IY SMU
Publication: The Straits Times, p A30&A32
Date: 11 July 2009
Headline: From scepticism to confidence
to h w t h a t the
r u w k o f d a e ~ ~
gaps&
QMushmmnatnsa
wank-in-pmgma But the gaps
alsoshowtht~in
~ ~ a i n i ~ - u l h k h
&bothluil%iItrmd~
~ - ~ b e m r t j f u L
st.ffmembera of 40 yeus agoknew
much about ndmhhtering Mtmlim affiLp.Sotkyhdtotrlealeaffmntheir
cowmparb a c m s the Cauewry and
ehmkse.
~lyMULIe@G5,eenan~up
Mcndr~wor&edinMusllmcolmeils~
M.lr*
states for &he on how to ornmisrtheoolbetlonof~andfitmh.
~ m y ~ i n l s l r m .
~&omadecstlstoM~rgmclm abrond to learn the r w , and
worked~onghocrrsPIsiting~and
rnp r s c d y to collect a h during tha fasting montb.
BamyMuslimsthayrnetwereurm$y
-ma--@-
hlg thttr dlgirm w?n?sts.
To c m ponad tbc p r o w t h y were also wet
by the Go-t's
pcrllcy of m e t t h g
dIagerstntlrtr,whlebtbeyfdtwude-
-n*Pw-,wllro
fJ=h*
pnyct.
hren tke dead were not spared, with
graves hvbgto be exhumed and rehat-
MUIS' 40TH ANNIVERSARY
ad.
F ~ M u i D ~ ! W K u r r f m ,
65, who jofned the
From
in l97S
sadrtayndoaforZ5ysuo,recJls~
toopDndmrny--that wen about to be resettled to &d
Witbkruealfke~clenrfagandmdMudim gram.
*It wos 8 bard life,' he tells Insight.
'4hey~~govcamwntdogs."
M~staff~tbotwparcudingaud
~
.
B
u
t
~
~
,
~
v
.rtlle~llloortedImd&~l~~
s
boPsinge3tatesbr~-rrd~
plsrsrofwoddp-to-thebe-
*dam&hed.
Fund ior
AMAj88pmbkmwasibrtihe~ush
m m d t y bad few wanltby @om. By
1974,there wamstBlnonew mosquesbccaw0frIlcl:Ofrimds.
Ia December tbat year, tben-Prime
Minister lee K t m Yew. W a r 0thWok sndM.lyMP1 mit dght MuisMerr at tho kt- to d h m waible s6hrtions,adthehdoaque~~undwas
created soon Iffar.
Mr ImrnrgecftedWqgtheCPFmachauism to deduct 50 cents each month
fr0mewywarktngM~'Ihcycoald
dcokk to opt out, but very few did.
As incomes m,so did thq amount.
The fund now gets at least $1 from Muslim antug lass than $2,000 a mrnth,
and up to $10.75 bw tbore mdiing over
$4,000.Mnslbna cm opt to @va more.
The first mosque built thmugh the
fund, the M u b j k h M c q w along Braddell Road, wos completed & 19n.
Its -,
from ths Arabic word for mlgrant,wasllPf~Pwtllefht
new mwrcrua built to meet the needs of
Muslim Singnpmbuu who had migrated
f r o m t h s t r v d o u-s ~ -t o n e w H D B
estates.
Other mDsplles t~erasoon completed
The IsIamic Relidous Council of Sinaawre
celebrates its 40th anniversary this evening. Insight
looks back on its past, the unique role it plays
representing Muslim interests in a secular state, and
what the future holds for it
It also infacld a s a ~ cof "inclusiw
m u l t b s c i wm Singrpore. %?spite beltlg a t @
state, S h g a p m had the
u ~ ~ l gand
a pragmatism to e s t a b l i
Muiaasa6EttutoryboardlItmhhky
gave tbe Mlallnu 8 gawe of bslrmgIag
aud coxl[idWLC. tbat thir r n l i i . m impOrt.nt and htntegrrl port of&&
Mus' N THE tabby of the new premisss h ' s Me,is gltna dua respect and place
of the Islamic ReIigiow C m c I l of fn POeastY," he sap.
Shemare (Muis) dong Bnddsll
~sWmtsmergeInavnmnrm.
R o s d i a a w d i m u r n l m d e ~ t p o f W f o r such a council had been made as
, daytihdepkbgm@fcstmes
early as 100 years bdore the o m n
a d Arabic calligraphy.
twk off.
But the worlr of art contains a deliberate imwdection: e h h white maces in mdewsws
~nQueenrtorm.Ituong,w-I\ng
betwe& w e r d u k d Yshsped-tllet.
Mo Kfo md W. As these buildtaps
Artist Ltkandar I d . who d&ed the IN THE 18706, there were c8Us by the
mse. so dld the irmge of Mufo amongthe
Muslim&e&mlrmlal~poreforinmurs], snyr the gsPd seek to s&w
that
MmmnuMy.
the work of the stdutory board govern- stItuWm8 md dfkxrs to be appointed
At the ssme h e . Muifset up d t ing the religious sffaks of M u s h re- who c d d lobby for Muslim concerns,
t
coainawhwdng~toor~reaud regdate and register mdages conrmhLp a work-b-wo~nrs.
l
l
g
h s tctivitins like p y e r c and clnsses.
d d Undd Muslim law.
These were much wlcomed, espeddlg
The mlonbl gonmment agreed, and
when there was no ready mqne nearby.
*I&
and across communities - are In I880 it introdud tbe ?&hmdan Muis, which oversees dl Singapore
~rr
Muslims were tben refemd to Mubeautiful.
mo6ques, now appoints molt masque
t i a g e ~ t 0 ~ f m t J I n ~ "Thare is bsartg in our
~ ~ a d ~ f 0 r t h t i r ~ t r a h of Muah madage6 md diWe &odd m!sy and w
e them.
tka. It also prepares the texts of their Privorces.
Mr I s m , 70, tells Insight.
day semwnr.
'Ihuetwin mees~gesare gpecjany relIn 1905, idlowing p W i c grlevHowew, m e mospnas. srtabhhad
is to servethe iwant u Muir takes stock of its work thus that religious trust funds wars MnguSs- Govenrment with the respdtdtity of body ufhose soleterestsoftheMusllmsof~andt
fa whnn it mark its 40th Pnaimluy ~ , a ~ a ! u l L d H i r r d ucadngfortheintauitsotmdalaadreUthis wwknnd.
dowment Bomrdwas s c t u p t o ~ , gE ilsnl ~umso~f t, hae u~ ydotooP ~t htebi ncdoI gpee-wiIlndbewadfmmyperd,suctiond o r p o l ~ ~ n .
manage and supvise edowments fm nws u e d e of SinaThedrsRlawhadfnfact.~~
Muslimp and Hindus.
EartV=ptieim
Th;?Bibahd5iup~dt~sdby a h&of hi&
organ&:
THBEoundtbeganUe4Oyearsagoin
The criticul point waa, hwprver. the vise ths Presidmt of Sipore an mat- sctuuntsnd
tlam
and perms. Drawmup with the ad- Taking on more tasks
t h t w t i n y ~ a t t h c o l d 19
~15~ muthy by Indhn Mudim repqu
vke
of
then-Attorney-Gemid
Ahmad
lb- MUIS works with a hoat of Muslim comters
relating
to
the
Muslim
rel&ion.
m
e
government bdding. It had just ssvem here. A h monfhs &a the uprising, the
council would 3hsWIe two purposes: It rahfm, it had a h barn rrfcrrcd to a munity mgPnisPtioar which cunt&ue to
staffmembtrs. It nowoccupk an ll-sto- wominl autbodm estastPbllPhed a Moham- would
munber
of
M
w
h
scholars
i
n
England
~ w e l r s r e ~ p n d ~ e d t r repwent
the
tntereats
of
the
bbwrey bufldlnghouslag about UL)staff mem- medan Advhw Baud to advise it on the
Urn wmmuDity to the GwMnmeat, and md Egypt.
bers.
mauagmn-entd d i g h u &b.
Any Muslim wbo wmts to clPrlfy rellat the same time regulate MwUm rdiIt p%ssed into law m August 1M6, but
And where many in the Muslim wmAn artrlc i 'Kbe S h d s Times on the
concerns can also contact Muk for
affiks and
thst Musllm €mi- the criticha persisted.
mu* ased tobe sreptid of the govern- bosrd's ftrst rneethg In Jutbe 1915 cumkt giow
DrAhnlad~hadtoappedtothe
ment agency, # years on,M d s has man- the apt hsadlfoe: A me- ot eqtwsiom ly law was pmprly ndmhhsed.
ItsIPtwaEwrunmee, w b k h a r e l f Brit the kadcrs of several M u s h m- commrmitg to sink their p o W d and peraged to win the backing and tmst of .
r
k
gmhtirms expmsed ccurern tb8t the sonal d i h m x a and give th prcpsed g i o u s ~ m r ~ t i w s i r a u D s l n d i o
mc&,evenittheyramainrrftlultoatards
ThPt
first board complised U Mush aew couIlon woutd be p P t I c i d .
b
a
&dby Mnfli Syed h a S d t , has
Muh
"a
fak
M"~
itonsome~.
teaders and two Englishmen, one of
The new Adminiatration of Muslim been Caned into &ion u number of times
SpePldng h Pmliament & 1966 ~ r sthe
Muls oax@s a d q u e - and some- whom chEild it.
for
exampla, an oasut donation.
~b ~Wm
s t m of
AdmhIatranDn of Wlh Law Bm which Law Act would l ~ l t
times menvtable wsUion 8s both the
Astbecommmitybwamemmefdlset up a s$&
c-&
would bring e b d Muis was
debat- M u s h:M
repteenMve of Gcwmunfty and the
ad. then-Cdhmawl Socia1
Minir- to d e on diww a d mhentanw mat. Aff&
Governmwt's sDokeomaa on Musum is- Represent and ragdate
AS SINWORE moved towards self-rufe ter O b r a Wok gave the asammce that t m , and pmvide for the set*
up of
sues.
h
t
h
e
1
9
5
0
%
there
were
dlscussicms
on
no poutid idu&e wwkl bebmugbt to Muis.
!%nh
Minis&rofStste for F o t W M An example is the hsj, the pilgrimage
how
to
lwk
after
the
~
i
a
needs
l
of
Muis.
c
m
its
part,
bad
to
collect
fithsr,
bear
on
the
m
e
d
rouacil.
fairs zaml Abkb wheed, who was
"AU that i b ~ ~ o v e m m e nIstWerested administer Muslim endowments and to Mecca.
p r d f k d of Muis -1991
to 1996,tells Muslim in SIugapre, the msmty of
inistoseethattbenffPbsoftheMusUms t r u s t s . d w e r s e e s -l l r n ~ a n d ~ - Anumg other semks, Muisnow regumight that dtbwgh it wss mt aa w b m were Wp.
lates travel w t s canducting haj twrs
A draft Bfll was httroduced in Parlia- b Sing*
are enh'usted to a wh,,fw; lbi ~Qtioupschoob.
srnwth+iy for MuLP at the beghing,
the oqmmbon %lid the fOmdatio11 Im men8 in Decembu 1965,font months Pf- ward-hklng aad stable orgwisatron
better s e l f - c h e smong Muslims ter tndqmdence.
he s a i d
' Difficult ffrst decade
here".
'I%e C m t i h l l h aln?ady charged the
The- ODU~~CII'would be an execuUve NONE of the argsnisation's frrst seven
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Source: The Straits Times O Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
n
Publication: The Straits Times, p A30&A32
Date: I 1 July 2009
Headline: From scepticism to confidence
As Minister-in-charge of Mudim-~ffairs Yaacob fir& puts it: While we
learnt from other systems,we are now in
a position to chart our own ways of contributing."
Moving with
the times
Muis tried to get the rnadrasahs to
move with the times, but met with resistance from these independent schools.
and sends a team of volunteers, which in1, th, late 1990s, when the Governcludes doctors and nurses, to look after ment ann-Ced
plans to introduce
about 3,000 pilgims each yeart many of pulsory eduption for
children of
whom are elderly.
school-going age, some Muslims saw this
its growing staff as a move to close down the rnadrasahs.
To
strength, Muis moved to a seven-storey
the
The issue was defused only
building on Braddell Road in 1986.
schools agreed to update their teaching
of gov- syllabus and prepare their students to
Mr Zainul notes that the
emment leaders to get respected CODlmUcertainstandard in the Primary
nity leaders like senior civil servant ~ &~ ~~~ v~~
i n gl ~
(PSLE).
~
~
R i h m Dzafir to lead Muis helped build
Today, new madras& students are
the organisation.
taught more subjects in English, comAS president of Muis fC0m 1986 to pared with Arabic, m
s is to better pre1990, Mr Rihwan restructured it and pare them for jobs outside the religious
roped in more professionals to help, sector, as well as to teach the religion in a
while at the same time e n s u u a balance language that younger Singaporeans are
between Young and ~ r i m c e hands.
d
more comfortable with.
Muis also got more You% professionThe part-time religious education
als to help -8
and lead mosques, en- classes &h most local Muslim youth ats u r w that they remain close to & cornd tend have also been revamped. They now
munity, adds Mr Zainul.
deal with present-day concern like
In those years, tithe collection and dig- boy-girl relationships and the need to
bursement became computerised.
form friendships atross religious lines.
Mr Zainul recounts occasions when
Veteran mosque leader Rhazaly Noensenior Muslim offidids from neighbour- ti1 says mosques and madrasahs are now
ing countries told Muis that they were in- "beacons of the ~ u s l j mco--tytp,
spired by the spirit and achievements of teaching not just religious knowledge but
the Singapore Muslim community.
also guiding the young to do well in world"If a small minority Muslim wmmuni- ly pursuits.
ty in Singapore could carry out m Y ProSingapore Management University asDesSive and proactive ProiVammes for sistant professor of law Eugene Tan feels
the community, they said there was no that through its efforts, Muis has shown
reason why they themselves could not," that increased religiosity need not lead to
he recalls.
separateness and inward orientation.
$'It has played a key
in managing
Revamping education
the panic over increased Islamic piety in
HISTORICALLY, Singapore's full-time the last three decades," says Dr Tan, who
madras&, or Islamic religious schools, has studied and written about Singahave trained students from the region pore's multicultural arrangements.
who went on to become religious leaders.
And in recent years, a number of c m But with limited funding and support, tries with Muslim minorities have sent
they found it hard to keep up and their delegations to Singapore to study Muis
standards soon lagged behind that at M- and how it plays a key role in ensuring retional schools.
ligious harmony.
,
Speaking its mind
i
~
~
t
i
~
~
~
andmsdiasrhshawhdesuMa~d~Ylrdlm~,
lnawledga d provldlng@Mawon present-day concsnw. ST PHOTO: KEVIN
Source: The Straits Times O Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
ALTHOUGH some see Mafs a$ aligned to
the Government on manp issues, the organisation's record is more n u a n d .
When the Government first mooted
plans to build a otlslno, Muis expressed its
strong disapproval of the project.
And when e u t l m d a was publicly debated lad year, Muis also issued a statement reiterating its position against the
practice.
Dr Tan motes that Muis will continue
t o face tbEs question: "Who does it represent? Is it the Muslim community, the
C;o-t,
or both?"
Or,s ozhers put it, does Muis represent the Gave to tlw Muslims, or
represent the Muslims to the Government?
Dr Tan feels MuisbPg managed to wln
the cwfidenm of the Mudim mmmunity
~ v e ~mtroversial
r
issues by maintainiug
a prbcipled stend, albeit nne that seeks
t o ~ ~ 8 t h e ~ ~ a n d s o ~ e s
consfctiag, d
d it faces.
'The key to MI& 4spkiq confidence
.is its ability to change mindsets of MIXlim Singapoream. Iti$ a calibrateddose of
rationality, persuasion, fi&h and, most
importantly, being t
m to Islam," he
says.
ICMuis detrelops balril $Mcation
stand@$ q t m@ rerplrements ol
hetrade agreements
*
New challenges are also on the horiOne is posed by mare immigrants
who are Muslims, bEingiqg with Bern
mh&&s and practices which may differ
from those of local M
*.
T h e Mnslim cornmuaity must therefore l e m ta deal with diversity. They
must be able t o appreciate a d tolerate
differences," says Mr lllami Mwa, the
president of Muis.
Hehopeslocdswillworkwithandeanbrace the new M u s h immigrants, even
if they come from different s m , o f ISlankthought.
CleatIy, Mdst work is far from done.
ZiIce Mr Iskandsr's mural, work is Stin
in progress in convincing; Edusltms as
well as other Singaporeans - that difference and diversity are to be appreciated
and cherished, not feared,
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