Tag: Muslim

WEAR WHITE ON TAUBAHCALL DAY: 1st Day of Ramadhan – 28 June 2014

Ustaz Noor Deros

Assalamualaikum wr wb,

Bismillah, walhamdulillah, the blessed month of Ramadan is just around the corner, if Allah wills, it will descend on the night of 28th of June around 7pm+.

We ask Allah that He allow us to be among those who will be blessed with His pardon & mercy in that month of rahmah and maghfirah. Amin.

Yet, it seems that there is another group of people who are also looking forward to that day. That very same date and time (5pm-7pm) was chosen by the PINK DOT activists (Lesbian,Gay,Bisexuals & Transexual activists and symphatisers) to organise their biggest event ever. They will come together in thousands to make a call to the Singaporean society to accept LGBT individuals (of course together with their lifestyle) without any kind of discrimination, intolerance nor judgement.

It is important to note here that it is through such nuanced events that the idea, philosophy and lifestyle of LGBT is subtly promoted and normalised, most of the time through the call to accept the VEHICLE (the LGBT individuals).

Oh Muslims! The gates of heavens and mercy will be opened in Ramadan, we do not want It to be blocked by our sins and our inaction towards munkar.

Muslims and straight-minded human beings must stand up and state our stand clearly.

No, not even as a response to this or that party, what more a reaction, but as an education first and foremost to our fellow Muslim brothers and sisters out there who still think that the LGBT lifestyle is a personal right and that the Quranic and Prophetic guidance on the LGBT issue is boundlessly flexible and ever-open to “progressive” interpretations.

For the sake of our collective spiritual, mental, emotional, social & physical health we have to MAKE CLEAR WHAT IS EVIL AND PROHIBIT IT. Be it through a small one time event or mega ones, collectively or group based. Whats important is that it must be continuous and ever present.

This is of course not a new call nor a unique one, this is just another of that small yet continuous calls. We have to keep them coming.

PERGAS have stated our stand, may Allah reward them for that, and I believe that MUIS already have something wise and farsighted in mind, many of us are waiting for that something with good opinion, but waiting is just another excuse to avoid commitment and responsibility, no, waiting is not enough, we, the people on the ground have the right and responsibility to do and say something.

———————

SUGGESTIONS :

In my discussions with many muslims about this issue I managed to gather some good suggestions, these are some of them :

– Organise an easy, simple, yet clear and easily viral event such as WEAR WHITE DAY ON THE FIRST OF RAMADAN.

Together with this, all/some of the mosque in Singapore – on the first of ramadan especially – should deliver a clear call to taubah, explaining the concept of fitrah, freedom & sexuality in Islam.

In my opinion, this is the most viable, I and my friends will take this on, you are invited to lend a hand. Please contact me if you are interested.

– Veterans and experienced Mega Maulid/Islamic Events organisers especially the lead and crowdpulling asatizahs should come together and organise a mega program on the first of ramadan, maybe a mega terawih session in a stadium. FOR THE LOVE OF THE PROPHET S.A.W. We will give our support.

– Short videos stating our stand on this issue as Muslims living in Singapore. (This is a must)

– Continuous series of talks and seminars on Islam and the LGBT. (Such programs have started, but we need more of it)

– Talks on Islamic Worldview/ Islamic View of Existence. (This is the most important)

Oh Muslims! Our amal ma’ruf nahi munkar is never and should never be restricted to only Muslims. If your non-muslim neighbour tries to kill an innocent life in front of you what do you do? Harm should not be restricted to physical, for we muslims strongly believe in the reality of spiritual harm.

Oh Muslims! We have been fighting about petty issues for too long, Isn’t it high time for us to come together for something that is common between us?

Come come! Let us all together make taubah!

Scholars should make taubah of their muteness and inaction!

Those who have fallen into the pit of LGBT lifestyle should make taubah of their transgression!

Those of us who think that we are clean and are guarenteed salvation because we are religious, should make the most istighfar! For that is the worse kind of delusion!

Welcome! Welcome oh ye month of Maghfirah!

Zulfikar Shariff Walid J. Abdullah Syed Danial Khairul AR Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied Mohamed Saiddhin Gene Sha Muhammad Azry Azmi Abdul Samad

Source: Ustaz Noor Deros

EDITOR’S NOTE

In full honesty, Rilek1Corner has to applaud these Singapore Muslims who have come together to educate the public. This is perhaps the first time in a long time that the Muslim community have witnessed how a small group of dynamic individuals are able to move a community. Hopefully, there will be more of such efforts so that both our Malay and Muslim can also move forward in tandem with rest.

Yet another history in the making.

June 2, 2014
Muslim Couple Explore Halal Food and Share Reviews on Blog

Credit: https://www.facebook.com/TheHalalFoodBlog

Adam Shah and wife, Maryah, saw the issue and the duo decided to embark on a journey of Halal food blogging on June 2012. The idea was to stop by any restaurant, cafe or even coffee-shop selling Halal meals and review on their experience for netizens out there.

“The reason we started the blog was actually quite simple. We ate out quite often and were running out of new Halal places to makan but every time we searched online, there was little information for us to go on. Se we thought ‘Why not every time we makan outside, we just blog about it?’ hoping that the information would be useful to someone,” Adam said.

“I think the biggest challenge we faced was when my wife was pregnant with our first child. This meant less opportunities for us to eat out and when we did, my wife’s appetite was a big factor. That and having to manage our time, especially now that we have a daughter, definitely a challenge.

“This is actually just a hobby and we’re glad that it does benefit our readers somehow … We love to eat and we are going to keep doing it for as long as we can,” Maryah quipped.

Read more on them here and here

Source: Vulcanpost and HalalFoodBlog

READ MORE ON HALAL RELATED ARTICLES HERE

May 30, 2014
Workers’ Party: Set Up Committee to Address Malay-Muslim Concerns

SINGAPORE – Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap of the Workers’ Party yesterday called for the formation of a committee to address concerns of Malay-Muslims over how their loyalty to the nation is viewed.

But in a swift rebuttal, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Education and Manpower Hawazi Daipi deemed his suggestion unnecessary as this was an issue that could be overcome by strengthening inter-racial ties.

The exchange began with Mr Faisal saying that more needed to be done to “address and find solutions” to community concerns highlighted in a recent report. He quoted the findings of the Suara Musyawarah committee, which said Malay-Muslim participants felt left out in certain policies and practices which “question the loyalty of Malays to the country”.

The committee was formed in 2012 to gather feedback on the thoughts, concerns and aspirations of Malay-Muslims. Its report highlighted personal accounts of employers expressing a preference for non-Malay workers and surfaced concerns over exclusion from certain parts of the Singapore Armed Forces.

Mr Faisal acknowledged that progress has been made in terms of opportunities afforded to Malay-Muslims in education and national service, but said the committee’s formation could offer a “quick solution” to achieving a “more inclusive and open Singapore society”.

Responding to his speech, Mr Hawazi and Mr Zainal Sapari (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC) later asked Mr Faisal if the latter had ever felt that his loyalty to the country was questioned, and what his own views on the issue were.

“I’m concerned (that) if we highlight the differences, we will be widening (them) not only among one community but all communities,” said Mr Hawazi, adding that schools and community activities are means to forge greater social cohesion.

In response, Mr Faisal stressed that the issue of loyalty among Malays was surfaced by the Suara Musyawarah report, and not him.

Mr Hawazi then suggested that Mr Faisal had cherry-picked portions of the report, failing to highlight, for example, that Malay-Muslim participants also said they were “very committed” to Singapore on issues that include defence and security.

Maintaining that he was reflecting concerns on the ground, Mr Faisal said: “I have said in my view that I am aware and agree there is progress made, but because there are still many people who say that this issue is present, I, as a voice of the people, would like to voice it out.”

Source: The Straits Times

READ MORE ON WORKER’S PARTY RELATED ARTICLES

May 29, 2014
Syariah Court Require Divorcing Couples with Kids To Discuss Co-Parenting at Counselling Stage

SINGAPORE — From early next year, the Syariah Court will require divorcing couples with children who are minors to discuss their co-parenting plans at the counselling stage, as part of efforts to better protect children during divorce proceedings.

The move, announced by Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim at a seminar yesterday, will help ensure that parents consider the best interests of their children from the onset of the divorce process, he said.

On average, more than 2,000 children below the age of 18 are involved in divorce proceedings every year, said the Syariah Court in a statement.

In his speech yesterday, Dr Yaacob said divorce hurts the family even when it is amicable and that the impact on children can continue into adulthood.

“Research has shown that those who experienced divorce as children face challenges breaking the cycle in adulthood,” he said. “The last thing we want is for the legacy of tragedy to be passed on from one generation to another.”

To ensure a more child-centric divorce process, the Syariah Court said couples with children below the age of 18 will need to submit a post-divorce co-parenting and care arrangement plan for their children. The plan must be prepared at the marriage counselling stage before divorce proceedings commence in court.

“This would make it compulsory for parents to consider their children’s welfare and the custody, care and control and access arrangements when making decisions that would inevitably affect their children,” said the Syariah Court.

As part of the Syariah Court’s collaboration with Malay-Muslim self-help group Mendaki, a family social services initiative called Nadi Khidmat will be extended to the court’s clients, especially those with children who are minors, to help them access information and referral services to national agencies for other forms of assistance.

In August, the Syariah Court’s marriage counsellors will undergo a skills-based workshop to enhance their knowledge of working with children. This will provide them with a better understanding of the complexities of helping divorcing couples who have children.

Currently, existing administrative measures to safeguard the interests of children include pre-divorce briefings conducted by the PPIS As-Salaam Family Support Centre and the Muslim Law Practice Committee.

The Syariah Court also refers cases of divorcing couples who have children to the Housing and Development Board, so they can receive guidance on housing after the separation.

Social welfare reports are also prepared to help the court make informed decisions on cases that involve child custody disputes.

Source: TODAY

May 29, 2014
Low Thia Kiang – Lee Hsien Loong Frontal Assaults in Parliament

Mr Low: Madam, I wish to clarify a few points. First of all, the reason why I decided to focus my speech on constructive politics, because I thought that was an important issue that we should look at. As what I say in my speech, Singapore is becoming more diversified, there will be different views. And moving forward, how the Government will deal and accommodate different views and different perspective of Singaporeans is important for us to move forward together as one united people. And the other MPs from the Workers’ Party will be talking about different issues. They will cover, I mean ranging from social issues, social safety net to foreign affairs, national security. They will cover the full range of areas, and thereby we split our job, I will focus on constructive politics. I thought it was an important issue and of course it’s important to also understand what is the perspective of the PAP in terms of constructive politics. And from what the Prime Minister has said, it seems to me that it is more constructive dictated on the term of the PAP, rather than constructive politics in terms of the society that is moving forward. And I have affirmed my endorsement to what the President has said that we should look at the outcome of constructive politics – that is, that we should be able to move forward together despite the differences. Next, he’s talking about the Workers’ Party flip-flopping on foreign workers issue. I said again I don’t think we have flip-flopped. I have explained in this House of some misunderstanding of the speeches I have made. And in any case I also noted that when the PAP have to make a policy U-turn, they called it policy shift. I don’t know whether that is a shift or is a flip-flop.

Mr Lee: I think the record will speak for itself. When we make a shift, we acknowledge the shift. When the Workers’ Party changes position, they pretend they haven’t. That is the difference. Now, as for delegating responsibility for different parts of the Budget speech to different MPs, that’s entirely within Mr Low Khia Thiang’s prerogative. It’s not for me to suggest how he should conduct his affairs in the Workers’ Party. But as a leader, you do have a responsibility to state where does the party stand on the big issue. Somebody can look after health care. Somebody can take care of transport. Somebody can spend all his time marking Minister Heng Swee Keat on education. But where do you stand on what the Government is doing? Is the Government doing right, is it doing wrong, do you agree with the Government, do you have a better view or do you abstain or do you abstain from abstaining?

Mr Low: Well, I think opposition is quite clear on many of these issues. If the Prime Minister wanted my view on what the Government has been doing and whether he has done well, I’ll say, well, he has solved some of the problems, what the Prime Minister has mentioned, and the Workers Party MPs also acknowledged it in their speech but also pointed out there are things that is still work in progress and the Government will have to focus on and to make it better and to improve. So that is the position and I don’t see the need for me to totally sum up, I think the MPs should be able to do in their own view and to give their view and their assessment and at the same time, wherever possible, offer certain views and alternative suggestions to improve the policies.

Mr Lee: Madam Speaker, I’m very grateful for the extremely reasonable explanation from the member. I hope he takes an equally reasonable approach when he comes to election rallies because the Workers’ Party approach has been to be extremely reasonable, indeed low profile in Parliament but come election time to turn into tigers and heroes.

Mr Low: Madam Speaker, I thank the prime minister for praising the Workers Party’s ability to fight in the elections. We have no intention to hide ourselves in Parliament. We seek the mandate for people to come to Parliament to check against the Government and we have done it honestly and sincerely, we have not turned this place into a theatre, that shows we are responsible and we will behave continuously as a rational and responsible party and members should, I believe members will agree that the Workers Party has been rational. We have not come here with some wild policies or wild suggestions. We debate the policies, we came out with some suggestions but these are not bankrupting the Government coffers or suggesting to use the reserves. Election – I think we are also rational, we don’t accuse the PAP of something that we cannot substantiate or I know we’ll get sued. So I think we are fair. And elections is elections and I think the prime minister for noting that we can fight elections. I’m sure the PAP can too. You are the Government and you have been the governing party for 50 years and you’ve got more, much people, talented people than the Workers’ Party! How can you say that we are tigers and we are something else in Parliament? I’m sure the PAP can equally be tigers or lions.

Mr Lee: It’s an eloquent explanation for why the Workers Party has been inarticulate about many things. In a serious Parliament, the Government presents its policies, the opposition presents its alternatives, the Workers Party may not have alternatives on every issue, you may not have a full range of all the complexities of designing an HDB scheme or a MediShield scheme, you do have a responsibility to say which direction are we going and that direction has to be set clearly, not to explain to the PAP but to explain to Singaporeans what you stand for. And what you stand for cannot be what the PAP is doing and a little better. That means you have no stand. Whatever the PAP’s standing, ask them to do better. That’s easy, I can do that too. But where do you stand? Where are we totally wrong? Where do you think this is a completely different way to do things better? Where do you think in principle we do not want Singapore to be like this? These are big issues which deserve to be debated and not elided over and avoided in the House. And that is what a First World Parliament should be about.

Mr Low: Madam Speaker, again, I’ll like to say that the Prime Minister is reasonable to say that the Workers Party may not have come out, able to come with all the alternative policies, that’s true, but to say that the Workers Party has no position on major issues, that is not true. I think we did state our position in Parliament, we debated major policies vigorously, we don’t oppose all the policies but where we think that there is a need for us to oppose and be concerned of the future of Singapore like the Population White paper, we did so. So we state our position on important issues and we didn’t oppose for things that we think are doing right. Is that not enough?

Mr Lee: I think it probably is useful to bring it down to something very specific. Let’s come back to the Population White Paper. During the debate the position taken by the Workers Party is that enough is enough, zero growth. We have continued to grow, I have not heard the Workers Party demand zero growth today. Do you still demand that or do you now think that we should allow SMEs to survive in Singapore?

Mr Low: We have made a calculation at the point in time of debating the Population White Paper and that if you continue to allow the foreign workers to grow, it will be untenable in the future generation, future population growth and thereby we decided that we need to keep the population number in check and one way of doing it, of course, is to freeze the foreign workers growth in number. Our calculation was that probably within that existing number of the foreign workers, you can still move around with some sectors there will be no need so much of foreign workers and thereby you can still get by with zero foreign workers growth. We understand perfectly the possibility and the trade-off, that is our position at that point in time. We had not objected subsequently or grilled the Government for why we are not doing it because that’s our view that it should have zero population growth but the Government decided otherwise, there’s a way of doing it, we have said our piece but we have to respect the decision of the Government to move on but our message has got across. We cannot sustain continuously the kind of population growth plan the Government is planning. And I’m glad to hear today that, you know, Prime Minister saying that the Government is taking a very serious view of tightening and watching the growth of population.

Mr Lee: Madam Speaker, after all this complicated explanation, I don’t know whether Mr Low Thia Khiang still stands by what we said in Parliament in the White Paper debate last year because if he really does after all the explanation, he should say: We have too many foreign workers now, send home 70,000, then we will know where he stands. But after telling me that you can massage this and some people can do less and others can do, and will need more, that’s easy to say. Who’s going to do the massaging? Of course the Government. And that is the mark of a substandard opposition.

Mr Low: Madam Speaker, I disagree. This is not the mark of a substandard opposition, this is the mark of a responsible opposition not to jam up the Government, allowing the Government after giving our view, debating it, allowing the Government to move forward, not to jam up the Government, so it is a mark of responsible government and a mark of First World Parliament.

Mr Lee: Madam Speaker, we have to call a spade a spade. If you have changed the position and your previous position was wrong, say so. If you hold by your position, have your guts to reaffirm it and take the consequences. But to weasel away, play with words, avoid the issue and then claim to be responsible, that is what we fear can drive Singapore’s politics into the same place where many other countries have gone.

Source: http://www.singapolitics.sg/news/pm-lee-wps-low-spar-over-constructive-politics

May 29, 2014