FMSA official position on #wearwhite online campaign.
We also seek readers to refer to statements by MUIS, Pergas and other MalayMuslim Organisations (MMOs) to have a better understanding on the matter we are addressing here.— with Damanhuri Abas and Hairudin Hamid.
READ RELATED ARTICLES ON PINKDOT SG & #WEARWHITE MOVEMENT
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.
Authored by Pastor Lawrence Khong of FCBC
Are you supporting the Freedom to Love or are you supporting the Traditional Values of Marriage and Family?
Which side are you on? Share your opinion with us at Rilek1Corner.
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.
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.
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.”
Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/singapore/story/religious-teacher-launches-wear-white-online-campaign-20140620
Are you supporting the Freedom to Love or are you supporting the Traditional Values of Marriage and Family?
Which side are you on? Share your opinion with us at Rilek1Corner.
Dear R1C,
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.
Thank you for your bravery, Ms Sadarli.
Authored by Singapore Progressive Muslim
Are you supporting the Freedom to Love or are you supporting the Traditional Values of Marriage and Family?
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Here are the compiled comments by Matt Loe who strongly defended Subway Singapore’s decision not to go halal:
Why does every restaurant be halal? if there is a difference in taste with halal, then the non-muslims should be allowed to enjoy also. so anyone who wants their food halal and can’t find it in Singapore, then go up the border where everything is halal, remember Singapore is a multi-race country, for sure, but it is not a muslim one and shouldn’t have to make everything halal just to please a certain percentage of the population. Plus, there are healthy veggie options, not every meal has to be a meat one!
and YES, it will TASTE DIFFERENT… as well as cost a lot to get done. So i support Subway Singapore’s decision on this matter!
** the funny thing about this whole episode here is this… **
1. why do you want to eat in a food outlet that serves foods that you cannot or are not allowed to consume??
2. why should a food outlet that is famous for it’s products, including the very ones that you are not able to consume, be forced or begged to change it’s menu items just so that you can also eat there??
3. why can’t you see how selfish you are being, acting in this manner?? because if it were changed for you, then the others who enjoyed the special menu that they are known for, are going to miss out…
4. it is very simple… if you have an issue with a certain item, then choose another item!!
5. it is very simple again… if you are not allowed to consume products in a food outlet that is not certified to your standards, then choose another outlet!!
6. it is very unreasonable to demand an outlet to be changed just so that one can follow a particular belief system. that is your own choice. just like ppl who choose to be vegetarian, there are those that choose to consume particular foods. if you cannot eat meat or are not allowed to eat particular foods, then it is not the fault of the outlet. it is your particular issue.
7. i have never seen a meat serving outlet forced to go meat free just to suit a vegetarian’s choice. meaning all meat becomes meat free. i am sure a lot of vegetarians would like more alternatives to choose from, but there are only a couple. instead a choice must be made to choose a suitable outlet. this is an example, because you want all the meat changed just to suit your own taste and beliefs. this means that the
animals to be eaten are killed to your standards and a little sticker goes on the menu along with a certificate on the wall.8. the taste WILL be different. maybe not for you, but for all the regulars who loved the menu just as it was….
9. the way the animal is slaughtered is unethical for a LOT of people.
10. for a meat eater, turkey does NOT taste better than pork. and i really have to ask, how would you know that it does?? for the real thing, there is no substitute. so stop saying that there can or should be.
11. if you wouldn’t change your outlets when asked, why should others change theirs?? a lot of ppl do not like halal but this would never be changed now would it…to please those that don’t like the taste, or the preparation? the coin has TWO sides to it.
Ps. i am not against anybody here, or anywhere, i am not promoting any kind of ‘hate’ speech either. however, i can see here that some are very rude when they don’t get their own way. this is just discussion only. and FYI, i do not consume any pork, beef, or any seafood items as my choice. I am against ANY outlet being changed from it’s original menu items when it doesn’t need to be just to suit a few.
Subway is Subway – sumthing can’t eat, then too bad !!! you can’t change a whole restaurant just cos u can’t eat a few tems on the menu – r u kidding me??!! LOVE it or LEAVE it…
Source: Subway Singapore, Matt Loe,
Contributed by Nur Sarah Al Islam
EDITOR’S NOTE
What is your take on this matter? Do you want Subway Singapore to go halal or do you think our non-Muslim friends should continue to enjoy their non-halal meats and sauces?
Let us know your views on this.
