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Tag: religion

  • Epigram Books Illustrated Handbooks On Singapore’s Main Races Received Mixed Responses Online

    Epigram Books Illustrated Handbooks On Singapore’s Main Races Received Mixed Responses Online

    Epigram Books came under the spotlight earlier this month for a series of illustrated handbooks released by the independent local publisher.

    Authored by Edmund Wee, the founder of Epigram Books, ‘The Understanding Singaporeans’ series consists of four illustrated handbooks. Each handbook contains 20 questions, with answers as well as useful tips, to some of the most asked questions young Singaporeans have revolving around the country’s four main races.

    According to Epigram, the four-book bundle, each representing one ethnic community within the country, was produced with one thought in mind – “How do we respond to the most awkward questions children ask?”

    Readers on the publisher’s Facebook page however, pointed out the misrepresentation between the races and its customs.

    One netizen, Sharifah Husin, said, “The titles should be “Why do Hindus dot their foreheads?” and “Why do Muslims avoid Pork?”. However, since the series is meant to focus on practices unique to each of the four races, a clear understanding of the difference between race and religion must be ensured before publishing the books. Incorrect information transmitted will mislead readers, especially children, who would like to learn more. For example, Non-Hindu Indians do not dot their foreheads, while Non-Muslim Malays do not don the Hijab.”

    While others appreciated the efforts put forth by Epigram Books on “opening a dialogue between races”, some also echoed Sharifah’s sentiments, pointing out that not all Indians are Hindus, and only Hindu women wear ‘bindis’ on their forehead.

    Epigram Books was quick to issue a response, clearing the air and explaining their choice of words for the titles and questions asked from the four-series book.

    Since the beginning of their promotions for the book series, Epigram has been receiving queries about their choice of titles, the publisher explained.

    “To be honest, we had very much the same concerns while debating the merits of these titles. To alleviate those concerns, we made sure to run through the books’ content through various focus groups sourced from representative ethnic communities and associations to ensure that any sensitivities are adequately addressed,” Epigram said, in a post.

    They had picked the titles that best represented “what our children can best relate to and most likely ask, not to mention that they would also grab the attention of adults enough to spark a much-needed conversation on race and religion”.

    Epigram agreed that the book, meant for children between 5- to 8-year-old, can only “scratch the surface of an otherwise complex topic” but they hope that it would be an opportunity for adults to address these “awkward” questions with more confidence.

    “We’d like to ask that you see the Understanding Singaporeans series with the eyes, mind and innocence of a child, so that you can understand how children might come up with these questions in the first place,” Epigram added.

    The series of illustrated books can be purchased from Epigram Books website.

     

    Source: www.theonlinecitizen.com

  • Seeing His Way Blocked,Frustrated Man Persistently Honked Outside Surau During Friday Prayers, Attacked By Mob

    Seeing His Way Blocked,Frustrated Man Persistently Honked Outside Surau During Friday Prayers, Attacked By Mob

    A 28-year-old man was injured and the car he that was driving, damaged, when he was attacked by several men outside a surau just after Friday prayers concluded at Taman Austin Perdana here today.

    Johor Criminal Investigation Department chief Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the 1.30pm incident occurred when the man found another car blocking his path and he started honking.

    “After that, a man appeared to move the car and the disgruntled driver honked the other man again as he was driving off.

    “Suddenly a group of men approached the first driver and started hitting him with their hands and helmet. The complainant’s vehicle was also damaged,” said Kamarul in a statement.

     

    Kamarul said a face-to-face meeting was conducted between the driver and members of the surau’s committee at the Setia Indah police station after incident

    “All parties involved have agreed to leave the matter for the police to investigate,” he said, adding the case was being investigated under Section 147 of the Penal Code for rioting.

    He said police are now tracing the people who attacked the man.

     

    Source: www.nst.com.my

  • Islamic Renaissance Front: Deport Zakir Naik For The Sake Of Malaysians

    Islamic Renaissance Front: Deport Zakir Naik For The Sake Of Malaysians

    Malay-Muslim scholars and thinkers regrouped under the Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) are not in favor of the presence of Islamic preacher Zakir Naik in Malaysia, and his involvement in local political matters.

    In a long article entitled “Zakir Naik’s Appeal and the Quagmire of Inter-Religious Relations in Malaysia“ published on June 17, 2016, by Singaporean based interfaith group Left Right and Center creator Mohamed Imran Mohamed Taib.

    In the article, Mohamed Imran explained the reasons why Zakir is diverting from the real issues of ‘comparative religion’ debates, into that of a politically charged engagement in Malaysia.

    He said Zakir’s presence in Malaysia may have bad fallout on the country’s religious harmony.

    He urged for the replacement of the ‘confrontational’ religious education with one that builds approaches, reconcile and create a sense of respect for each other, to accept diversity and difference. and the desire to jointly pursue the common good in a spirit of peace, justice and equality between religious and non-religious communities.

    This with the desire to jointly pursue the common good in a spirit of peace, justice and equality between religious and non-religious communities.

    “While politics can often derail this process, it is important to work towards building a community that can fight the tide effort to seed the dispute.

    He said these actions may not be carried out by outright prohibition, which would instantly make them martyrs in religion classes and strengthen the “conspiracy theory” against Islam.

    “In contrast is the strong effort to show that the relationship between religion will be harmed if Zakir Naik is left unchecked.

    Original article here: http://irfront.net/post/articles/articles-malay/rayuan-zakir-naik-dan-jerlus-hubungan-antara-agama-di-malaysia/

     

    Source: www.theindependent.sg

  • Sultanah Johor: Show Equal Respect To Non-Muslim

    Sultanah Johor: Show Equal Respect To Non-Muslim

    PETALING JAYA: Muslims must show the same respect to their fellow Malaysians of other faiths, as given to them, says Permaisuri of Johor Raja Zarith Sofia Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah.

    In a Facebook posting, she said Muslims in Malaysia are very lucky because they do not know what it is like to be part of a minority group.

    “Those of us who have studied or lived abroad know what it feels like to be a minority, and we learn to adapt. At the same time, we see the kindness and the acceptance of those who are Christians, Jews, or of other faiths, when we are in their countries.

    “I remember seeing photos of Zaharah Othman, the NST London correspondent, at a church, wearing her hijab. And she’s also told me how she was offered to perform her prayers in churches,” she said.

    She also shared how her eldest son Tunku Mahkota Tunku Ismail, when he was leaving India after ending his service with the Indian army, was taken to the army mosque by his fellow officers.

    “They were Hindus but they covered their heads with their handkerchiefs, and took their shoes off.

    “We Muslims must show the same respect to our fellow Malaysians,” she said.

     

    Source: www.thestar.com.my

  • Osman Wok Chose PAP, Angered UMNO, Branded As Infidel

    Osman Wok Chose PAP, Angered UMNO, Branded As Infidel

    Othman Wok suffered many an assassination on his character in his 18 years in politics, standing up for a multi-racial Singapore, where he was denounced by Malay supremacists as an “infidel” and “traitor to the Malay race”.

    He never wavered. But he was threatened repeatedly as an election candidate for the multiracial People’s Action Party (PAP) over the United Malays National Organisation (Umno).

    He received a flurry of death threats in the fractious months leading to independence. One such missive was from an anonymous Malay letter-writer using the nom de plume Anak Singapura in early July 1964: “At this time you are a traitor to the community and religion … if you persist in doing this to the Malays, we dare to sharpen the long parang that you’ve been asking for.”

    That same month, Umno leader Syed Jaafar Albar said in a July 12 speech in Pasir Panjang to thousands of Malays: “If there is unity, no force in this world can trample us down, no force can humiliate us, no force can belittle us… not one Lee Kuan Yew, a thousand Lee Kuan Yews… we finish them off… kill him, kill him. Othman Wok and Lee Kuan Yew.” Mr Albar’s words were, ironically, published in Utusan, the newspaper where Mr Othman had worked for 17 years.

    Pasir Panjang was Mr Othman’s ward, after he won the nationwide poll there in September 1963. He quit journalism shortly after, when Mr Lee appointed him Minister for Social Affairs, making him the only Malay in Cabinet then. He was, however, not Singapore’s first Malay Cabinet minister, as the late Ahmad Ibrahim had been Minister for Health, and then Labour, between 1959 and 1962.

    Nine days after Mr Albar’s invective, at around 4.30pm on July 21, 1964, Singapore’s worst racial riots erupted. Mr Othman was then leading a PAP contingent in a procession from the Padang to Lorong 12 Geylang, to celebrate the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. When Chinese and Malays began hurling bottles at one another and punching policemen, Mr Othman led his group to safety within the old Kallang Airport building – and called his comrades in Cabinet to impose a curfew. A total of 23 people were killed, and 454 others injured.

    A week later, a former Utusan colleague admitted to him that he had known the riots would break out – a good two hours before they happened. In Mr Othman’s 2000 biography Never In My Wildest Dreams, he recalled his colleague telling him thus: “We knew beforehand. We have our sources, you know.”

    Mr Othman mused later in Men In White, the 2010 book on the history of the PAP: “I believe the riot was planned; it did not start spontaneously. They were very smart to choose a religious procession so that if we had stopped it, we would be called anti-Muslim. The inflammatory communal and racial speeches made by Malaysian Umno leaders worked up Malay sentiments in Singapore.”

    In the aftermath of the riots, Mr Lee relied heavily on Mr Othman, his old unionist friend whom he found “capable, dedicated and with integrity”, to defuse tensions among all the races here.

     

    Source: www.straitstime.com