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Tag: Muslims

  • Yaacob Ibrahim: There Cannot Be Double Standards When Dealing With Issues That Touch On Race And Religious Harmony

    Yaacob Ibrahim: There Cannot Be Double Standards When Dealing With Issues That Touch On Race And Religious Harmony

    This incident involving Imam Nalla of Jamae Chulia mosque has been a trying one for the community. Imam Nalla has realised that he is in the wrong and that his words have caused tension and disquiet. His apology over the weekend was a meaningful gesture to reconcile with friends from other faiths. I thank our non-Muslim friends for accepting the apology. Their willingness to forgive reflects the Singapore way, where we uphold mutual respect and harmony for our common good.

    Earlier, I mentioned that there cannot be double standards when we deal with issues that touch on race and religious harmony. Our laws preserve the freedom to practise one’s faith, and protect all communities, regardless of race or religion, from being denigrated. The authorities have done the right thing by applying the law firmly and fairly, as this is in the best interest of all communities.

    As Muslims, we are called to radiate rahmah (compassion) and spread peace. Words matter and words that cause mistrust and apprehension among the various communities have no place in Singapore. Similarly, a case such as this should always be directed to the relevant authorities as and when they arise. It would be irresponsible and reckless to sensationalise such issues on social media.

    This has been a difficult episode. But it is also a timely reminder of how words uttered insensitively can undermine our social cohesion. Let us learn and reflect from this episode, unite as one people and focus on the future we hope to build as a society. Wherever we are, including spaces like our places of worship, we must safeguard the values we hold and cherish as Singaporeans – mutual respect, unity and social harmony. The unity of our nation depends on this.

    #yaacobibrahim

     

    Source: Yaacob Ibrahim

  • Dr Khairudin Aljunied: I Wish To Apologise Unreservedly To Singaporeans And NUS

    Dr Khairudin Aljunied: I Wish To Apologise Unreservedly To Singaporeans And NUS

    Dear Friends,

    1. I refer to my posts on social media which were made on 1-2 March 2017, titled “The Imam and the Silly Convert” and “The Imam and the Wised up Convert Reloaded”.

    2. I wish to acknowledge that I had made the posts without a full understanding of the facts on the ground, and I wish to say that I disagree with the Imam making such supplications during his sermon, and I did not know that the supplications were not an extract of the Quran. I do note that the Imam has since apologised earlier yesterday for the recent incident.

    3. I also wish to say that whilst my posts could be seen as being supportive of the Imam, and I was wrong to have put them up.

    4. I had meant it as a fictional account and not in support of anyone in particular. My posts were meant to show how Muslims can settle differences between them in a peaceful and amicable way.

    5. I now wish to apologise unreservedly to Singaporeans and NUS, since my posts were supportive of what the Imam had said. I undertake not to repeat my conduct.

    Best Regards,

    Khairudin Aljunied

     

    Source: Khairudin Aljunied

  • Hotel Halal Pertama Thailand Dapat Sambutan Amat Menggalakkan

    Hotel Halal Pertama Thailand Dapat Sambutan Amat Menggalakkan

    Perniagaan Al Meroz Hotel, hotel empat bintang halal sepenuhnya yang
    pertama di Thailand, kini semakin pesat berikutan peningkatan jumlah pelancong Islam ke negara itu.

    Pengarah Urusan dan Pengurus Besarnya Sanya Saengboon berkata hotel dengan 242 bilik itu yang sudah mendapat pensijilan daripada pihak berkuasa dari Timur Tengah dan Thailand, mendapat sambutan yang amat menggalakkan.

    “Kadar penginapan hotel kami sekarang ialah pada 94 peratus. Ia sudah terlalu tinggi dan saya tidak tahu apa yang perlu dilakukan lagi (terhadap sambutan yang tidak pernah berlaku),” katanya kepada Bernama dalam satu temu bual baru-baru ini.

    Bagi menampung permintaan yang amat menggalakkan itu, beliau berkata hotel itu, yang menampilkan seni bina seperti masjid lengkap dengan menara, sudah mula merancang untuk menambah 150 bilik lagi.

    Rancangan pengembangan dilakukan sebulan selepas hotel itu, yang terletak di pinggir bandar Bangkok, Ramkhamhaeng, dilancarkan secara rasmi pada Februari tahun ini selepas menjalani operasi percubaan lebih setahun.

    BANGUNAN TAMBAHAN AKAN DITAMBAH

    Hotel berkenaan akan menambah satu lagi bangunan tambahan pada akhir tahun,
    menjadikan jumlah keseluruhan bilik kepada hampir 500, setiap satu dilengkapi dengan
    sejadah, Al-Quran dan arah kiblat.

    Ia juga mempunyai surau, kemudahan wuduk, tiga restoran, dewan, gimnasium dan kolam renang, dengan masa yang berlainan bagi lelaki dan wanita.

    Menurut Sanya, yang beragama Islam, walaupun hotel itu halal sepenuhnya, Al Meroz menerima campuran tetamu, Islam dan bukan Islam, yang menunjukkan bahawa orang bukan Islam sedia untuk menginap di hotel berstatus halal.

    “Sejak dibuka, kami telah menerima banyak pelanggan dari Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, China, serta negara-negara di Timur Tengah, Eropah dan Amerika,” katanya.

    Selain itu, hotel ini juga memenuhi keperluan pelancong Islam tempatan terutamanya dari bahagian selatan negara ini dan masyarakat yang tinggal di Ramkhamhaeng, antara penempatan orang Islam terawal dan terbesar di Bangkok.

    LIHAT PELUANG DALAM PELANCONGAN HALAL

    Sanya berkata Lembaga Pelancongan Thailand melihat peluang dalam pasaran
    pelancongan halal dan memulakan usaha bersepadu untuk menarik pelancong Islam dari seluruh dunia ke negara di Asia Tenggara itu.

    (Gambar-gambar: Laman Al Meroz Hotel)

    “Terdapat 1.6 bilion umat Islam di dunia dan ini merupakan satu peluang yang besar untuk negara,” katanya, sambil menambah bahawa usaha untuk menarik pelancong Islam sudah memberi faedah kepada Thailand, sebuah negara dengan majoriti penduduk beragama Buddha.

    Thailand sudah menyaksikan lonjakan pelancong dan pengunjung Islam sejak beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini.

    Beliau berkata inisiatif ini melangkaui peluang pelancongan memandangkan rantaian halal meliputi industri-industri lain yang Thailand boleh memanfaatkannya.

    Mengimbas kembali bagaimana tercetusnya idea untuk membina hotel halal pertama Thailand itu, Sanya berkata ia adalah ilham Presiden dan Ketua Pegawai Eksekutifnya, Rausak Mulsap, yang melihat peluang luas dalam industri halal.

    Didorong oleh impian memiliki hotel halal di Thailand, Rausak memulakan pembinaan Al Meroz Hotel tiga tahun lalu dengan pelaburan sebanyak lebih satu bilion baht (S$40 juta).

    Source: BeritaMediacorp

  • Imam Visits Synagogue To Apologise For Offensive Remarks

    Imam Visits Synagogue To Apologise For Offensive Remarks

    Imam Nalla Mohamed Abdul Jameel, 47, extended his unconditional apology for his offensive remarks and acknowledged that he must bear full responsibility for his actions.

    The visit came two days after he apologised at a gathering of leaders of various faiths.

    Yesterday, the imam also presented Rabbi Mordechai Abergel with a copy of the open statement of apology that he had delivered last Friday at the Harmony in Diversity Gallery in Maxwell Road.

    On behalf of the Jewish community here, Rabbi Abergel accepted the imam’s apology at the Maghain Aboth Synagogue.

    The rabbi said the Jewish and Muslim communities here have a “very harmonious” relationship, with strong bonds of friendship.

    “This sends a message that these bonds are not affected, and we share so much more than what divides us,” he added.

    In February, a video of the imam reciting a prayer in Arabic that said “God help us against Jews and Christians”, among other things, was circulated online.

    The imam clarified last Friday that the additional supplication he read was not from the Quran, but an old Arabic text originating from his village in India.

    Yesterday, Buddhist and Sikh leaders also joined in the synagogue visit.

    At a separate community event in Marsiling yesterday, Speaker of Parliament Halimah Yacob said the imam’s apology is a “positive move” that should be taken into consideration.

    “He apologised, he gathered together all the people from different faiths, and it was a great initiative on his part,” she said.

    REMORSE

    Last Friday’s meeting, where the imam apologised before leaders of various faiths, including Christian leaders, was organised at his request.

    He said he was “filled with great remorse for the inconvenience, tension and trauma that I have caused to this peaceful country”.

    After the controversial remarks surfaced, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said the Government will not tolerate preaching that encourages violence or seeks to pit one religion against another.

    On Saturday, Mr Shanmugam said the police have completed their investigations on the matter and submitted a report to the Attorney-General’s Chambers, adding that a decision is expected within a few days.

    The imam’s apology was welcomed by the Muslim community and leaders of other faiths, Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim noted on Saturday.

    Yesterday, Madam Halimah said of the imam’s apology: “He realised what he did was a mistake.

    “He also realised that what he had lifted from his home town in India may not be so applicable here. Probably, he didn’t know, or quite understand, the context of Singapore society.”

    She added: “We are multiracial, multi-religious, and you need to understand that is important.”

     

    Source: TNP

  • Perkasa: Singapore Minister’s Remark An Insult To King, Government

    Perkasa: Singapore Minister’s Remark An Insult To King, Government

    Malay right-wing group Perkasa wants Wisma Putra to send a letter of protest to Singapore for comments attributed to a senior minister comparing Singapore Malays with Malaysian Malays.

    Singapore Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam had been reported as saying that Singapore Malays are better off in terms of education standing, skills and wealth than those of similar ethicnicity in Malaysia or Indonesia.

    Perkasa deputy chairman Sirajuddin Salleh said the statement made by Shanmugam was uncalled for.

    “I am concerned about the statement. It is not diplomatic and is an insult to the King and the government of Malaysia,” he told FMT when asked to comment on Shanmugam’s statement.

    Sirajuddin said Malaysia and Singapore were close neighbours and there should be greater diplomacy between both countries.

    “I hope Wisma Putra will issue a strong protest letter. To me, the remark is not good. I will not touch on the content because it is very subjective.

    “It is just like if he comes to my house and says something that is not nice. Whether he is right or not, that is subjective, but in this case, it is not very nice,” Sirajuddin said.

    Earlier Channel News Asia quoted Shanmugam as saying that “with a stable, strong political system, with a strong government, with a guarantee for the minorities … with this framework, we can become the community that Muslim societies in other countries look towards and say, this is the example.”

    Shanmugam had also suggested that Malay, Indian and Chinese PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians) from Singapore were better off than those of the same race, respectively, in Malaysia.

    However, the minister had cautioned that while Singapore was doing better compared with many parts of the world, “within Singapore there is still a gap” and they were no longer just competing with Malaysia or Indonesia, but instead competing with the world.

    He said the proportion of Malay Primary 1 students who go on to post-secondary education had doubled from 45% in 1995 to 93% in 2015. Those who eventually receive polytechnic diplomas, professional qualifications or university degrees have “gone up over a five-year period to 21%.”

    Shanmugam added that the proportion of Malays working as PMETs increased to 28% in 2010 and their median real monthly income per capita had doubled since 1990.

    Nearly 90% of Malay households in Singapore own their own homes, according to Shanmugam.

    However, he singled out three challenges facing the Malay-Muslim community in the country – radicalisation, loss of jobs and the over-representation of Malays being caught for crimes and drug abuse.

    Citing a Pew Research Centre study which showed that 10% of Malaysian Malays had a favourable opinion of Islamic State (IS), and that nearly one-quarter were not prepared to come out and say that IS is wrong, Shanmugam said that Singapore Malays must not get to that level.

    “A key part of that depends on you, the leaders of the Malay community, and whether you can make sure that the right religious values are put forth. We have to work hard at this because the influences are on the internet,” Shanmugam reportedly told a seminar organised by the Association of Muslim Professionals in Singapore.

    On drug abuse, Shanmugam had said 53% of those arrested for drug abuse last year were Malays. This is an increase from 10 years ago when the proportion of Malays arrested for the same was 32%.

     

    Source: freemalaysiatoday