limited to rejecting certain thoughts, cultural practices or beliefs, but go on to deny the right of others to exist. This has been the case with perpetrators of terrorist activities, who have “cloaked their crimes with twisted religious arguments”, he said, calling such beliefs “extremely dangerous and totally unacceptable.”

Despite the existence of clear and constructive religious resources and narratives on the “common space”, these will be rejected by those who spread isolationist teachings. As such, it will not help to increase the number of “pro-common-space narratives”, said Dr Fatris.

“We then end up with a meaningless debate and endlessly quibble over whose evidence is stronger, which will only lead to more confusion. The prejudicial approach of some groups will only bolster their resolve to reject the notion of a ‘common space’,” he said.

Dr Fatris was speaking a day after Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam, outlining the threats of terrorism and radicalisation Singapore faces, said community leaders have to help lead the “fight for hearts and minds” for a united Singapore.

A resource that could be tapped are religious institutions like mosques and madrasahs, which can promote deeper interfaith understanding and offering activities for others to participate in, said Dr Fatris.

“In our respective institutions, we ought to foster a sense of bonding with other communities, to nurture respect and love for humanity and fellow citizens, to deepen what one may refer to as, the “emotional common space” between us. This ought to be a key component of our religious curricula,” he said.

Speaking to the media after his speech, Dr Fatris noted interfaith dialogues have been going on for years, and while there is still some “sense of discomfort and lack of confidence among minorities” who question the need for interfaith dialogues, this attitude has changed over the years.

“If we do not start now with a serious and constructive interfaith dialogue, I think it will be a waste for Singapore as a nation. It is something that is, for me, crucial for the next 50 years, that we have a deeper understanding of racial differences and religious diversity,” he said.

He also said there must be eagerness and willingness to come together to discuss aspects of differences in faith, adding: “Socially, we are strong enough to embark on this.”

The symposium was organised by the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

Source: www.todayonline.com

January 21, 2016
Damanhuri Abas: Problems Of Malay-Muslim Isolationism And Foreign-Worker Terrorists Emblematic Of PAP’s Policy Failures

First the Minister made statements that essentially are tacit admission of the failures of the government’s policies towards the Malay Muslim community which has caused the ‘distancing and alienation’.

The more critical question for the Malay Muslim community to ask both the government and the Malay leadership appointed by the PAP is to explain these failures. Maybe it got to do with something called discrimination. Not so smart after all.

Then we hear another bad news, the arrest of foreign workers who are radicals or radicalized. Again, this are glaring examples of risk that the government sadly took at the expense of the safety and interest of Singaporeans by sticking to a policy of cheap labour to shore up declining GDP instead of biting the bullet and invest in our own people to allow for greater innovation to compensate for the shortage of manpower.

Singaporeans must begin to know that the policies of the government are shallow coming from this million-dollar paid brilliantairs and they still want to justify through another warp logic called natural aristocracy.

Wake up lah 70%!!!

Source: Damanhuri Abas

January 21, 2016
Mohd Khair: Singaporean Muslims Have Contributed To Singapore, Why Are We Still Viewed With Suspicion?

I DISAGREE with this view.

Muslims in Singapore have been very active in inter-religious dialogues and other related activities.

I must say that at times some quarters of our community even say that we are even “overdoing” those things because we seem to have to keep on proving to others that we are indeed Singaporeans.

It seems, time and again Muslims in Singapore must always prove themselves to be okay.

Muslims in Singapore have contributed so much in ensuring racial and religious harmony, over and above the contributions we’ve made in other aspects of nation building.

And yet now, we are being accused of having grown more distant.

Why must the authorities cast aspersions on Muslims in Singapore?

Source: Mohd Khair

January 21, 2016
Top 5 Non-Muslim Terrorist Groups In The World

Suffice to say, for the past few days, the spotlight has been on Muslims and Islam in Singapore and around the world. It began with Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam warning that isolationist religious tendencies will lead to a more fragmented and divided Singapore. We were told how greater religious conservatism, if left unchecked, could undermine the racial and religious harmony here.

Before the dust settled on the debate on K Shanmugam’s speech, we learnt yesterday about the repatriation of 27 Bangladeshi nationals. They had subscribed to violent, radical ideology espoused by extremists preachers like Anwar Al-Awlaki. They wanted to carry out armed jihad overseas, including in their own country, Bangladesh.

And so, the spotlight just gets brighter. Muslims just can’t catch a break, can we?

We cannot emphasise enough that Islam is a non-violent religion which preaches tolerance and respect of others. These “Muslims” who carry out violent jihad are also in the minority. There’s more than 1 BILLION of us but there’s less than 100,000 who are, in a word, terrorists. Do your math.

Sometimes, the world forgets that there are other terrorists enemies out there who are non-Muslims. We think it is time to remind the world that terrorist organisations comes in all shapes and sizes and religious beliefs.

We bring you the top 5 non-Musim terrorist groups in the world today:

1 Forcas Amardas Revolutcionarias da Colombia (FARC)

In English, FARC refers to The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. It is a guerilla movement believed to have been formed in 1964 a a result of the liberal-conservative conflict in the country. FARC based itself on communist ideology and sought to protect farmers against capitalist privatisation of their land and other natural resources in Colombia. These days however, FARC is more widely-known for its involvement in the illicit drug trade. Besides making money from narcotics, they also make money from extortion, kidnapping and illegal mining with its operational theatre spanning many countries South America. Needless to say, the members have eraned themselves a reputation as violent terrorists, with their use of paramilitary tactics, bombings, murders and assasinations, to protect and expand their interests.

2 The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA)

The Lord’s Resistance Army is a terrorist organization operating in parts of Uganda, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and parts of Southern Sudan. Not only is it classified as a terrorist organisation, the movement is also known as a cult led by its charismatic leader, Joseph Kenny. The group started out with noble objectives of creating a peaceful and prosperous Uganda. Now, they carry out murder, child sex slavery, abductions, mutilations, and the recruitment of child soldiers with impunity. During its reign, LRA is belived to have been responsible for about the death of 2,300 people, the abduction of thousands of others and the displacement of many in the central regions of Africa.

3 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)

No this is very different from the Workers’ Party that we have in Singapore. PKK was a student-led initiative; it was formed in 1978 and sought to achieve cultural and political rights and self-determination for the Kurds in Turkey. The group is now based in Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan while it operates in Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq. Guess what? PKK and the Kurds in general, are not fancied by IS.

4 Naxal / Naxalites

The Naxalites is a Maoist rebel group closely associated with the Communist Party Of India. Many states in the country have fallen to the expansionist ambitions of this group. Like the LRA and FARC, the Naxalites also began with the aim of protecting the rights of the workers. They even had support from Mao Zedong in China! The group began to grow rapidly; even university students were dropping out of school to join them. State action in the 1970s crippled the group’s activities but it remains a thorn in the side of the Indian government. They countinue to kill civilians and government security personnel. In recent times, Dr. Manmohan Singh, branded the group as the “biggest threat to national security” in India.

5 The Irish Republican Army (IRA)

The Irish Republican Army was founded in 1913 to wage a war of indepence against the British. Like many of the other terroriss groups above, the IRA was very adept at guerilla warfare. The end of the war caused a divide in the IRA between the Irish National Army faction which supported the treaty, and the other members, who remain commited to to the ideology of the IRA. In the ensuing civil war, IRA suffered massive casualties and eventually lost the war. It has however continued to exist. It harbours ambitions to overthrow the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, in order to establis an Irish Republic. It is not averse to carry out assasinations and car bombings, to strike fear and impose its political will on others.

So there you have it, the top 5 non-Muslim terrorist groups in the world. Terrorists really do come in all colours, creed and religious beliefs.

Give Muslims a break!

Sources: Perfect Insider, Listovative

January 21, 2016
Zulfikar Shariff: PAP Perpetuating Racism In Singapore

Inevitably, the discussion about PAP’s racist policies bring in those who defend these policies.

But what I noticed is that the divide is not between the different races.

These policies that discriminated against the Malays were not implemented by Chinese or Indians or Eurasians or any other race or nationality in Singapura.

It was created and implemented by the PAP.

Those who came to defend and seek to perpetuate this racism….appears to be mainly if not solely..

PAP members or supporters.

The Malays, Indians, Chinese, Jews, Armenians etc do not really have much of an issue with each other.

The racists who defend these policies do so because it implicates their party.

We can see how the different nations in Singapura, when left to their own, will support each other.

As can be seen during the Tradegy Natra (Maria Hertogh) in 1950, Chinese in Singapura, supported the Malays.

And they persuaded the British to help the Malay community.

According to Assoc Prof Khairudin:

“The largest Chinese daily newspaper, the Nanyang Siang Pao, urged the British to ‘think thrice’ before making a legal decision in the upcoming appeal trial. The move to restore Maria Hertogh to her foster mother and husband would be of no great loss to Britain’s diplomatic ally; the Dutch.

On the other hand, the Malays were an important and integral part of the British Empire. The British should therefore ensure the repatriation of Maria Hertogh back to Singapore to avoid the violation of the religious rights of the Muslims, which could potentially lead to further bloodshed and violence.

The Kuomintang newspaper, Sin Chew Jit Poh, called upon the British, the Dutch and the Muslims to allow Maria Hertogh to decide for herself whether she wished to reside in the Netherlands or Malaya.

The paper stressed that Dutch diplomatic relations with other Muslim countries, such as Indonesia and Pakistan, would most certainly be jeopardized if custody of Maria Hertogh were to be awarded to her natural parents.

Another observer who identified himself as a ‘Straits Chinese’ expressed his regrets that the ‘very good name of the Singapore Malays and Muslims, who are regarded as a most law-abiding community in the colony has been besmirched (Straits Times, 17 December 1950).”

If any such events are ever to happen again, I have no doubt the ordinary Chinese, Indian, Eurasian etc in Singapura will once again defend the Malays.

And I have no doubt…the PAP Internet Brigade will lead the charge against the Malays.

Reference:

Aljunied, Khairudin. Heng, “Beyond the Rhetoric of Communalism:
Violence and the Process of Reconciliation in 1950s Singapore” Derek Thiam Soon, and Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied, eds. Reframing Singapore: Memory, Identity, Trans-regionalism. Vol. 6. Amsterdam University Press, 2009. p. 73

Source: Zulfikar Shariff

January 18, 2016