Singapore’s Muslim Community: A Moral Voice? – Comparative Perspectves on Integration in a Global Age
It was an event organized by the Association of Muslim Professionals (AMP) and the Centre for Research onIslam and Malay Affairs (RIMA) held on May 31, 2012.
This paper provides an analysis of Singapore‘s Muslim community in a comparative perspective, with the aim of assessing the contentious issue of Muslim integration in the nation. It begins ithsomebasic background consideration and ;definitions of the minority concept, with a specificfocus on Singapore and the way in which its Muslim community challenges such notions. Then,it offers a brief comparative analysis of Muslim communities in the United States of America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, with a view to better understand the Singapore Muslim community‘s similarities and differences with these experiences. Finally, the paper turns to theissue of integration, and it examines it from various aspects: Islamic doctrinal, legal, and ethicalissues as elucidated in aqidah and fiqhand the actual efforts at integration by both theSingaporean government and various Muslim associational bodies. Starting from the thesis that Singapore‘s Muslims are already integrated into the social, political, and cultural fabric of theisland state, the paper provides some suggestions as to how to better manage communication between the government and Muslim organizations,and points the way for the Muslim community to become a moral leader, together with other religious and civic communities, in the age of globalization.
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