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Giving platform to radical foreign preachers not in Singapore’s national interest: Shanmugam

SINGAPORE — It is not in Singapore’s national interest to give foreign religious preachers who propagate divisive teachings a platform here, regardless of the size of their following and whether their previous comments were made in relation to the Republic. It also does not matter if they intend to touch on these issues when they speak here, said Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.

Islamic preachers Yusuf Estes (L) and Mufti Menk. Photo: Digital Mimbar/Youtube (L) and Najib Razak/Facebook

Islamic preachers Yusuf Estes (L) and Mufti Menk. Photo: Digital Mimbar/Youtube (L) and Najib Razak/Facebook

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SINGAPORE — It is not in Singapore’s national interest to give foreign religious preachers who propagate divisive teachings a platform here, regardless of the size of their following and whether their previous comments were made in relation to the Republic. It also does not matter if they intend to touch on these issues when they speak here, said Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam.

Speaking in Parliament on Monday (Jan 8), he added that the Government should be concerned even if a small number of people in Singapore take in their “radical intolerant or segregationist teachings”.

Mr Shanmugam was responding to Workers’ Party Aljunied GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Muhd Faisal Abdul Manap’s question on the processes involved before the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decides to ban a foreign religious preacher.

In the past year, five religious preachers deemed to have been preaching divisive teachings have been barred from setting afoot in Singapore. These include Islamic preachers Zimbabwean Ismail Menk — better known as Mufti Menk — as well as Malaysian Haslin Baharim and American Yusuf Estes.

Both Mufti Menk and Estes have preached exclusivism by saying that Muslims should not exchange Merry Christmas or Happy Deepavali greetings with non-Muslims, while Haslin has described non-Muslims as “deviant”.

On top of that, two Christian preachers were also banned last year for making denigrating and inflammatory comments of other religions, with one of them describing Allah as a “false god”.

Saying that such preachers should not be allowed to spread their viewpoints and “build up anger among the different faiths”, he added, “If they hold those views that are inappropriate and unacceptable in our context, then it is not in our national interest to give them a platform in Singapore, whether to propagate their teachings or to build up their followings.”

Pointing out that a foreigner’s entry into Singapore is a privilege and is “neither automatic nor a right”, Mr Shanmugam emphasised that entry will be granted if the person does not “harm Singapore’s interests”.

To deliver a talk on race, religion or politics, a foreigner has to obtain a Miscellaneous Work Pass (MWP) from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), as these issues “are sensitive”, he added. MOM, in consultation with other agencies, will assess the merits of each application.

Responding to Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Zaqy Mohamad’s question on the effectiveness of banning such preachers given that their teachings could be accessed through the Internet, Mr Shanmugam acknowledged that there are “limits” to which the Government can prevent access.

“But this does not mean that we should make it even easier for such foreigners to spread their views more directly and personally to Singaporeans, and build a following here, by allowing them to come into Singapore and giving them a physical platform,” he said.

“Preaching and grandstanding live and in person, is quite different a proposition from doing so (over) the Internet.”

However, Mr Zaqy noted that the issue is “tricky” considering that many scriptures of various religions do deal with the subject of non-believers, and asked how a distinction can be made between the personal views of the preachers and the context of their preaching.

Saying that the Government takes a “conservative approach”, Mr Shanmugam added: “If someone calls Allah a false god and he asked to come to Singapore and say, well you know, that was in a different context, I think it nevertheless runs a serious risk of people following such a preacher.

“And then they go on to look at what else he has said elsewhere, and the context is not always apparent to people to be understood. That’s why it’s better for us to be careful.”

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