A recent study on race and religion in Singapore was timely in checking the sentiments we harbour against “The Others”. In a survey of tolerance against other religions, Islam was listed as the least well received which probably due to the association with current global terrorism and the reluctance of the local moderate Muslims to speak up against the extremist teachings.
It’s a bit disheartening to know that the availability of various community engagement programmes does not eradicate the stigma associated with being a Muslim in Singapore. Making a clear distinction between the radical and moderate Muslim is baffling for a Muslim, what else to a non-Muslim.
In London recently, more than 130 Muslim scholars called for peace with the Christians but in Singapore we have yet to see the combined efforts by the religious leaders in addressing others misgivings on Islam. I personally believe that if all the local Muslim scholars, imams, community leaders and moderate Muslims publicly declared their support for anti-terrorism, more faith will be place on the local Muslims. In the era of global terrorism, there are more avenues spreading radical views of Islam than countering them. Local Muslims community should collaborate intensively in countering the radical ideology and address the non-Muslims doubts.
Besides the Muslim Converts’ Association, there are no other avenues for a non-Muslim to learn about Islam. While the Muslims are discussing the correct interpretations of Islam, the non-Muslims are left out and therefore, the element of distrust and of associating Islam & terrorism is still rampant and spreading within the non-Muslims.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Muslim Orientations and Malay Identity
Agreeing with Syed Farid Alatas that there may be many orientations among Muslims during his recent talk at NUS, I wondered was it even necessary to question as to what constitutes a progressive orientation of Islam to define the Malay Identity.
There is a problem in assuming that all Malays are Muslims although we in Singapore see that the majority are. Lest we forget that some Malays embrace other religions such as Christianity and Buddhism, let me remind you that Muslim and Malay are separate entities which should not be intertwined in any discussions. Associating both is a big mistake which the Muslim scholars in Singapore overlooked most of the time. Moreover, Muslim culture and Malay culture is not the same.
I often get the curious nudge from my friends of other religions on the tattoos done on some Malays. Doesn’t Islam prohibit tattooing or even altering part of their body for aesthetic purposes? The answer is my friends; those are the atheists who have long forgone the teachings of Islam and non-practising ones who indicated “Islam” as a religion in whatever forms they filled up. They are the ones that bring the ill reputation to Islam.
It’s very disheartening to see the Muslim youth of today, I repeat Muslim & not Malay, forgetting their religious background and indulging in whatever Haraam activities they could participate in. It’s even more disheartening to see Muslims scholars, the ones who are supposed to guide and uphold the correct views of Islam, getting tight-lipped whenever someone bashes the Muslim community in Singapore.
In an area where there’s rampant globalisation and inter-racial marriages, pushing the Malays into a scholarly defined mould is no longer acceptable. It has been proven that the Malays are of largely mixed descent ranging from Javanese to Indians. Well, to keep my point short, if anyone were to discuss on Malay issues just keep to the track on the racial part and not interlinked it with Islam.
Digressing, I was blog-hopping and came across an entry on Syed Farid Alatas’s comments that “Muslims in Singapore don’t take a critical approach to their holy texts and history”. I was wondering where on earth the blog writer got the story that “the Prophet visited and had sex with all his wives in a few hours”. In fact this is my first time coming across such allegations and my dear friends, yes we Muslims do discuss the hadis and whatever holy texts available to study the past and present context. Reading that blog entry, I wasn’t sure if that idea came from the blog writer or Syed Farid Alatas. If it’s from the blog writer and knowing that he’s from different religion make up for all his dubiousness. I would suggest he attend any talks provided by the Darul Arqam to witness the lively discussions on hadis and sunnah.
There is a problem in assuming that all Malays are Muslims although we in Singapore see that the majority are. Lest we forget that some Malays embrace other religions such as Christianity and Buddhism, let me remind you that Muslim and Malay are separate entities which should not be intertwined in any discussions. Associating both is a big mistake which the Muslim scholars in Singapore overlooked most of the time. Moreover, Muslim culture and Malay culture is not the same.
I often get the curious nudge from my friends of other religions on the tattoos done on some Malays. Doesn’t Islam prohibit tattooing or even altering part of their body for aesthetic purposes? The answer is my friends; those are the atheists who have long forgone the teachings of Islam and non-practising ones who indicated “Islam” as a religion in whatever forms they filled up. They are the ones that bring the ill reputation to Islam.
It’s very disheartening to see the Muslim youth of today, I repeat Muslim & not Malay, forgetting their religious background and indulging in whatever Haraam activities they could participate in. It’s even more disheartening to see Muslims scholars, the ones who are supposed to guide and uphold the correct views of Islam, getting tight-lipped whenever someone bashes the Muslim community in Singapore.
In an area where there’s rampant globalisation and inter-racial marriages, pushing the Malays into a scholarly defined mould is no longer acceptable. It has been proven that the Malays are of largely mixed descent ranging from Javanese to Indians. Well, to keep my point short, if anyone were to discuss on Malay issues just keep to the track on the racial part and not interlinked it with Islam.
Digressing, I was blog-hopping and came across an entry on Syed Farid Alatas’s comments that “Muslims in Singapore don’t take a critical approach to their holy texts and history”. I was wondering where on earth the blog writer got the story that “the Prophet visited and had sex with all his wives in a few hours”. In fact this is my first time coming across such allegations and my dear friends, yes we Muslims do discuss the hadis and whatever holy texts available to study the past and present context. Reading that blog entry, I wasn’t sure if that idea came from the blog writer or Syed Farid Alatas. If it’s from the blog writer and knowing that he’s from different religion make up for all his dubiousness. I would suggest he attend any talks provided by the Darul Arqam to witness the lively discussions on hadis and sunnah.
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