Politics

Singapore's Muslim community has to forge its own religious compass, says Mufti


SINGAPORE – The Covid-19 pandemic has shown Singapore’s Muslim community that it can and must forge its own religious compass as it charts its way forward, said Mufti Nazirudin Mohd Nasir on Thursday (May 19).

To achieve this, the community will need to be confident in its own religious identity as well as in the leadership of the local asatizah, or religious teachers, he added.

Dr Nazirudin, who is Singapore’s top Islamic leader, was speaking to around 250 asatizah at the first annual Hari Raya gathering for them to be held physically since the pandemic hit.

He reminded his audience that they were responsible for the well-being of Singapore’s Muslim community.

“Beyond our little red dot, no one else is as vested or interested in our future, not the religious preachers or scholars who live elsewhere and occasionally throw comments or remarks about us,” he said.

“Let us strive to strengthen our religious credibility and leadership as we continue to find solutions for our own contexts and challenges. We have done this before, and we will continue to do this.”

In his speech at The Chevrons in Jurong East, the mufti thanked the asatizah for keeping the community’s religious spirit alive amid Covid-19 restrictions, saying this was possible because of the way they understand and practice their faith in the country’s unique context.

He noted that in the pandemic’s early days, Singapore had no precedents to follow, whether from religious texts and traditions or the experiences of other Muslim communities. Religious leaders had to work with experts and find new solutions, and at times take different decisions from other Muslim communities.

While they felt fearful at times, this did not weaken their spirituality, he said, noting that similar decisions were later replicated across the Muslim world.

“It was in these difficult times that we build resilience and find courage to change and adapt, and to stand by our decisions,” he said.

Covid-19 could be a dry run for similar situations in the future, he added.

Citing another instance where Singapore had differed from other countries, Dr Nazirudin noted that when Muslims here celebrated Hari Raya Puasa on May 3, a day later than in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei, some people had voiced their criticisms online.

They suggested this could lead to disunity among Muslims, when such differences took place in Islamic history, and were recognised as religiously valid.

Dr Nazirudin reiterated that the religious authorities here had relied on astronomical calculations and guidance from the time of Prophet Muhammad in determining the date, as the crescent moon which traditionally marks the start of the new month could not be seen in Singapore on the evening of May 1, unlike in other countries in the region.



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