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RELIGION
By Sister Wendy Ooi, fsp
Singapore on all matters relating
to Islam in Singapore, oversees
MAJLIS UGAMA ISLAM the interests of Singaporeʼs
Singapura (MUIS), or the Muslim community, and
Islamic Religious Council of promotes religious, social,
Singapore, was set up in 1968, educational, economic and
when the Administration of cultural activities according
Muslim Law Act (AMLA) came to the principles and traditions
into effect. of Islam.
MUISʼ mission is to broaden The principal functions
and deepen the Singaporean of MUIS are:
Muslim Communityʼs – Administration of
understanding and practice of “zakat” (almsgiving), “wakaf”
Islam. It advises the President of (endowment), pilgrimage affairs,
THERE ARE TWO major of Muhammad. They were known
denominations of Muslims as Sunnis. “Sunni” is derived from
– Sunni and Shiʼite. The two the Arab word for followers and
groups share essential beliefs but means “followers of the prophet”.
have sharp political differences. Sunni Islam is the larger
Their split arose in the early denomination comprising 85
days of Islam over differences percent of Muslims. Within the
regarding Muhammadʼs Sunni denomination are four
successors as “caliph” (leader). schools – Maliki, Shafiʼi, Hanafi,
One group believed that the and Hanbali. Every one of the four
leadership should remain within accept the validity of the others.
Muhammadʼs family, and that Sunni Islam is less centralized
leaders are spiritually, not than Shiʼite Islam. In most
politically, chosen. They were countries a “mufti” (a scholar
known as the Shiat-Ali, or “partisans and interpreter of the law) is
of Ali”, after the prophetʼs cousin appointed to give advice to
and son-in-law Ali, whom they Muslims based on the “sharia”
favoured as caliph. In time, they (Islamic law). This is useful as
came to be known as Shiʼites. not all Muslims understand the
Another group accepted the Qurʼan in its original Arabic
legitimacy of the caliphate of Abu and they might interpret matters
Bakr, a close confidant and disciple differently in specific situations,
“halal” certification and
“daʼwah”(missionary) activities
– Construction and
administration of mosques
– Administration of
“madrasahs” (Islamic schools)
and Islamic education
– Issuance of “fatwas”
(religious rulings)
– Provision of financial relief
to poor and needy Muslims
– Provision of developmental
grants to organizations
Muslims worship in a mosque
(“masjid” in Arabic). The primary
purpose of the mosque is to serve
as a place of prayer but mosques
are also important to the Muslim
community as a meeting place
and a place of study.
There are about 70 mosques
in Singapore today.
Before 1968, all the
mosques in Singapore were
set up by the local Muslim
communities themselves. When
MUIS was established, it took
responsibility for the building and
administration of new mosques.
Although the overall supervision
of post-1968 mosques comes
under MUIS, there are
mosques that are run by other
organizations such as the Muslim
Trust Fund Association.
Mosques are managed and
maintained by their respective
committees. These committees
engage in fundraising projects
and are appointed by MUIS.
Muslim workers in Singapore
also contribute monthly from
their CPF to the Mosque Building
and Mendaki Fund which has
helped build new mosques in
satellite towns.
In the 1980s the World Muslim
League based in Saudi Arabia
also contributed a significant
sum of money to various
mosques in Singapore through
Jamiyah Singapore, the Muslim
missionary society of Singapore.
Muslim men gather each
Friday to pray in a mosque
leading to disputes, which a
respected leader, the mufti, can
offer advice on. The mufti in
Singapore is Syed Isa Semait.
Large Shiʼite communities are
found in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon and
Bahrain. The Shiʼites have a more
centralized and hierarchical clergy
than the Sunnis. All practising
Shiites nominally observe the
advice of an “ayatollah” (a top
cleric) on Islamic law. “Ayatollah”
means “sign of God”.
Generally, in most countries,
Shiʼite and Sunni Muslims live in
harmony and pray together in the
same mosques, like in Singapore.
Most Muslims would agree that the
current civil war between the two
denominations in Iraq is a political
struggle between extremists
rather than a religious struggle.
while Muslim women have the
option to pray at home or in the
mosque. If the women choose
to go to a mosque, they pray in
a separate wing from the men.
Some Muslim women choose not
to wear a headscarf (“hijab” or
“tudong”) all the time but they
are required to wear it for prayer
in reverence to God, just as
most men also cover their heads
with a prayer cap (“kopiah” or
“songkok”).
Every mosque has a direction-
niche in one of its walls to
indicate the direction of Mecca.
Most mosques have elaborate
domes, minarets, and prayer
halls that often reflect Arabic
architecture.
One of the biggest feasts Muslims
celebrate is “Iid Al-Fitri” (also
known as Hari Raya Puasa),
which marks the end of the
fasting month of Ramadan. They
start their celebration by praying
in the mosque in the morning and
follow on with visiting elders,
relatives and friends.
On “Id Al-Adha” (Hari
Raya Haji) Muslims recall the
sacrifice of Ishmael, the son of
Abraham. (In the Bible, Issac
was sacrificed.) To commemorate
this event, Muslims sacrifice
goat, sheep, cattle or camel and
distribute the meat to the poor,
friends and family. This feast
coincides with the pilgrimage to
Mecca during the second week of
the 12th lunar month.
Other Islamic feasts include
Muhammadʼs birthday and the
anniversary of the day Muslims
believe Muhammad had a
miraculous journey to Jerusalem
and ascended to heaven.
Sufism is a mystical form of
Islam adopted by some Muslims
within both the Sunni and Shiʼite
groups. Sufis generally believe
that following the Islamic law
is only the first step on the path
to perfect submission. They
focus on the internal or more
spiritual aspects of Islam, such
as perfecting oneʼs faith and
subduing oneʼs own ego.
The teaching of Islam emphasizes
respect and goodwill towards
different races and religions. In
the Qurʼan, Christians and Jews
are referred to as “ahl al-kitab”
(people of the book) but, more
specifically, in Arabic, the word
“ahl” refers to family. True
Muslims thus have a high respect
for Christians and Jews.
Service to humanity is seen as
service to God with no distinction
between men since God makes
no distinction in showing his
kindness to all mankind. Prophet
Muhammad is quoted as saying,
“Be kind and God will show
kindness to you.”
Sunday July 22, 2007 ■ CatholicNews
Islamist terrorism is often
in the news, and itʼs news
that is not restricted to just
Iraq and the Middle East or
Afghanistan.
In recent weeks, we have
been told that some Muslim
doctors and engineers had
planted bombs in Britain with
the intent to kill large numbers
of people, and even in
Singapore a lawyer has been
detained for terrorist activities.
The Pakistani Government
has had to storm a mosque
in Islamabad which had been
seized by Islamist militants.
Who are these people and
what groups do they belong
to? Find out with Sister
Wendy Ooi, fsp
WAHHABISM IS A movement
named after Muhammad Ibn
Abd al Wahhab (1703–1792). It
started in Saudi Arabia and is the
dominant form of Islam also in
Qatar and, recently, Western Iraq
and Pakistan. (It should be noted
however that there exists also
in these countries many non-
extremist, peaceful Muslims.)
The term Wahhabi is rarely
used by members of this group
today. They prefer the term “Salafi”.
Wahhabi or Salafi theology
advocates a puritanical and
legalistic stance in matters of
faith and religious practice.
Wahhabis see themselves as
a movement to restore Islam
from what they perceive to
be innovations, superstitions,
deviances, heresies and idolatries.
Muhammad Ibn Abd al-
Wahhab was known to have used
force and even put fellow Muslims
to the sword in the attempt to
enforce his own interpretation
of Islam. Consequently, it is
believed, his own brother,
Sulayman Ibn Abd al-Wahab, an
elite Sunni scholar, rejected him.
Since its foundation, about
200 years ago, the Wahhabis have
been rejected by the rest of the
Muslim world as their extremist
views are contradictory to Islam,
which is a religion of peace and
moderation. Both the Al-Qaeda
and Taliban have their roots in
Wahhabism.
Al-Qaeda is the name given to an
international alliance of militant
Islamist organizations established
in 1988 by Osama bin Laden. He
oversees the movementʼs finances
and, with Ayman al-Zawahiri,
provides ideological and strategic
guidance.
Al-Qaedaʼs objectives
include the elimination of foreign