Islam in Singapore

Masjid Hajjah Fatimah
The Masjid Sultan (Sultan Mosque) in Singapore was built in 1824 and declared a national monument in 1973. The building is very popular among visitors to Singapore and the local Malay community.

According to statistics from 2010,[1] about 15% of Singapore's resident population aged 15 years and over are Muslims. A majority of Malays are Sunni Muslims.[2] 17 per cent of Muslims in Singapore are of South Asian origin. Other adherents include those from the Chinese, Arab and Eurasian communities.[3] While the majority of Muslims in Singapore are traditionally Sunni Muslims who follow the Shafi'i school of thought or the Hanafi school of thought, there are also Shia and Ahmadi Muslims.[4]

Islamic bureaucracy long formed an integral part of Malay Sultanates - since the advent of Islam in the region. The Malacca Sultanate of the 1500s was recorded to have practiced syariah (sharia) law, as well as its Johor successor of which Singapore was a part until 1824.[5] When the British started governing Singapore, syariah law was relegated to the realm of personal law.

In 1915 the British colonial authorities established the Mohammedan Advisory Board. The Board was tasked to advise the colonial authorities on matters connected with the Islamic religion and custom.

Singapura or Singapore became part of Malaysia in 1963, before being expelled in 1965. The constitution of the newly independent Republic of Singapore included two provisions relating to the special position of the Malays and the Muslim religion - Articles 152 and 153.

Article 152 states:

(1) It shall be the responsibility of the Government constantly to care for the interests of the racial and religious minorities in Singapore.

(2) The Government shall exercise its functions in such manner as to recognise the special position of the Malays, who are the indigenous people of Singapore, and accordingly it shall be the responsibility of the Government to protect, safeguard, support, foster and promote their political, educational, religious, economic, social and cultural interests and the Malay language.

Because of Article 152 Section 2, the Singapore government discourages missionaries from proselytizing the Malay population from Islam to other religions - to avoid racial and religious tensions within Muslim population and because of the Malay Islamic identity, whereby Malay culture has close and strong identification with Islam.

Article 153 states:

The Legislature shall by law make provision for regulating Muslim religious affairs and for constituting a Council to advise the President in matters relating to the Muslim religion.

In 1966 the Singaporean Parliament passed the Administration of the Muslim Law Act (AMLA). The Act came into effect in 1968 and defined the powers and jurisdiction of three key Muslim institutions:

  1. the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore
  2. the Syariah Court
  3. the Registry of Muslim Marriages

These institutions come under the purview of the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) though the minister responsible for these institutions is the Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.

Key Muslim institutions

The main praying hall of Masjid Sultan in Singapore.

Office of the Secretary

The Secretary of Muis also attend the meetings of Majlis but does not have the right to vote under section 8(1) of AMLA. The duties and powers of the Secretary is delineated in section 20 of AMLA. It states:

Subject to such directions as may be given to him by the President, the Secretary shall —

(a) have charge of all correspondence and documents of the Majlis, including all books of account thereof and all title deeds and securities;

(b) be generally responsible for the proper collection of, accounting for and disposal of all funds of the Majlis; and

(c) in all other respects carry out such duties as may be imposed upon him by this Act or allotted to him by direction of the President.

Office of the Mufti

Apart from the President and Secretary of Muis, another important office is that of the Mufti. Under section 30(3), the "Mufti shall be ex-officio a member of the Majlis."

Section 30(1) authorises the President of Singapore to appoint a fit and proper person to be the Mufti after consultation with the Majlis. In 1967, Mohamed Sanusi Mahmood was appointed as Singapore's first Mufti. He was succeeded by Syed Isa Semait in 1972.

The President of Singapore also appoints the members of the Legal Committee (also known as the Fatwa Committee). The relevant provision relating to the Legal Committee is section 31 which states:

(1) There shall be a Legal Committee of the Majlis, consisting of —

(a) the Mufti;

(b) 2 other fit and proper members of the Majlis; and

(c) not more than 2 other fit and proper Muslims who are not members of the Majlis.

(2) The members of the Legal Committee, other than the Mufti, shall be appointed by the President of Singapore on the advice of the Majlis for such period as he thinks fit.

(3) A notification of every such appointment shall be published in the Gazette.

(4) The Mufti shall be chairman of the Legal Committee.

Under section 33, the Legal Committee is authorised to follow the tenets of the Shafi'i school of thought. It states:

(1) Subject to this section, the Majlis and the Legal Committee in issuing any ruling shall ordinarily follow the tenets of the Shafi’i school of law.

(2) If the Majlis or the Legal Committee considers that the following of the tenets of the Shafi"i school of law will be opposed to the public interest, the Majlis may follow the tenets of any of the other accepted schools of Muslim law as may be considered appropriate, but in any such ruling the provisions and principles to be followed shall be set out in full detail and with all necessary explanations.

(3) In any case where the ruling or opinion of the Majlis or the Legal Committee is requested in relation to the tenets of a particular school of Muslim law, the Majlis or the Legal Committee shall give its ruling or opinion in accordance with the tenets of that particular school of Muslim law.

Syariah Court

In 1880, the British colonial authorities introduced the Mahomedan Marriage Ordinance which officially recognised the status of Muslim personal law in Singapore.

In 1958, pursuant to the 1957 Muslim Ordinance, a Syariah Court with jurisdiction to hear and determine disputes pertaining to Muslim marriages and divorce cases was established.

The Court replaced a set of government-licensed but otherwise unsupervised qadhi (Muslim judges) who had previously decided on questions of divorce and inheritance, following either the traditions of particular ethnic groups or their own interpretations of Muslim law.

Today, the Syariah Court continues to exist as a court of competent jurisdiction with power and jurisdiction to hear and determine disputes defined by AMLA.

Registry of Muslim Marriages (ROMM)

The ROMM registers marriages when the couple are both Muslims. In the case of mixed-religion marriages, the marriage is registered at the Registry of Marriages.

Previously, the registration of Muslim marriages as well as divorces were conducted under one unit, which is the Syariah Court.

It was first located in a bungalow at Fort Canning and later moved to Canning Rise in 1983.

Appeals on decisions of the Syariah Court and the ROMM are heard and determined by the Appeal Board.

Unlike Muis, the Syariah Court and ROMM are not statutory boards but constitute a part of MSF (Ministry of Social and Family Development).

Muslim organisations

Ahmadiyya

Ahmadiyya is a small branch of Islam in Singapore. The Community was established during the era of the Second Caliphate, shortly before the Second World War. Ghulam Ahsan Ayyaz was the first missionary to the country, who under the directive of the caliph arrived in 1935, in a period when the territory was part of the Straits Settlements.[6] In the 1970s, the Community had roughly 200 followers, represented by 1-2% of the Muslim population.[7]

Malay-Muslim organisations

Apart from these key Muslim institutions, there are also community self-help groups, voluntary welfare organisations and civic groups like the Young Women Muslim Association of Singapore (YWMA), Association of Muslim Professionals, Yayasan Mendaki, Muslim Missionary Society (Jamiyah), PERDAUS, Singapore Islamic Scholars and Islamic Teachers Association (PERGAS), Muhammadiyah and Islamic Theological Association of Singapore (Pertapis).

Indian-Muslim organisations

There are also many Indian-Muslim organisations in Singapore e.g. Federation of Indian Muslims, Singapore Kadayanallur Muslim League, Singapore Tenkasi Muslim Welfare Society, Thiruvithancode Muslim Union, and United Indian Muslim Association.

Religio-cultural groups

There are also religio-cultural groups like Al Usrah Al Dandaraweyah, formed in the structure of a family.

Others are like the Tariqah group at-Tariqah al-Ahmadiah al-Idrisiah ar-Rasyidiah, and Naqshbandi Haqqani Singapore.

This first established religio-cultural group; of Qadriah, Chistia, Naqshabandiyah, Sanusiyyah, Suharwadiyah; is now named as Khanqah Khairiyyah which was formed in 1971 and they have since been at the same location in Siglap Road Singapore.

Shi'ite organisations

The Shi'ite community consists of Twelver Shi'ites, Ismailis and Dawoodi Bohras.

In Singapore, the history of the Twelver Shi'ites began with the immigration of the Khoja community from India. A member of Khoja community spearheaded the founding of the Jaafari Muslim Association.

During the 1980s, Malays from the Muslim Youth Assembly (Himpunan Belia Islam) joined the Shi'ite community. A centre known as Hussainiyah Azzahra was later established.

The Jaafari Muslim Association and Muslim Youth Assembly cater to the Twelver Shi'ites.

The spiritual leader (Da'i al-Mutlaq) of the Dawoodi Bohras is Mohammed Burhanuddin, who represents the twenty-first imam. The Anjuman-E-Burhani caters to the Dawoodi Bohra community in Singapore. Bohra traders started settling in Singapore in the 1820s. The mosque for the Bohra community is the Burhani Mosque which was established in 1829. It has since been rebuilt and is now an 11-storey complex comprising prayer halls, function halls, meeting rooms and offices.

The Ismailis are followers of Aga Khan. The Aga Khan has decided to establish an Ismaili Centre and regional representative office of the Aga Khan Development Network in Singapore.[8]

Hanafi Muslim Community

There is also a significant proportion of the Sunni Hanafi Muslims in Singapore. Generally most Pakistanis in Singapore are Hanafi. While they often inter-mix with the Malay who follow the Shafi'i madhab, Indian mosques in Singapore such as Angullia Mosque cater for the needs of the Hanafi Muslim in Singapore.

Dawah Organisations

Hikmah Times

In Singapore there is a significant impact of the Islamic Dawah (Invitation/conversion) movement. There are many local/international organisations (e.g., Hikmah Times).

Converts

The Muslim Converts' Association of Singapore (also known as Darul Arqam) provides support for converts.

Mosques

There are 75 mosques in Singapore. With the exception of Masjid Temenggong Daeng Ibrahim (which is administered by the State of Johor), all the mosques in Singapore are administered by Muis. Twenty-three mosques were built using the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund (MBMF). Masjid Al-Mawaddah, the twenty-third MBMF mosque, was officially opened in May 2009. The speakers for broadcasting the Islamic call to prayer was turned inwards to broadcast towards the interior of the mosques as part of a noise abatement campaign in 1974.[9]

Madrasahs

Students of Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah in Singapore

In Singapore, madrasahs are private schools which are overseen by Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS, Islamic Religious Council of Singapore). There are six full-time madrasahs in Singapore, catering to students from Primary 1 to Secondary 4 (and junior college equivalent, or "Pre-U", at several schools).[10] Four Madrasahs are coeducational and two are for girls.[11] Students take a range of Islamic Studies subjects in addition to mainstream MOE curriculum subjects and sit for the PSLE and GCE 'O' Levels like their peers. In 2009, MUIS introduced the "Joint Madrasah System" (JMS), a joint collaboration of Madrasah Al-Irsyad Al-Islamiah primary school and secondary schools Madrasah Aljunied Al-Islamiah (offering the ukhrawi, or religious stream) and Madrasah Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah (offering the academic stream).[12] The JMS aims to introduce the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme into the Madrasah Al-Arabiah Al-Islamiah by 2019.[13] Students attending a madrasah are required to wear the traditional Malay attire, including the songkok for boys and tudong for girls, in contrast to mainstream government schools which ban religious headgear as Singapore is officially a secular state. For students who wish to attend a mainstream school, they may opt to take classes on weekends at the madrasah instead of enrolling full-time.

References

  1. ↑ Singapore Statistics 2010 Archived 2011-01-24 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas, Some Aspects of Sufism as Understood and Practised among the Malays (Singapore: Malaysian Sociological Research Institute, 1963).
  3. ↑ International Religious Freedom Report 2006 - Singapore
  4. ↑ James L. Peacock. Muslim Puritans: Reformist Psychology in Southeast Asian Islam. p. 147. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  5. ↑ Kamali, Mohammad Hashim (2000). Islamic law in Malaysia : issues and developments. Kuala Lumpur: Ilmiah Publishers. ISBN 9789832092278.
  6. ↑ "A Messenger of Peace in the Lion City – Khalifah of the Promised Messiahas Visits Singapore". Review of Religions. January 2014.
  7. ↑ James L. Peacock. Muslim Puritans: Reformist Psychology in Southeast Asian Islam. p. 147.
  8. ↑ Jan 20, 2009, The Straits Times
  9. ↑ Lysloff, René T. A. Music and technoculture.
  10. ↑ "Contrasting views of madrasahs in multi-ethnic Singapore". AsiaOne. 19 February 2009.
  11. ↑ "Background of Madrasahs". muis.gov.sg. 1994.
  12. ↑ "About JMS". muis.gov.sg.
  13. ↑ "JMS Timeline". muis.gov.sg.
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