Imam who made offensive remarks back in his hometown of Chennai
SINGAPORE — The imam who was fined S$4,000 for making controversial remarks against Christians and Jews left Singapore at 1pm on Thursday (April 6) “with a very heavy heart”. He left a farewell note saying that the episode was a “priceless lesson” and hope that he may one day return to Singapore.
SINGAPORE — The imam who was fined S$4,000 for making controversial remarks against Christians and Jews left Singapore at 1pm on Thursday (April 6) “with a very heavy heart”. He left a farewell note saying that the episode was a “priceless lesson” and hope that he may one day return to Singapore.
Nalla Mohamed Abdul Jameel Abdul Malik, the former chief imam at Jamae Chulia Mosque along South Bridge Road, left for his home located near Chennai — three days after the Ministry of Home Affairs said that he would be deported to his home country of India.
In the farewell note, Nalla said that the ministry gave him the reassurance that the charge against him “was not one out of witch-hunt, but solely to preserve the sanctity of interfaith harmony”.
“This is what I am (taking) with me back to India,” he said, having “fully understood and accepted (the ministry’s) decision” to prosecute him.
On Monday, the 46-year-old pleaded guilty to committing an act that he knew was prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony among different religious groups and was likely to disturb the public tranquility.
On Jan 6, after a Friday sermon at the mosque where he had served for the past seven years, he recited a prayer on his own in Arabic, saying, “Grant us help against the Jews and the Christians”.
At a meeting organised at his request on March 31, Nalla made an apology in the presence of 30 religious leaders of the Christian, Sikh, Taoist, Buddhist and Hindu faiths, as well as to members of the Federation of Indian Muslims. Two days later, he visited Rabbi Mordechai Abergel to extend his apology to the Jewish community.
He clarified that the prayer he recited was not from the Quran, but an old Arabic text originating from his village in India.
In his farewell note, Nalla thanked Singaporeans for “graciously” forgiving him upon his apology. He also addressed the Muslim community saying he “really regretted” causing them distress and that they had to “bear with the pressures of having to face their fellow Singaporeans from the other faiths on this matter”.