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Tag: Pink Dot SG

  • Ustaz Noor Deros: There Is No Progress Without Control Of Basic Human Desire

    Ustaz Noor Deros: There Is No Progress Without Control Of Basic Human Desire

    Have we progressed far enough as humanity so as to again declare that fornication (what more homosexual intercourse) is illegal?

    It seems that we are still unable to let go of our primitive inclination towards self-destructive short termed pleasures and short-sighted justifications.

    Not declaring your HIV status to your current or to-be wife or husband is a crime in Islam, what more infecting them with it, this goes without saying.

    The central issue at hand here is the modern crisis of fornication that is based on the false idea that this body is our sole property and we have all the right to do whatever we want with it.

    How can we lay claim to something we did not create ourselves, something we can never buy nor given to us (as our property) by the Creator?

    In Islam, this body is a loan from Him, for us to make a good use out of it, and later to be returned back to Him.

    Sexual pleasures through heterosexual intercourse can only come with the pledge of commitment to an endless/long term physical, emotional and spiritual relationship.

    We can never claim to have progressed if we are still unable to control this basic human desire.

     

    Source: Noor Deros

  • LoveSingapore WearWhite’s Message Is Troubling In Multi-Culural, Diverse Singapore

    LoveSingapore WearWhite’s Message Is Troubling In Multi-Culural, Diverse Singapore

    On May 19, the LoveSingapore Christian network released a Facebook post launching the Wear White movement for 2016, calling on churches in its network to wear white. While the Wear White movement was founded last year by a Muslim religious teacher as a counter-movement to Pink Dot, LoveSingapore, as a Christian group, appears to be taking the lead this year. This year, the Wear White movement is scheduled on the same weekend (June 4-5) as Pink Dot, which will be held on June 4 at the Speakers’ Corner.

    LoveSingapore’s Facebook post, which they said was addressed to the government, church, press and society, contains several points which are troubling. In the second point of the post, the LoveSingapore network calls for churches to arise and move on their convictions regarding public morality. This was followed by Howard Hendricks’ quote which said, “A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something you will die for.”

    The juxtaposition of LoveSingapore’s mobilisation call and Hendricks’ quote raises eyebrows. Such rhetoric is questionable, especially in view of this year’s terrorist attacks in Brussels and Jakarta.

    The third and fourth point in the message emphasized the importance of listening to Singapore’s conservative majority and keeping with the core values they possess. It also warned that the conservative majority will push against attempts to promote lifestyles and ideologies that openly and outrightly contradict Singapore’s laws, government’s stated policies, national core values, and the conservative majority’s views on public morality, marriage and family.

    LoveSingapore’s repeated emphasis on the word “majority” is troubling. In Singapore’s multiracial, multireligious society, no particular religion or group can claim to speak for the majority.
    The Humanist Society (Singapore) calls for respectful, informed discussion on the topic, based on reason, evidence, and compassion around the cause.

    Executive Committee Humanist Society (Singapore)

     

    Source: Humanist Society Singapore

  • Almakhazin: When Anti-Islamophobia Activists Are Islamophobic

    Almakhazin: When Anti-Islamophobia Activists Are Islamophobic

    Over the years, I have met with a lot of Muslims in Singapura, Malaysia and Australia who claim to be concerned about Islamophobia.

    They engage with their surrounding society and government to reduce or eliminate threats to cohesion and co-existence.

    Those who work on this issue can be broadly categorised into 2 groups:

    1. Those who challenge it by promoting Islam.

    2. And those who challenge Islamophobia by making themselves appear acceptable to non-Muslims

    The first group will discuss Islam, what we need to do and promote the religion while participating in the discourse.

    The stance is “We are Muslims. We will not change who we are to be acceptable to anyone else.

    We are happy to engage and discuss. Hopefully that will bring understanding. If it does not, that is alright. We will continue engagement”.

    The second group tries to be accepted. They create videos such as “Happy Muslims” and “We are Muslims dont panic”.

    They tend to attach themselves to rights discourses.

    Their usual argument is that Muslims are a disempowered minority. Their recourse is to work with other disempowered minority groups for mutual support.

    We see these Muslims in support of homosexuality, socialist/ Marxist class struggles etc.

    Their discourse on rights and freedom are taken from liberal values.

    Their main focus is to be accepted.

    In their quest, they change Islam so that others will accept them. They try to be the face of acceptable Islam.

    Their struggle is not about the deen. It is not about Islam in its full scope (the beliefs, the practices, the philosophy).

    Their struggle is against disempowerment.

    So rather than Islam rejecting homosexuality, these Muslims argue that we should support the movement because we are both from minority, disempowered groups.

    Their rejection of Islamophobia is not based on Islam. It is based on a need to be accepted.

    It is about negating disempowerment.

    What they may not realise is that their very response is a product of Islamophobia.

    Their attempt to change Islam, to infuse Islam with values and beliefs that are accepted by the majority or the West, is the very product of Islamophobia.

    They provide the counter-narrative against Muslims who want to live according to Islam.

    Rather than resisting, they have become the purveyors of anti Islam rhetoric.

    They are its product.

     

    Source: Almakhazin SG

  • Together We Stand – Wear White For Family

    Together We Stand – Wear White For Family

    We.Wear.White | Saturday, June 4 | Sunday, June 5

    Why Wear White? Because it is a pro-Family, pro-Government, pro-Singapore message!

    1. It is a message to our Government that we fully support its pro-Family policies. We reinforce the important role of Family in nation-building. Guó Jiā. Guó means country. Jiā means family. The Family is the basic building block of society. As the Family goes, so goes society, so goes the nation. We pledge to work with our government to build a Family of Nation-Builders and a Nation of Family-Builders.

    2. It is a message to the Church that we must arise and move as one on our convictions regarding personal purity and public morality, Marriage and Family. Howard Hendricks said: “A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something you will die for.”

    3. It is a message to the Press and Society at large that the Church’s stance on heterosexual Marriage and the Natural Family is in keeping with the core value of Singapore’s conservative majority. We signal to the younger generation our commitment to preserve the Pioneer Generation’s legacy of Family according to “the mainstream views and values of Singapore society, where the social norm consists of the married heterosexual family unit.”

    4. It is a message to LGBT activists that there is a conservative majority in Singapore who will push back and will not allow them to promote their homosexual lifestyle and liberal ideologies that openly and outrightly contradict our laws, our government’s stated policies, our national core values, and the conservative majority’s views on public morality, Marriage and Family.

    Remember, this is not a protest. This is a message. An important message representing the conservative majority of Singapore. Will you lead by example?

    “I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them.” (Jeremiah 32:39)

    Together We Stand:
    Lawrence Khong
    Chairman, LoveSingapore

     

    Source: LoveSingapore

  • More Marriages Breaking Down Because Of Same-Sex Infidelity

    More Marriages Breaking Down Because Of Same-Sex Infidelity

    In this day and age, the third party that causes a marriage break-up may not be the usual “other woman” or “other man”.

    Family lawyers say they have been seeing more marriages unravel on account of an affair with someone of the same sex.

    It is not common, but the 20 lawyers and private investigators that The Sunday Times interviewed say it is a noticeable development.

    Many of the lawyers handle one or two such cases a year now. But there were hardly any such cases 10 to 15 years ago. At most, it was just one case every few years.

    Lawyers and counsellors say many of the men and women involved may be gay, lesbian or bisexual, but repressed their feelings to conform to social norms or to please their parents by getting married and having children. But with society more open today, more of them are acting on their feelings.

    Lawyer Tan Siew Kim said: “I think being attracted to someone of the same sex is not so taboo any more. So all these people… feel it is now more acceptable to pursue their happiness, if they meet someone of the same sex.”

    Private investigators say the proliferation of social media and dating websites has made it easier to seek and establish such relationships, especially for gay men.

    Lawyer Gloria James-Civetta said one of her clients was suspicious when her husband, a hair stylist in his 30s, became more conscious of his appearance and was frequently out till late. The private investigator the client hired found that her husband often patronised gay clubs. When confronted, he confessed to being gay and told her he wanted to divorce her.

    Ms James-Civetta said of the couple, who have two children: “He told her he felt pressure from his parents to marry. She felt deceived, like he did not really love her at all.”

    According to counsellors, when women get involved with a same-sex companion, it is usually the result of having developed a strong bond with someone who offers them the emotional intimacy they find lacking in their husbands.

    Lawyers say some women even decide to end the marriage and leave the children to be with their new partners.

    Lawyer Rina Kalpanath Singh, who has handled such cases, said: “They tend to shy away from fighting for custody. They may feel ashamed as same-sex relationships are not so accepted by society yet and they don’t want to put their children through living with two parents of the same sex.”

    Understandably, the discovery that their husband or wife is gay or lesbian is traumatic. And many of these spouses demand a divorce, lawyers say. Ms Singh said: “The betrayal cuts even deeper when they find out the third party is someone of the same sex as their spouse.”

    Lawyers say adultery is not cited as grounds for divorce in cases of infidelity involving same-sex partners. This is because adultery is legally defined as a sexual relationship between a man and a woman who are not married to each other, but to other people. So these individuals file for divorce citing “unreasonable behaviour”.

    Lawyer Helen Chia said: “I’m certain this has been going on for some time. It is just that no one talks about it. The world we live in is more accepting, so people now dare to come out and talk about it.”

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com