I’m so happy that Singapore’s Muslim community is making a vocal and visual stand for morality and Family. I fully support the ‘wear white’ campaign. FCBC, together with the LoveSingapore network of churches, will follow suit on the weekend of 28 and 29 June, island-wide. I look forward to celebrating the Family with the Muslim community and I am pleased to partner with them in championing virtue and purity for the good of our nation!
LoveSingapore will also be supporting an online Family campaign called FamFest Singapore (www.facebook.com/FamFestSingapore ). This is a unique FaceBook page by TOUCH Family Services. It promotes the right Family values. It celebrates the contributions of the Family in Singapore.
The family unit is the lifeblood of our nation. The time to stand and defend what is right is NOW.
AN ISLAMIC religious teacher has launched an online campaign asking Muslims to wear white next Saturday evening to protest against homosexuality and defend traditional family values.
Ustaz Noor Deros, 28, is behind the Wear White Facebook page and website and is asking Muslims to “return to fitrah” – the Arabic word for “natural” – and support “what is good and pure”.
The Muslim month of Ramadan starts on Sunday next week and the first evening prayer to mark the fasting month will be held on Saturday evening.
That Saturday is also when the Pink Dot picnic – an annual event promoting “the freedom to love” regardless of sexual orientation – will be held. It is organised by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
Mr Noor, who teaches religious classes at Hajar Consultancy Services in Joo Chiat, writing on the campaign website, said: “The natural state of human relationships is now under sustained attack by LGBT activists.” He said that holding the Pink Dot event on the eve of Ramadan showed their “disdain for Islam and the family”.
He urged Muslims to “stand up and defend the sanctity of family” and wear white to the first terawih prayers that day.
His is not the first group to attempt a protest against the Pink Dot event this year. Christian group Touch Family Services wanted to hold a family picnic on the same day but cancelled the event after the Urban Redevelopment Authority rejected its application to hold it at the Padang.
According to the Facebook pages of the Wear White community and Mr Noor, the campaign was launched two weeks ago and discussions took place at the Hasanah Mosque in Jurong East.
The campaign symbol is a white droplet against a black background, which some supporters are now using as their Facebook profile picture.
Zulfikar Mohd Shariff
NUS Professor Syed Khairudin Aljunied
They include National University of Singapore Malay Studies professor Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied, who drew flak earlier this year for describing lesbianism as “cancers”; and Mr Zulfikar Mohamad Shariff, who in 2002 helped four Muslim parents mount a legal challenge against the Government’s decision to suspend their daughters for wearing the Islamic headscarf to national schools.
The Wear White campaign video, presented in English, features several Muslim men and women dressed in white and describing what is sunnah, or according to Prophetic tradition. These include, for example, playing with children; caring for the elderly; tending to the poor, travellers, orphans and widows; and being fair in business dealings.
https://www.facebook.com/muhammad.soiman
Mr Noor appears holding a baby, and says: “It is sunnah to marry and raise families.”
The video was changed yesterday after theatre actor Najib Soiman, 36, asked to be removed from it, saying he had been misled about its purpose.
He told The Straits Times that when Mr Noor invited him to be featured, he thought it was meant to celebrate Ramadan. He had agreed because the community is trying to encourage young people to return to the mosques.
It was only on Wednesday that he discovered it was for the Wear White campaign, with its clear anti-homosexuality stance. He said people began calling him and he was shocked to see how it was being used.
He called Mr Noor, who said there had been a miscommunication. The video was then edited to leave out Mr Najib.
Mr Noor did not reply to questions from The Straits Times except to say he would release a press statement today.
The Pink Dot event has been held on the last Saturday of June for the past three years. A spokesman for the organisers said they went ahead with this year’s event on June 28 after checking with the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) website that Ramadan begins on June 29.
They also checked with “friends from the Muslim community” before proceeding with the event to be held at Hong Lim Park, the spokesman said.
Ustaz Khair Rahmat from Sultan Mosque, who is not involved in the Wear White campaign but learnt about it from his daughter, told The Straits Times: “My impression is that it is trying to rebut some of the things gay activists and Pink Dot have put out.
“I thought this was achieved in a non-accusatory manner. I don’t know if it’s the correct way to do it but it’s a gentle way to remind Muslims that family is between a man and a woman.”
I only wish that I will have half the courage as you do to speak out on a public platform for the support of the freedom to love, and standing up for equality of people. I apologize, on behalf of my Muslim brothers and sisters, that you have to face such unjustified backlash, laden with bigoted, harsh criticisms which largely rest upon their blind reliance on faith — without considering that you too, are a Muslim, with your own unique beliefs and ways.
I have to be perfectly honest here, clicking the PinkDotSG video link, I didn’t expect to see a hijab-donning Muslim (in the first 10 seconds too!) openly supporting the movement, much less the acceptance of LGBT people in Singapore. Knowing well that the loud and vocal minority of Muslims who will do whatever it takes to condemn homosexuality, I worried that you will have to put up with the furor from the conservative anti-gay groups here in Singapore. And true enough, the backlash came in swift, and I watched, disgusted that you bear the runt for a deep-seated prejudice inherent in these vocal oppositions.
You do not deserve to be berated for just merely expressing your beliefs. You do not deserve to have your name thrown around as a tool in a pursuit of progressing the agenda of the anti-gay community here. If you are reading this, I just want to let you know that your bravery, while not unprecedented, inspire me tremendously and speaks a lot about the state of progressive Islam in this country. You and me, and thousands of other young Muslims are in your support, we are behind you. The fact that you made the choice, out of your own conscience and guided by your moral compass, is a heroic one. You are a gem, in the sea of charcoal, Ms Sadarli.
Many of the comments directed towards you, whether on the R1C site, on Facebook or even on the PinkDot promo video itself make me feel embarrassed as a Muslim. They do not understand that you are not a deviant of Islam, and that their resounding criticism itself is contrary to the peace-loving message Islam stands up for. They are not able to comprehend that other than you, a good number of progressive Muslims are increasingly showing support for things they claim to be ‘heretic’. Do not let the vocal few bring you down, and I am pretty sure that these vocal few, and through the ever prevalent Streisand Effect, have just shed more light on this event (there’s no such thing as bad press) and bring people closer together, strengthening the support for the event and the freedom to love.
You have inspired me, and in that capacity, you have inspired many others who are shy in supporting the freedom to love, to come out and support it fervently. I hope that you continue sticking to your principles and that you will not be wavered by the tough times ahead. Your name carries a weight now, and this weight will, Insya Allah, open the hearts of the narrow-minded to see that the true word of God – is to love, despite differences, and to accept, despite deviations.
I have been keeping watch on the recent developments in the Muslim community pertaining to several important issues like the halal certification matters, MUIS’s flaccid performance on hijab issue, and zero counter measures on Pink Dot SG event this 28 June 2014 which coincidentally falls on the first day of Ramadhan. As a result of the indifference of MUIS towards taking action in the interests of the Muslim community, this has further pushed Muslims into losing faith in the secular fabric of the country.
As Muslims, we are fully aware eating halal and tayyib food is an important as a matter of worship of God where general principle what is lawful and what is good (Tayyib) should be followed. The food service sector is deemed to be the final link in the entire food industry supply chain and as this industry experiences a rapid growth, the duty of ensuring the food is halal has been shifted to restaurant operators and this can be seen through the introduction of halal standard. However, many restaurant operators did not comply with this halal standard and led to halal fraudulent practices. Reports on halal fraudulent decrease the confidence level amongst the Muslims. What’s more saddening is the tacit approach taken by MUIS and its entirely owned Halal consultancy company known as Warees Halal.
When it comes to hijab issue, attempts to resolve the tudung/hijab issue by the MUIS and the government remained unsatisfactory. Religious attires do not contribute to social disharmony and disunity and the wearing of headscarves definitely does not contribute to social disintegration. Since late last year, there has been ongoing debate on how the Government should review its stand of not allowing the tudung for certain uniformed public sector jobs, to fit the community’s aspirations. Tudung is an important religious obligation and one which symbolises a woman’s dignity and decency. There is a growing number of the grievances of fellow Muslims who face difficulties in fulfilling the religious obligation in covering the aurat due to the tudung restriction in some workplaces. The Muslims in Singapore appreciate the willingness by some government agencies for allowing Muslim women to fulfill this religious obligation. Such flexibility should be extended to all government agencies as it will reflect the government’s effort in promoting multiculturalism, and be made an example for the private sector. In alignment with the principles of individual rights and religious freedom, Muslim women who are wearing the tudung should be given equal opportunities and treatment in their workplace or in finding employment. We heard murmurs from MUIS and PERGAS, but what has been done so far? The hijab issue has been swept under the carpet again.
While Muslims celebrate the coming of blessed month Ramadhan, unfortunately many Muslims will also celebrate with the LGBT during their annual PinkDot party at Hong Lim Park. If Muslims continue to sit back in our state of docility, the PinkDot movement will keep on pushing their agenda. However, this does not mean that Muslims must ostracize the strayed homosexual Muslims. Instead, Muslims should come together and take the steps to make them understand Islam even more, and create the necessary avenue or platform for them to interact with true Muslims who love Allah and strive to make amends to improve themselves. Without such avenue/platform, Muslims are alienating these pro-LGBT supporters and activists from any of our outreach efforts. It will be a tumultuous journey but we pray that the families and friends involved are taking steps in the right direction to help their strayed loved ones. We need help from a group of professionals to help these strayed Muslims, but who do we turn to when every single action needs authorization and clearance from the MUIS and the Government?
After such a long drawn out jihad on these issues with insignificant outcome, it is high time to call for the set up of a new independent ulama body that closely oversees matters of Muslims in Singapore. Something that works like PERGAS but free from government influence and control. Indeed, the Muslim community, has fallen into unIslamic ways and needs clerical leadership in order to return to the fundamentals of the faith.
Tempoh hari, saya telah mengadakan tinjauan kecil di sini untuk mengumpulkan data sedikit sebanyak akan sokongan masyarakat terhadap MUIS. Meskipun tinjauan ini tidak boleh digunakan sebagai kaki pengukur, rata2, kita dapat menggambarkan sentiment sebilangan rakyat terhadap MUIS.
Tinjauan ini hanya terhad kepada ahli2 SMIS, ahli yg aktif dan kepada pengguna internet sahaja. Dari itu, ia sangat berkurangan untuk dijadikan landasan sebagai mempamerkan sentiment seluruh Singapura.
Hasil tinjauannya adalah seperti berikut:
Total pengundi – 61
Tidak menyokong – 24
Memberi MUIS masa – 22
Sokongan tipis – 10
Menyokong total – 5
Kita dapat lihat bahawa sebanyak 39% sudah tidak memberi sokongannya terhadap MUIS. Dan hanya 8.2% sahaja yg masih memberi sokongan total kepada MUIS. Yg selebihnya, boleh dianggap sebagai menunggu dan mahu melihat prestasi MUIS. Prestasi MUIS akan menentukan sama ada MUIS akan terus relevant atau sebaliknya.
Jikalau MUIS tetap masih tidak menunjukkan peningkatan kepada prestasinya, saya takut tidak lama lagi, MUIS akan menjadi gajah putih dan tidak lagi mewakili masyarakat orang islam di Singapura.
