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Open and candid discussions possible on race and religion: Halimah

SINGAPORE — Although race and religion are sensitive issues, it does not mean Singaporeans have to shy away from discussing them. By doing so, they can in fact better understand different perspectives, said President Halimah Yacob on Saturday (Jan 27).

President Halimah Yacob delivers her keynote address at the National IRCC Convention 2018 on Jan 27, 2018. Photo: MCCY

President Halimah Yacob delivers her keynote address at the National IRCC Convention 2018 on Jan 27, 2018. Photo: MCCY

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SINGAPORE — Although race and religion are sensitive issues, it does not mean Singaporeans have to shy away from discussing them. By doing so, they can in fact better understand different perspectives, said President Halimah Yacob on Saturday (Jan 27).

For Singaporeans to discuss on those topics, the government has created platforms such as the Broadening Religious and Racial Interaction through Dialogue and General Education (Bridge) programme.

Mdm Halimah was speaking at the inaugural National Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle (IRCC) Convention held at the Suntec Convention Centre.

Since it was launched last March by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY), Bridge has engaged over 3,700 Singaporeans of different ages and backgrounds through community-driven conferences and dialogues.

One of its initiatives is a series of conferences titled Ask Me Anything, organised by the Association of Muslim Professionals. Last year’s dialogue – attended by over 100 participants – featured a short play that presented different interpretations of a young Muslim couple on issues such as fasting and other Islamic rituals.

“The many questions posed about Islam and the no-holds-barred responses from the panelists showed that we can have an open and candid conversation,” said Mdm Halimah.

Another example are the conferences held by the Nanyang Confucian Association on Islam and Confucianism as well as Christianity. The sessions – which discussed the similarities of the different faiths – were conducted in Mandarin for an older group of Singaporean Chinese.

She noted that the mutual respect Singaporeans have forged over the decades forms the foundation of the country’s social cohesion.

And to ensure this is sustained, Singaporeans have to reach out to one another as the willingness to “accept and embrace the diversity of ethnicities and faiths is our strength as a country”, she added.

But challenges to social cohesion include the rising threat of extremism, which has seen more Singaporeans arrested for self-radicalism in the past few years.

Figures from the Home Affairs Ministry showed that six restriction and five detention orders under the Internal Security Act were issued between 2007 and 2014 – a span of eight years. But since 2015, seven restriction and 12 detention orders have been handed out.

Apart from countering extremism, Culture, Community and Youth Minister Grace Fu said Singapore also needs to prevent segregationist beliefs from taking root, as the country’s social fabric will corrode if people of different faiths adopt an exclusivist mindset.

This would require Singaporeans to guard against divisive religious teachings that could undermine unity, said Ms Fu. Last year, the authorities banned five foreign Muslim and Christian preachers from entering the country because of their exclusivist views.

“Such teachings are unacceptable and dangerous in our multi-racial and multi-religious society,” said Ms Fu.

To foster closer ties among Singaporeans, Ms Fu said her ministry will scale up the Common Senses For Common Spaces initiative, introduced in 2016, in collaboration with the South East Community Development Council (CDC).

Her ministry will relaunch the initiative – a series of interfaith dialogues – and rope in other community development councils.

There will be new formats touching on the basic tenets of faiths as well as in-depth discussions on religious identity and sharing of personal stories, she added.

Ground-up efforts such as volunteering opportunities also allow various communities to build rapport and trust by caring for others, and are a “good way” to nurture a caring and cohesive Singapore.

  DISCUSSION ABOUT RACE AND RELIGION   At the convention, several dialogue sessions were held, including one titled "Inconvenient questions on race and religion". Among the questions raised by the 120 participants from various faiths included why do Christians "aggressively" promote their religion in public spaces, why Muslims cannot share utensils with non-Muslims, and why is there a need for tray collection at food centres to be divided into halal and non-halal categories.    Those on the panel were Reverend Malcolm Tan from the Covenant Community Methodist Church, Venerable Faxun, Mr Shiva Rai, Master Chung Kwang Tong and Ustaz Khairul Anwar Mohd Aznan. While Christians are encouraged to share the teachings of Jesus, they should not aggressively impose their messages onto others, said Rev Tan. “If a person says, ‘I’m not comfortable to listen to you sharing your message’, I think if we follow the Christ-like way, we must respect that and back off,” he said.    Rev Tan also responded to a question about Christianity’s position on homosexuality. He noted that the belief that a marriage is between a man and a woman is “very much part of the Christian faith as the divinity of Jesus Christ or the Holy Trinity”. He added: “That is non-negotiable for us.”   However, that does not mean Christians should be “adversarial” against those who disagreed with their beliefs, said Rev Tan. “It does not mean there is no place in a church for those who struggle with issues of morality”   Fielding questions about Islam including the stance on Muslims who convert to other religions, Ustaz Khairul noted that apostasy in Islam existed even during Prophet Muhammad’s era. He said even the Prophet accepted those who renounced the religion and lived harmoniously with them.   While there are Muslims who are stringent when it comes to sharing eating utensils with non-Muslims — out of fear that they might have eaten pork which is forbidden in Islam — Ustaz Khairul said that there are also Muslims who are less stringent on this aspect.   Although participants said that such dialogues allow Singaporeans to have a frank discussion on race and religion, they felt there is also a need for discourse over these issues beyond the “safe spaces” organised by the government and religious or grassroots organisations.   “Usually we need to have events to discuss such issues. But we need to go beyond that. We should discuss them with our friends during lunches or gatherings,” said 29-year-old librarian Joti Upadhya. “But I suppose there isn’t a culture of questioning here. And there is still a concern that when you talk about these topics openly, it might appear as if you’re attacking their race or religion. That shouldn’t be the attitude.”

 

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