ARS Newsletter | Issue 5

ISSUE 5

JANUARY 2019

ARS NEWSLETTER

THIS ISSUE: President Halimah urges to strengthen racial & religious unity Can I work in jobs that require me to deal with alcohol?

Former religious teacher and student placed on Restriction Order under ISA Perpaduan sosial kunci bagi Singapura

2018, The Year of Transition and Achievements Some of the key events for the community was the appointment of Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli, the formation of the M3 framework of Muis, Mendaki and Mesra, the appointment of CEO (MUIS) Esa Masood, and the celebration of Muis’ 50th anniversary this year with a convention and festival.

Muis also expanded its zakat criteria to include more families under the scheme. The Malay Youth Literary Association (4PM) celebrated its 70th anniversary, Kurnia@WGS was launched, Pergas and RRG launched a new book titled “Menyangkal ISIS”, and MBMS celebrated its 30th anniversary through Bulan Bahasa 2018. The community also faced a few controversies such the case of a foreign preacher who had critical comments on Islam.

Alhamdulillah, segala puji-pujian bagi Allah s.w.t. yang telah memanjangkan umur kita dalam penuh keberkatan untuk bertemu dengan tahun baru 2019.  Dengan lembaran baru ini, ayuh kita sama-sama perbaharui niat dan semangat kita untuk terus membimbing masyarakat kita.  Asatizah yang dimuliakan, sebagai pembimbing masyarakat, wajar bagi kita untuk muhasabah diri dan memikirkan apakah peningkatan ataupun sumbangan yang dapat kita lakukan dalam pembangunan masyarakat. Namun, sebelum kita membangun masyarakat, kita perlu terlebih dahulu membangun diri kita sendiri. Sebagai contoh, Pejabat ARS telah menyediakan pelbagai program Pendidikan Profesional Berterusan (CPE).

Walaubagaimanapun, masih ramai lagi yang belum menghadiri programprogram yang disediakan. Sebagai pembimbing dan guru yang menjadi contoh teladan kepada masyarakat, ilmu kita sebagai Asatizah perlu sentiasa dipertingkatkan, diperkaya dan dikemaskini perlu sentiasa dipertingkatkan, diperkaya dan dikemaskini. Kita perlu sentiasa mendalami ilmu, mempertingkan diri dan memperkasa diri dengan kemahiran yang diperlukan untuk masyarakat masakini.

Selain daripada memperkaya diri dengan ilmu, penting juga bagi kita untuk memantau dan menjaga kesihatan. Tubuh dan kesihatan kita adalah pemberian dan juga amanah yang Allah titipkan untuk kita menjaga sebaiknya. Amalkanlah gaya hidup sihat dan pemakanan yang seimbang.

Sebagai permulaan, mulakanlah dengan langkah-langkah kecil seperti berjalan pantas, berlari-lari anak dan sebagainya. Minda yang sihat, tubuh yang sihat dan rohani yang sihat perlu dititikberatkan oleh para asatizah agar tugas dakwah dan penyampaian ilmu dapat digalas dengan sebaiknya.

Semoga kedatangan tahun baru ini menjadi pemangkin semangat untuk kita mempertingkat diri dengan ilmu dan kesihatan.

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Kalam Kibar Alhamdulillah, all thanks to Allah s.w.t for letting us meet 2019.

With this new start, let us renew our intentions and spirit to guide our community further.

Respected Asatizah, as someone who guides the community, we must often reflect on ourselves and think how can we further contribute and develop the community.

However, before we develop them, we must first start with ourselves. For example, the ARS Office has provided variety of Continuous Professional Education (CPE) programmes which have yet to be attended by some of our Asatizah. As a guide and teacher to the community, our knowledge has to be equipped, enriched and updated. We need to constantly deepen knowledge and empower ourselves with the skills needed for today's society.

Another aspect that we should empower ourselves with aside from knowledge, is our taking care of our health. Our bodies and health are gifts and amanah that Allah entrusted us with. This year, let us move towards practising healthy lifestyle and balanced diet.

We can start with small steps like brisk walking, jogging and so on.

Healthy minds, physical and spiritual need to be emphasized by the Asatizah so that da'wah and knowledge delivery tasks are best suited.

May the coming of this new year motivate us to enhance and empower ourselves with knowledge and health.

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Download Contemporary Irsyad Series copy today via http://bit.ly/LICISDownload or simply click here

Can I work in jobs that require me to deal with alcohol?

Muslims are prohibited from consuming alcoholic beverages. They are also to avoid working in jobs which principally involve alcoholic beverages. However, in situations such as there are no available jobs apart from one that requires you to deal with alcohol beverages, but that is not the primary job scope, this is allowed, as its sole purpose is to support oneself and one’s family.

For example, if you are working at a supermarket where you would need to handle the packaging of either alcoholic beverages or other non-halal items, this would not be considered as your primary duty. A view within the Hanafī school of law has allowed for such a concession to be made especially in a country where majority of its population are not Muslims.

The Ḥanafī scholar, Imām Al-Zaylaʿī in Rad al-Muḥtār ʿala al-Dur al-Mukhtār, held the view that the wage of one who is hired to transport wine, or to herd pigs is halal according to Imam Abū Ḥanīfah.

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A view within the Hanafi school of law has allowed for such a concession to be made especially in a country where majority of its population are not Muslims.

- Office of the mufti Contemporary Irsyad Series

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President Halimah urges to strengthen Racial and Religious Unity

Faithfully ASEAN - regional interfaith exchange programme supported by the MCCY was launched at the National Library Building on 3 December. 40 interfaith practitioners and activists joined their counterparts from Singapore's faith institutions and the Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circle. President Halimah Yacob noted that "there are forces which tear at the fabric of our societies", such as the dangerous ideology of the Islamic State in Iraq

and Syria, which continues to influence people around the world. "We need to guard against divisive narratives, which seed prejudice within our societies. It is important for us to build strong ties between various communities so that we can be united and stand together in times of crisis," she added. "It is through diversity that we generate ideas and practices which are more resilient to external changes."

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Former religious teacher and student placed on Restriction Order under ISA Source: Channel Newsasia & MHA

Local media reported that a former religious teacher and his student were issued Restriction Orders (ROs) under the Internal Security Act. MHA had placed religious teacher Murad Mohd Said on an RO on 5 December 2018 while his student Razali Abas was arrested in September 2018 and placed on an RO in October 2018.

In a Facebook post, Mr Masagos said that the ROs against the duo showed that the challenge of countering radicalisation continues.

He said, "The swift actions of our security agencies are timely. However, the actions of a misguided few must not be allowed to tar the good name of our community. Murad's violent and problematic views as a religious teacher, or ustaz, carried weight among his followers and had the potential to mislead many more, with grave consequences for our religious harmony."

Murad was a freelance religious teacher until he was removed from the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS) in May 2018 for his segregationist ideologies that contravened the ARS Code of Ethics.

Murad had been engaged by Muis and the Asatizah Recognition Board (ARB) for his divisive views, but did not change them. Murad was then removed from the ARS register and barred from conducting classes in Singapore.

However, Murad continued spreading his views online. Vice-chairman (ARB) Ustaz Pasuni Maulan said the Board would not hesitate to remove from the scheme any teachers who violate its code of ethics.

He added, "Such individuals would not be allowed to mislead the community, as these teachings are clearly incompatible with the values of the Muslim community, who are well-adjusted to Singapore's multiracial and multireligious society."

Muis and the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association (PERGAS) said that they will tighten the certification of religious teachers under the ARS or under the scheme.

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The scheme aimed to recognise teachers qualified to teach Islamic religious knowledge. Honorary Member Ustaz Fathurrahman Dawoed (PERGAS) shared that all asatizah in Singapore were required to attend the code of ethics course.

While he indicated that the incident was an "unfortunate one" and PERGAS did not want it to happen again, he assured that the incident was an isolated case and not the representation of the asatizah fraternity or the Malay/Muslim community.

In addition, Minister of Home Affairs & Law K Shanmugam responded to media queries on what the incident meant for the accreditation considering that an ARS certified religious teacher could be radicalised.

Mr Shanmugam said, "The implication of the question was that the certification process was somehow wrong but actually you should look at the individual.

It's entirely possible for people to espouse a certain set of religious beliefs and then over time add to those teachings or change those teachings. So based on whatever Muis had at the time, they thought that he (Murad) could be accredited but what they came to find that his teachings were not appropriate, they did revoke him. Actually, I think Muis ought to be commended.�

However, Assoc Research Fellow (RSIS) Remy Mahzam held that the ARS was only a guideline and cannot guarantee that individuals will not be radicalised. He suggested that Muis study the ARS, its effectiveness, and how it could help give a good guide to the teachers in Singapore in order for them to be good role models in the community.

WHAT IS RESTRICTION ORDER? A person issued with a Restriction Order (RO) must abide by several conditions and restrictions. For example, he is not permitted to change his residence or employment, or travel out of Singapore, without the prior approval of the Director ISD. The individual issued with RO also cannot issue public statements, address public meetings or print, distribute, contribute to any publication, hold office in, or be a member of any organisation, association or group without the prior approval of Director ISD.

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Perpaduan sosial kunci bagi Singapura

ST Forum menerbitkan surat oleh Julian Anschel Lai. Penulis menyatakan kelegaan bahawa pihak berkuasa dapat bertindak tegas melawan bekas guru agama dan pelajarnya yang memegang keyakinan radikal. Penulis juga berterima kasih kepada Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) yang dapat menangani isu sensitif tanpa merosakkan perpaduan sosial yang dinikmati oleh warga Singapura hari ini.

Secara berasingan, ST melaporkan bahawa MP Joan Pereira menyatakan bahwa keganasan memberikan ancaman tidak hanya kepada kehidupan manusia dan infrastruktur fizikal, tetapi juga untuk harmoni berbilang kaum dan multi-agama Singapura. Merujuk kepada berita bahawa bekas guru agama, Murad Mohd Said dan pelajarnya, Razali Abas telah dikeluarkan Perintah Sekatan (ROs) di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri, beliau menggesa rakyat Singapura untuk mengukuhkan hubungan antara kumpulan tempatan dan menyokong komuniti Melayu-Muslim.

Two Asatizah found support group for women

Two asatizah, Ustazah Nazeerah Shaik Alwie and Ustazah Ne’maat Sukor, formed a support group named The Modern Muslimah Project last July.

The group consists of women who can encourage each other through organized activities. Ustazah Nazeerah said women need to be united in order to be strengthened emotionally as many marriage problems are due to emotional instability.Â

As a starter, the group will hold four-hour symposium with the title Her Quest In Overcoming Challenges this February, where it discusses the misconception in marriage, guidelines for pregnant mothers and the importance of emotional and physical health for better welfare.

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Pemimpin agama memainkan peranan penting dalam memerangi berita palsu dalam talian

Pemimpin agama di Singapura mempunyai peranan penting dalam mengetuai perjuangan menentang berita palsu.

Mereka bertanggungjawab membimbing masyarakat untuk mengenalpasti khabar angin dan mitos tentang agama dan hal ehwal semasa, kata Menteri Kebudayaan, Komuniti dan Remaja Grace Fu. Bercakap kepada lebih daripada 400 tetamu di Hotel Fullerton semasa majlis makan tengahari antara agama Pertubuhan Antara Keagamaan (IRO), Ms Fu berkata rakyat Singapura perlu menitikberatkan isu masyarakat berbilang kaum dan agama.

Beliau menambah, "kuasa yang lebih besar dari dalam negara mahupun luar Singapura mampu dengan mudah menggunakan ruang dalam talian untuk memanfaatkan garis kesalahan agama untuk tujuan ideologi atau politik mereka".

IRO, ditubuhkan pada tahun 1949, diwakili oleh agama Hindu, Yahudi, Zoroastrianisme, Buddha, Taois, Jain, Kristian, Islam, Sikh dan Baha'i untuk mempromosikan keharmonian antara agama di kalangan pelbagai kumpulan agama di Singapura.

Pengurus Besar IRO, Nazhath Faheema juga berkata bahawa organisasi itu sedang memuktamadkan rancangan untuk kempen pencapaian komunikasi digital tahun depan untuk meningkatkan pemahaman antara kepercayaan dan mewujudkan platform dalam talian untuk melibatkan rakyat Singapura.

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Zakat plays an important role to uplift the community Muis’ zakat collection from local Muslims had reached over $ 44 million in 2017, up by 15% from 2016.

Around $20 million was distributed to the poor through monthly financial assistance and other mosque-led programmes.

Mufti Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram explained the positive trend, the role of zakat in society, as well as what could be improved in Muis’ zakat distribution system. When asked for his views on the topic of social inequality, Mufti Fatris Bakaram said, "The Qur'an itself was revealed where it encourages wealth to not only be circulated among the rich,

but to be distributed among the poor...I think (inequality) is not just a concern for the Islamic community, but is also a concern that is actively discussed at the national level and even since early Islam. That is why, in Islam there are certain systems of distribution of wealth in society to ensure that the poor are not neglected."

He emphasised the importance of the role of society in assisting needy groups and channelling assistance to mosques. In September, Muis revised its zakat financial criteria by raising family per capita income (PCI) per month from $350 to $400.

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Talk of the town A question to ask ourselves, are we ready to give way to other religion when they are performing their rituals at a shared area?

Masjid Al-Abrar Friday prayer congregant overspill received positive comments

The Facebook post by SGAG mentioned that restaurants along the street would stop serving for 30 minutes to allow Muslims to observe their Friday prayer.

Comments were mostly positive showing that tolerance and cooperation is present between businesses nearby most mosques. It is noted that congregants who frequent Al-Abrar would neatly place their shoes in front of these shop fronts and would hastily disperse as soon as prayer ends. A large proportion of comments also suggested that Singaporeans are accepting different faiths and not just tolerating each other.

A few comments, however, highlighted that religious activities should not disrupt business activities and that praying on footpaths in the busy business district be refrained should be better managed. A question to ask ourselves, are we ready to give way to other religion when they are performing their rituals at a shared area?

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wasatonline.wordpress.com

Commenting on the Problem with

Salafism

The direct translation of the Arabic term Salaf is “predecessor”. According to common understanding, this would refer to the first three generations of Muslims, hence the generations of the Prophet Mohammad and his companions.

In contemporary context, and if we apply the definition of Salaf as described, we then refer to Muslims who attempt to closely follow the ways these three early generations of Muslims lived Islam, one which, benefitting from the guidance of the Prophet himself and those who were close to him, is also the Islam.

The Islam which, in the mind of a Muslim in today’s society centuries after the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet, is an idealised version.

Here, already, a problematic arises. Would this then not refer to all Muslims in general, since all Muslims would then subscribe to the teachings of the Qur’an, Hadith and Sunnah (path or model of the Prophet) and consensus of his companions?

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PERGAS JANUARY 2019, ISSUE 5

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JOBÂ OPPORTUNITIES

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JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Own a

registered IECP

and hiring? Submit the job opening information to

www.tinyurl.com/jobars or send your poster to iecp@muis.gov.sg

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DESIGN & CONTENT ARS Office

EDITOR Ustaz Muhammad Haniff Hassan

Ustazah Sukarti Asmoin

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