Islam in Singapore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
Part of a series on  |
|
Islam in Americas
|
Sunni Islam is the religion of about 15% of Singapore's population; mainly the sizeable Malay minority, who constitute about 13.9% of the country's population. Other adherents include Tamil, Pakistani and Arab Muslim communities together with a tiny number of Chinese and Eurasian followers of Islam.[1][2]
Contents |
[edit] History
Tamil Muslim traders pioneered the settlement of Serangoon in early 19th century. Today, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura) plays a very important role in the organization of Islamic affairs and therefore of the Muslim community. Authorized by the 1966 Administration of Muslim Law Act, the council, composed of members nominated by Muslim societies but appointed by the President of Singapore, is formally a statutory board that advises the president on all matters relating to the Muslim religion. It acts to centralize and standardize the practice of Islam. The council administers all Muslim trusts (wakaf); organizes a computerized and centralized collection of tithes and obligatory gifts (zakat); and manages all aspects of the pilgrimage to Mecca, including registering pilgrims, obtaining Saudi Arabian visas, and making airline reservations.
The council also helped the government reorganize the mosque system after redevelopment. Prior to the massive redevelopment and rehousing of the 1970s and 1980s, The Muslims in Singapore were served by about ninety mosques, many of which had been built and were funded and managed by local, sometimes ethnically-based, communities. Redevelopment destroyed both the mosques and the communities that had supported them, scattering the people over new housing estates. The council, in consultation with the government, decided not to rebuild the small mosques but to replace them with large central mosques.
Construction funds came from a formally voluntary contribution collected along with the Central Provident Fund deduction paid by all employed Muslims. The new central mosques can accommodate 1,000 to 2,000 persons and provide such services as kindergartens, religious classes, family counselling, leadership and community development classes, tuition and remedial instruction for school children, and Arabic language instruction.
[edit] Legal issues
[edit] Marriage law
The government has been regulating Muslim marriages and divorces since 1880, however, the 1957 Muslim Ordinance authorized the establishment of a centralized Sharia Court, with jurisdiction over divorce and inheritance cases. The court, under the Ministry of Community Development, replaced a set of government-licensed but otherwise unsupervised kathi (Islamic 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. The court attempts to consistently enforce sharia law, a standard Islamic law as set out in the Qur'an and the decisions of early Muslim rulers and jurists, and to reduce the high rate of divorce among Malays.
[edit] Control of mosques
In 1989 the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore took direct control of the subjects taught in Islamic schools and of the Friday sermons given at all mosques.
[edit] "No Pork No Lard" signs
Many non-Muslim business owners in Singapore put up signs stating "No Pork No Lard" or "No Pork No Lard Only Vegetable Oil" to indicate that the food they serve or sell do not contain pork or lard, in an attempt to cater to customers who follow religious restrictions on the consumption of pork.[3] Some consumers and businesspeople treat it as an alternative to halal certification. However, as MUIS points out, halal is more complex than simply not containing pig products; halal meat must also have been slaughtered in the name of Allah, and the eatery in question must also not serve alcohol.[4] Not only non-Muslims are confused by this issue; the Muslim Converts' Association of Singapore also published an article in its magazine to remind their readers that "No Pork No Lard" is not the same as halal.[5]
From 2000 to 2005, MUIS took 33 restaurants and other companies to court for misuse of signs asserting halal certification; several business owners had mistakenly assumed "No Pork No Lard" and halal were equivalent.[6] However, it is not an offence in Singapore to display a "No Pork No Lard" sign as long as one does not attempt to assert halal status on that basis.[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ CIA Factbook - Singapore
- ^ International Religious Freedom Report 2006 - Singapore
- ^ Kamaludeen Mohamed Nasir; Alexius A. Pereira (2008), "Defensive dining: notes on the public dining experiences in Singapore", Contemporary Islam 2 (1), doi:
- ^ 'No Pork, No Lard' Claims, Majlis Ugama Islam Singapora, http://www.muis.gov.sg/eservices/faqs/smartsearch.asp?strItemChoice=2005520113524&action=SHOWTOPICS&strSubItemChoice=2005520114026&m_strTopicSysID=20077913617, retrieved on 2009-06-04
- ^ Siti Syuhada Faizal (December 2007), "No Pork No Lard - Halal?", The Muslim Reader 25 (3), OCLC 12317159
- ^ "Thirty-three Companies Fined for Misusing Halal Certs", Bernama, 2005-03-11, http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-19103455_ITM, retrieved on 2009-06-04
- ^ "Panduan makanan halal: Label 'No Pork No Lard' tidak bererti produk halal" (in Malay), Berita Harian, 2009-02-21
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.
