911 and Al-Qaedah have ushered in a new era, splitting the world into “terrorists” and “non-terrorists”。 A religious divide pitting Muslims against non-Muslims is not the answer to a strong, cohesive Singapore.
History is replete with examples showing followers of different faiths committing atrocities in the name of religion. But what a religion preaches and how its followers behave are two completely different things.
So-called religious fanatics typically have a shallow understanding of the religion they claim to profess or may （mis）use religion to mask their political ambitions.
The creation of people like Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein has got more to do with politics as followers of current affairs will know, especially when their rise to power is examined.
Meanwhile, closer to home, Singaporean members of the Jemaah Islamiah（JI） targetted Americans whom they saw as supporting Israel and the continued persecution of Palestinians in apartheid conditions.
They showed a shallow understanding of Islam when they disregarded the Qur'anic injunction that says： “O you who have attained faith！ …Never let hatred of anyone lead you to the sin of deviating from justice. ”
In other words, Islam makes it clear that it is a sin to let one's hatred for the perpetrators of injustice to lead one to commit the same injustice, for example, by causing harm to innocent individuals.
So, terrorism is clearly against the teachings of Islam and everything it stands for. While irresponsible terrorists have “hijacked” the good name of Islam, Singaporean Muslims find themselves much saddened that their beloved religion, which stands for peace, has been maligned. At the same time, they realise that they have to play a bigger role in showing other Singaporeans what true Islam is.
It is a point worth noting that Singaporean members of JI were deviationists operating at the fringes of society, just like Osama. They were not part of the mainstream Muslim community which was as shaken and dismayed as other Singaporeans at their terrorist plans.
So, how do we deal with the threat of terrorism？ The key to this is to forge stronger, common bonds as Singaporeans while respecting each other's religious faiths, beliefs and cultures at a more than skin deep level.
This social “super-glue” is crucial if we are to withstand new and global threats together as a united people. It is not impossible. A case in point would be my personal experience as a Muslim woman.
Since 911, the headscarf worn by Muslim women has made them easy targets for hate crimes worldwide, even though interest in Islam as a religion has picked up. That was why I asked a few non-Muslims point blank if they had a problem with me wearing it. No, they said. They had no problem with it.
A non-Muslim Chinese friend of mine said that it was strange that covering up had become a big deal when exposing one's flesh, which to her speaks of a decline in morality, is now widely accepted, especially among youths.
The non-Muslims that I met even after 911 did not see the headscarf as something that prevented them from interacting with their Muslim friends. They treated their friends as individuals in their own right.
What this shows is, good friendships between Muslims and non-Muslims have the power to overcome what they do not have in common - even prejudice. It is a wonderful, awesome thing that we tend to take for granted - when it should be something that we truly treasure and appreciate.
The newly-initiated Inter-racial Confidence Circles （ICC） run by the Community Development Councils （CDCs） get the thumbs up from me. So do the public talks given by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore （Muis） which began much earlier than the unfortunate 911. Hopefully, these will help to clear up misconceptions that Singaporeans may have about each other and forge better understanding.
I personally feel that a National Education programme for students to visit places of worship should be made compulsory to open up young minds and promote inter-religious understanding. This is even more crucial now.
Ignorance is not bliss for any Singaporean, whether it is on the part of Muslims or non-Muslims. Out of such initiatives, they will learn that all religions enjoin goodness.
（The writer is a free-lance writer and consultant. She has worked closely with the Muslim community for the past five years. She contributed this article to Zaobao）
九一一事件和卡伊達組織改變了世局,把世人歸類為“恐怖分子”和“非恐怖分子”。在新加坡,回教徒和非回教徒如果因為宗教分歧而產(chǎn)生對立,將不利于營造一個具有強大凝聚力的社會。
利用宗教的名義進行暴行的例子,在歷屢見不鮮。但是,一個宗教宣揚的教義和追隨者的行為卻是兩回事,不能混為一談。
宗教狂熱分子通常對他們的信仰不甚了了,有一些則是利用宗教來掩飾政治目的。
熟悉時事的人都知道,奧薩馬和胡申等人能夠掌握權(quán)力,政治是主要的原因。
回教祈禱團的新加坡成員以美國人為攻擊目標,因為他們認為美國人支持以色列,和被隔離的巴勒斯坦人繼續(xù)被迫害。
他們無視于《可蘭經(jīng)》的教義,即“不要因為憎恨他人的心理,犯下背離正義的罪行?！睋Q句話說,回教教義清楚的指出,因為憎恨他人違反正義的行為,訴諸同樣違反正義的行為,也是一種罪行。例如,對無辜的人造成傷害。
恐怖主義很明顯的和回教教義背道而馳。不負責(zé)任的恐怖分子“騎劫”了回教,損害了回教的名譽。鼓吹和平的回教被惡意誣蔑,讓新加坡回教徒感到非常悲哀。他們也意識到必須扮演更大的角色,讓非回教徒國人認識回教的真諦。
回教祈禱團的新加坡成員已經(jīng)偏離了回教教義,他們在社會的邊緣運作,就像奧薩馬一樣。他們不是本地回教徒主流社會的一分子。和其他新加坡人一樣,回教徒主流社會也對他們所策劃的恐怖活動感到震驚。
我們要如何應(yīng)付恐怖主義的威脅？關(guān)鍵在于加強凝聚力和我們都是新加坡人的認同感。同時,不同種族之間也要真正的尊敬彼此在宗教、語言和文化上的差異。
在面對新的環(huán)球威脅時,這種社會“強力膠”將能幫助我們團結(jié)一致克服困難。我本身的經(jīng)歷便是一個很好的例子。
九一一后,回教徒婦女因為穿戴頭巾,使她們在世界各地成為明顯的報復(fù)目標。因此,我開門見山的問一些非回教徒朋友,我戴頭巾會不會給他們帶來任何困擾,他們一致的說這絕對不是問題。其中一個華族告朋友訴我,年輕女孩子穿著越來越暴露,象征了道德的淪落,人們卻已經(jīng)見怪不怪,她不明白為什么戴頭巾反而會成為一個問題。
和我在九一一后碰面的非回教徒朋友,都不認為頭巾問題會影響和回教徒朋友的交往。他們不會以異樣的眼光看待所有的回教徒。這證明了回教徒和非回教徒之間的堅固友誼,可以超越彼此的差異甚至偏見。我們應(yīng)該感到興奮和高興,并舍棄什么都是理所當然的一貫態(tài)度,好好珍惜這種良好的關(guān)系。
我完全贊同不久前推行,由社區(qū)發(fā)展理事會負責(zé)的族群互信圈。我也支持新加坡回教理事會早在九一一前便已時常舉行的公開講座。我希望這些努力能夠消除新加坡人之間可能存在的誤解,并促進彼此的認識。
我建議成立一個強制性國家教育計劃,安排學(xué)生參觀廟宇和教堂,讓年輕人對宗教有更好的認識,也同時促進不同宗教族群的相互了解。
不論是回教徒或者非回教徒,新加坡人都不能對彼此的宗教一無所知。通過積極的方式互相認識,大家最終會明白所有宗教的目的都是宣揚真、善、美。
（作者是一名自由撰稿人,也從事顧問工作,過去5年來一直活躍于回教徒社會,這是她特為早報撰寫的文章。葉琦保譯。）
History is replete with examples showing followers of different faiths committing atrocities in the name of religion. But what a religion preaches and how its followers behave are two completely different things.
So-called religious fanatics typically have a shallow understanding of the religion they claim to profess or may （mis）use religion to mask their political ambitions.
The creation of people like Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein has got more to do with politics as followers of current affairs will know, especially when their rise to power is examined.
Meanwhile, closer to home, Singaporean members of the Jemaah Islamiah（JI） targetted Americans whom they saw as supporting Israel and the continued persecution of Palestinians in apartheid conditions.
They showed a shallow understanding of Islam when they disregarded the Qur'anic injunction that says： “O you who have attained faith！ …Never let hatred of anyone lead you to the sin of deviating from justice. ”
In other words, Islam makes it clear that it is a sin to let one's hatred for the perpetrators of injustice to lead one to commit the same injustice, for example, by causing harm to innocent individuals.
So, terrorism is clearly against the teachings of Islam and everything it stands for. While irresponsible terrorists have “hijacked” the good name of Islam, Singaporean Muslims find themselves much saddened that their beloved religion, which stands for peace, has been maligned. At the same time, they realise that they have to play a bigger role in showing other Singaporeans what true Islam is.
It is a point worth noting that Singaporean members of JI were deviationists operating at the fringes of society, just like Osama. They were not part of the mainstream Muslim community which was as shaken and dismayed as other Singaporeans at their terrorist plans.
So, how do we deal with the threat of terrorism？ The key to this is to forge stronger, common bonds as Singaporeans while respecting each other's religious faiths, beliefs and cultures at a more than skin deep level.
This social “super-glue” is crucial if we are to withstand new and global threats together as a united people. It is not impossible. A case in point would be my personal experience as a Muslim woman.
Since 911, the headscarf worn by Muslim women has made them easy targets for hate crimes worldwide, even though interest in Islam as a religion has picked up. That was why I asked a few non-Muslims point blank if they had a problem with me wearing it. No, they said. They had no problem with it.
A non-Muslim Chinese friend of mine said that it was strange that covering up had become a big deal when exposing one's flesh, which to her speaks of a decline in morality, is now widely accepted, especially among youths.
The non-Muslims that I met even after 911 did not see the headscarf as something that prevented them from interacting with their Muslim friends. They treated their friends as individuals in their own right.
What this shows is, good friendships between Muslims and non-Muslims have the power to overcome what they do not have in common - even prejudice. It is a wonderful, awesome thing that we tend to take for granted - when it should be something that we truly treasure and appreciate.
The newly-initiated Inter-racial Confidence Circles （ICC） run by the Community Development Councils （CDCs） get the thumbs up from me. So do the public talks given by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore （Muis） which began much earlier than the unfortunate 911. Hopefully, these will help to clear up misconceptions that Singaporeans may have about each other and forge better understanding.
I personally feel that a National Education programme for students to visit places of worship should be made compulsory to open up young minds and promote inter-religious understanding. This is even more crucial now.
Ignorance is not bliss for any Singaporean, whether it is on the part of Muslims or non-Muslims. Out of such initiatives, they will learn that all religions enjoin goodness.
（The writer is a free-lance writer and consultant. She has worked closely with the Muslim community for the past five years. She contributed this article to Zaobao）
九一一事件和卡伊達組織改變了世局,把世人歸類為“恐怖分子”和“非恐怖分子”。在新加坡,回教徒和非回教徒如果因為宗教分歧而產(chǎn)生對立,將不利于營造一個具有強大凝聚力的社會。
利用宗教的名義進行暴行的例子,在歷屢見不鮮。但是,一個宗教宣揚的教義和追隨者的行為卻是兩回事,不能混為一談。
宗教狂熱分子通常對他們的信仰不甚了了,有一些則是利用宗教來掩飾政治目的。
熟悉時事的人都知道,奧薩馬和胡申等人能夠掌握權(quán)力,政治是主要的原因。
回教祈禱團的新加坡成員以美國人為攻擊目標,因為他們認為美國人支持以色列,和被隔離的巴勒斯坦人繼續(xù)被迫害。
他們無視于《可蘭經(jīng)》的教義,即“不要因為憎恨他人的心理,犯下背離正義的罪行?！睋Q句話說,回教教義清楚的指出,因為憎恨他人違反正義的行為,訴諸同樣違反正義的行為,也是一種罪行。例如,對無辜的人造成傷害。
恐怖主義很明顯的和回教教義背道而馳。不負責(zé)任的恐怖分子“騎劫”了回教,損害了回教的名譽。鼓吹和平的回教被惡意誣蔑,讓新加坡回教徒感到非常悲哀。他們也意識到必須扮演更大的角色,讓非回教徒國人認識回教的真諦。
回教祈禱團的新加坡成員已經(jīng)偏離了回教教義,他們在社會的邊緣運作,就像奧薩馬一樣。他們不是本地回教徒主流社會的一分子。和其他新加坡人一樣,回教徒主流社會也對他們所策劃的恐怖活動感到震驚。
我們要如何應(yīng)付恐怖主義的威脅？關(guān)鍵在于加強凝聚力和我們都是新加坡人的認同感。同時,不同種族之間也要真正的尊敬彼此在宗教、語言和文化上的差異。
在面對新的環(huán)球威脅時,這種社會“強力膠”將能幫助我們團結(jié)一致克服困難。我本身的經(jīng)歷便是一個很好的例子。
九一一后,回教徒婦女因為穿戴頭巾,使她們在世界各地成為明顯的報復(fù)目標。因此,我開門見山的問一些非回教徒朋友,我戴頭巾會不會給他們帶來任何困擾,他們一致的說這絕對不是問題。其中一個華族告朋友訴我,年輕女孩子穿著越來越暴露,象征了道德的淪落,人們卻已經(jīng)見怪不怪,她不明白為什么戴頭巾反而會成為一個問題。
和我在九一一后碰面的非回教徒朋友,都不認為頭巾問題會影響和回教徒朋友的交往。他們不會以異樣的眼光看待所有的回教徒。這證明了回教徒和非回教徒之間的堅固友誼,可以超越彼此的差異甚至偏見。我們應(yīng)該感到興奮和高興,并舍棄什么都是理所當然的一貫態(tài)度,好好珍惜這種良好的關(guān)系。
我完全贊同不久前推行,由社區(qū)發(fā)展理事會負責(zé)的族群互信圈。我也支持新加坡回教理事會早在九一一前便已時常舉行的公開講座。我希望這些努力能夠消除新加坡人之間可能存在的誤解,并促進彼此的認識。
我建議成立一個強制性國家教育計劃,安排學(xué)生參觀廟宇和教堂,讓年輕人對宗教有更好的認識,也同時促進不同宗教族群的相互了解。
不論是回教徒或者非回教徒,新加坡人都不能對彼此的宗教一無所知。通過積極的方式互相認識,大家最終會明白所有宗教的目的都是宣揚真、善、美。
（作者是一名自由撰稿人,也從事顧問工作,過去5年來一直活躍于回教徒社會,這是她特為早報撰寫的文章。葉琦保譯。）