ARS Newsletter September 2019 | Issue 13

ISSUE 13

SEPTEMBER 2019

ARS NEWSLETTER

Click to play the Eid Sermon video

IN THIS ISSUE: Protecting harmony from new threats

Langkah memantapkan Akta Mengekalkan Keharmonian Agama Awal bulan ini, Kementerian Ehwal Dalam Negeri (MHA) telah mengusulkan pindaan terhadap Akta Mengekalkan Keharmonian

Bolehkah kita menyertai sambutan perayaan agama lain?

Kepelbagaian sebahagian daripada rancangan Allah

Agama

(MRHA)

Langkah

itu

bagi

diambil

menangani setelah

ancaman-ancaman

mengkaji

dan

baharu.

mendapatkan

pandangan para pemimpin agama.

MRHA mula digubal pada tahun 1990 dan berkuatkuasa pada tahun

1992.

mengeluarkan menimbulkan

Ia

memberi perintah

rasa

kuasa

kepada

sekatan

kebencian,

pemerintah

kepada

kemahuan

sesiapa

atau

untuk yang

permusuhan

antara kumpulan-kumpulan agama yang berbeza. Dalam pada itu,

kumpulan-kumpulan

agama

juga

menyokong

pindaan

ke

atas undang-undang keharmonian agama Singapura.

To be continued on the next page

Muis, dalam satu kenyataan, bersetuju dengan kepentingan meletakkan langkahlangkah

perundangan

Kenyataan masyarakat yang

jelas

itu

turut

melindungi

menambah,

keagamaan untuk

bagi

di

"Kami

Singapura

melindungi

keharmonian berharap

usaha

bersama-sama

keharmonian

agama

agama

yang

dengan akan

di

negara

dilakukan

ini. oleh

undang-undang

memperkukuhkan

persefahaman bersama dan hidup berdampingan secara aman dalam masyarakat kita yang beragama."

Protecting harmony from new threats

Earlier this month, The Straits Times had published an editorial discussion on the proposed amendments to MRHA. The legislative move indicates that evolving threats to religious harmony have to be taken seriously.

The Act's efficacy as a deterrent can be attested by the fact that it has not been invoked since it came into effect in 1992. However, the Act's intended effect could be

compromised

in

this

era

of

social

media,

especially

since

inflammatory

messages that seek to disturb public harmony can get disseminated more rapidly than before.

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 2

Offensive online posts, for example, need to be dealt with as expeditiously as possible in order to minimise the damage they can cause the longer they are up for public viewing.

Also equally important is the effort to ensure that religious

organisations in Singapore adhere to the norms and laws of the country.

Although religion is universal by nature, religious sentiments can be manipulated to harm societies in ways that are unprecedented. An updated MRHA would mean that there shall be no direct foreign control over local religious organisations.

To

ensure

that,

key

organisation

personnel

are

required

to

be

citizens

or

permanent residents of Singapore.

Requiring

key

personnel

to

be

citizens

or

permanent

residents

is

a

way

of

ensuring that organisations retain their stake in Singapore.

Although these changes to the MRHA are necessary, they are not sufficient by themselves.

Ultimately,

tolerance

and

vigilance

among

citizens

are

the

most

effective tools against threats that may harm the social fabric of Singapore.

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 3

Muatturun Siri Irsyad Kontemporari!

Untuk edisi Bahasa Inggeris  https://bit.ly/2GusPSR Untuk edisi Bahasa Melayu https://bit.ly/2EelHb9

Bolehkah kita menyertai sambutan perayaan agama lain?

Penting bagi kita untuk jelas terhadap tujuan di sebalik tingkah laku kita. Jika kita diundang ke acara perayaan agama lain, kita boleh menghadiri dan menyaksikan acara itu tanpa menyertai segala upacara ritual atau ibadah keagamaannya. Bagi acara yang diadakan sebagai acara kebudayaan atau kemasyarakatan, masyarakat Islam dibenarkanhadir. Oleh itu, penting bagi kita untuk benarbenarmemahami tujuan acara tersebut dan di manakah batas penyertaan kita.

Menghadiri keramaian masyarakat lain dengan tujuan menghormati dan menghargai budaya akan lebih mengeratkan lagi hubungan antara orang Islam dan bukan Islam, dan dapat memupuk rasa saling hormat menghormati di kalangan budaya dan kaum. “Dan apabila kamu diberikan penghormatan dengan sesuatu ucapan hormat (seperti memberi salam), maka balaslah penghormatan itu dengan yang lebih baik daripadanya, atau balaslah dia (dengan cara yang sama). Sesungguhnya Allah sentiasa menghitung segala sesuatu.� (An-Nisa:86)

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 4

ANDALAH YANG KAMI CARI!

DAFTAR SEGERA UNTUK MENJADI SALAH SEORANG PENULIS ATAU PENTERJEMAH KAMI

KHUTBAH-MUIS

GO.GOV.SG/

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 5

Mufti menyeru lebih ramai tampil ke hadapan Mufti

Dr

Mohamed

masyarakat

Fatris

Melayu/Islam

Bakaram Singapura

menyeru dapat

supaya tampil

lebih

ke

ramai

individu

hadapan

sebagai

pendamping (befriender) kepada para banduan dan ahli keluarga mereka.

Beliau berucap demikian pada edisi pertama program Muhasabah Masyarakat Bersama Mufti pada 7 September di Wisma Geylang Serai. Antara lain, Mufti membahas

perjuangan

yang

dialami

bekas

pesalah

serta

anggota

keluarga

mereka. Beliau turut mengajak 800 para hadirin pada program tersebut untuk menerima bekas banduan serta keluarga mereka demi mencapai erti sebenar "hijrah" dan kemajuan bersama.

Mufti juga berharap masyarakat akan menjadi lebih memaafkan dan menerima bekas banduan, selain tidak meminggirkan mereka yang lemah dan yang kurang mendapat Geylang

perhatian.

Serai,

Masyarakat

Dr

Menemui Mohamed

Bersama

Mufti

itu

warga Fatris

media berkata

membolehkan

selepas bahawa

ucapannya program

komunikasi

di

Wisma

Muhasabah

langsung

bersama

masyarakat berkenaan isu-isu sosial semasa.

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 6

CPE

Klik sini untuk ketahui semua kursus ARS

Nota Kursus: Islam dan Hubungan Muslim & Bukan Muslim Kursus ini membincangkan prinsip asas kehidupan dalam

sebuah

Singapura

masyarakat

yang

kesejahteraannya

majmuk

mana

berdasarkan

seperti

kejayaan pada

dan

toleransi

dan

penghormatan bersama.

Di

samping

itu,

para

peserta

telah

diajak

untuk

memahami kepentingan untuk menyumbang secara aktif

kepada

keharmonian

umum

masyarakat

dan

negara, yang selaras dengan tradisi Islam.

Kursus ini dijalankan oleh salah seorang anggota ahli Pejabat sebuah

Mufti

telah

buku

"Guidelines

menerbitkan

kecil

for

berjudul

Muslims

on

purchasing & owning a property"

Buku

kecil

ini

mengetengahkan

isu-isu

akan

Lembaga

Pengiktirafan

pertanyaan

yang

(ARB),

Ustaz

Dr

Muhammad Haniff Hassan. Dalam setiap isu ARS Newsletter

bermula

November,

kami

bulan

akan

September

kongsikan

dua

hingga set

nota

daripada kursus ini.

utama

yang ditangani dalam teks fatwa, dan

Asatizah

sering

Islam mengikut konteks

ditanya daripada fatwa ini.

Kepelbagaian sebahagian daripada rancangan Allah

Imbas atau klik pada kod QR di bawah

untuk

membaca

buku

tersebut secara dalam talian.

Hubungan antara Muslim dan bukan Islam Memahami konsep Wala’ dan Bara

Isu berkenaan hubungan di Singapura Fatwa dan Deklarasi Mardin

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 7

CPE

Click here for a full list of CPE Courses

Islam mengikut konteks Ustaz Haniff menekankan bahawa amalan Islam tidak boleh dipisahkan daripada konteks

kita.

Ini

kerana

setiap

konteks

mempunyai

cabaran

tersendiri

yang

menuntut keperluan untuk mengukuhkan fabrik sosial, masyarakat atau negara.

Kontekstualisasi bukanlah sesuatu yang asing daripada tradisi Islam. Al-Quran diturunkan secara beransur-ansur kepada Nabi Muhammad selama 23 tahun untuk memenuhi konteks dan perkembangan masyarakat Islam pada masa itu. Di samping

itu,

sahabatnya

terdapat

banyak

contoh

mempertimbangkan

di

konteks

mana dalam

Nabi

Muhammad

perundangan

dan

agama

para demi

mengekalkan kesejahteraan masyarakat.

Oleh itu, pada dasarnya, Islam harus diamalkan sesuai dengan konteks sebuah masyarakat yang membuktikan kekayaan tradisi Islam.

Kepelbagaian sebahagian daripada rancangan Allah Seperti yang disebutkan dalam al-Quran, kepelbagaian adalah fenomena semula jadi

yang

wujud

dalam

semua

aspek

kehidupan.

Ustaz

Haniff

menegaskan

bahawa kepelbagaian adalah rahmat bagi umat manusia kerana ia memberikan kita peluang untuk belajar daripada satu sama lain.

Daripada perspektif sosiologi pula, fenomena kepelbagaian ini boleh mamajukan sebuah masyarakat. Di samping itu, sejarah telah memberikan banyak contoh di mana

Nabi

Muhammad

s.a.w.

menjaga

hubungan

baik

bersama

penganut

agama lain.

Secara tuntas, keimanan dalam diri seseorang itu tidak seharusnya melahirkan sifat tinggi diri terhadap orang lain. Sebaliknya, adab dalam tradisi Islam mengajar kita untuk saling menghormati selaras dengan prinsip rahmatan lil alamin (rahmat bagi seluruh alam).

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 8

CPE

Click here for a full list of CPE Courses

List of future CPE courses Date

Title

CPE

Medium

Wed, 2 Oct

Hadith Mengikut Perspektif Fuqaha dan Muhaddithun

3

Malay

Mon, 7 Oct

Disability and Inclusion - Perspective from the Islamic Tradition

3

English

Mon, 14 Oct

Inter-Religious Relations: History, Development and Context

3

English

Wed, 16 Oct

Keganasan Domestik - Peranan Asatizah

3

Malay

Mon, 21 Oct

Family Violence First Responder Training

6

English

Thu, 24 Oct

Pengenalan Kod Etika Asatizah

4

Malay

Sat, 2 Nov

Methods in Teaching Al-Quran and Its Application in Contemporary Context

3

English

Mon, 11 Nov

Learning Journey to RRG

3

English

Thu, 14 Nov

Menangani Kemusykilan Agama Dalam Konteks Singapura

6

Malay

Mon, 18 Nov

Bengkel Kemahiran Asas Kaunseling Kekeluargaan - Peranan Asatizah

6

Malay

Sat, 23 Nov

Pengenalan Kepada Cryptocurrency

3

Malay

Mon, 25 Nov

Understanding Sharia in Context

7

English

Thu, 5 Dec

Islamic Financial Contracts

6

English

Mon, 9 Dec

Methodology of Mufassirun

3

English

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 9

ARS

Ask Q

I am teaching at an Islamic centre in Singapore that has yet to register under IECP, Muis. What should I do?

A: Any entity that provides Islamic educational services in Singapore must be registered under the Islamic Education Centres and Providers (IECP). It is an offence to teach at a non-registered IECP. Teachers at all IECPs are also required to be registered under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS).

Proprietors

of

non-registered

IECPs

are

liable

to

be

penalised

under

Muslim

Religious School Rules Section 87 of AMLA, with a fine not exceeding $2000 or 12 months imprisonment, for the following contraventions: Failure to register IECP with Muis Failure to comply with requirement to - Employ only ARS registered asatizah - Allocate Islamic teachers (asatizah)/Quranic teachers for the appropriate levels of teaching under the ARS - Comply with Muis' order to not employ specific asatizah whose ARS has been suspended or cancelled Failure to take remedial measures ordered by Muis for registration of IECP Obstructing, hindering or refusing to comply with requirement for the purposes of inspection of IECP, requisition of information by Muis or order attendance at Muis to provide information Provision of false information

Q

I am still pursuing my studies overseas and have yet to accumulate the CPE credit. Will my ARS be cancelled?

A: Full-time undergraduates and postgraduates in Islamic studies programmes can

be

exempted

from

the

Continuous

Professional

Education

(CPE)

requirements if they produce a letter of acceptance from the university.

It is every asatizah's responsiblity to update the ARS Office should they intend to pursue their studies.

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 10

M

3

Mendaki. Muis. Mesra

Encik Masagos: Masyarakat Melayu/Islam prihatin soal negara dan sejagat - menyedari isu mengenai ekonomi, iklim, identiti diri Dalam satu sesi dialog pasca-Rapat Umum Hari Kebangsaan, Menteri Bertanggungjawab Bagi Ehwal Masyarakat Islam, Encik Masagos Zulkifli melahirkan rasa penghargaan atas keprihatinan masyarakat Melayu/Islam, bukan sahaja terhadap hal ehwal setempat, bahkan isu-isu global juga.

Encik Masagos bersama Encik Saktiandi Supaat, Ahli Parlimen bagi Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, bertemu dengan para pemimpin akar umbi, sukarelawan dan belia Melayu/Islam untuk mengadakan dialog pada 8 September lalu.

Topik-topik yang dibincangkan termasuk yang berkaitan dengan tahap kebangsaan - seperti persekitaran dan perubahan iklim, pra-sekolah dan ekonomi.

Masagos urges union leaders to step forward; more benefitting from M3@Town The Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Masagos Zulkifli through a post on Facebook, urged Malay/Muslim union leaders to contribute to the community through M³ initiative. He recently met 16 union leaders to discuss on collaborations to further uplift the Malay/Muslim community.

He also added that union leaders can play an active role in helping the community through employment, skills enhancement, and contributing to the M³@Town initiative that are held in eight towns – eight towns with high density of Malay/Muslim residents: Tampines, Pasir Ris-Punggol, Bedok, Choa Chu Kang, Jurong, Nee Soon, Marsiling-Yew Tee and Woodlands.

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 11

Reclaiming the narrative of Hijrah Hijrah in Prophet Muhammad s.a.w's hadith does not suggest a physical relocation, but rather, a change in mindset and behaviour.

By Ustaz Muhammad Saiful Alam Shah

Hijrah or emigration to a state is fully governed under the ‘Islamic law’ is one of the several concepts utilised by violent extremist groups in mobilising Muslims to join their cause of terror.

The notorious terrorist group that called themselves as the

‘Islamic State’ (IS), has been invoking this classical concept of Islam to rally people to move to their territories. They have also been using ‘hijrah’ to sow doubt among Muslims, especially those living in non-Muslim majority states. So what exactly is the

meaning

of

‘hijrah’,

and

how

have

violent

extremist

groups

like

IS

been

misusing it for their cause?

Continue Reading

4 intriguing things you may not know about the Islamic Hijri Calendar

Muslims around the world use the Islamic calendar to determine the dates of religious events and observances.

By Ustaz Muhammad Abdul Mateen Bin Hisham

The calculation of the Hijri Calendar plays an important role in the life of a Muslim as it concludes the time for Ramadan, the two Eids and the period for Hajj, just to name a few.

These specific periods are essential to observe some obligatory acts like the fasting in Ramadan and the Hajj or pilgrimage, for those who have met their calling. In this article, we will explore 4 other interesting things about the Hijri Calendar that you may not know.

Continue Reading

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 12

Our asatizah are constantly striving to meet the emerging needs of the community.

Click on the poster to share your thoughts today!

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 13

https://blog.pergas.org.sg/wasat/

Dealing with non-practising/ sinful close family members: Argument for "Hate the sin, not the sinner" By

Dr Muhammad Haniff Hassan

When a Muslim has committed himself to live based on his religious principles, the existence of a close family member

(i.e.

parents,

siblings,

spouses

or

children)

who chooses a different way of life or possesses habits that do not conform with Islamic teachings (i.e. drinking alcohol,

taking

performance

of

drug,

fornication,

religious

gambling

obligations)

will

or

non-

pose

a

challenge and problem because: the incompatibility of such lifestyle and habits with one’s personal beliefs and principles the effect of such lifestyle and habits on the home environment and other family members energy, mind and time are needed to counsel the family member because Islam obligates Muslim to enjoin good and forbid evil, especially among close family members and often this would cause strain in relationship situation like this may induce stress, sadness and frustration to a person.

The outcome of the situation varies. Some may be able to

remain

patient,

continue

the

good

counsel

and

remain strong. However, many fall into depression and experience In collaboration with

broken

relationship

that

harms

personal

wellbeing and harmonious family life.

Continue Reading

PERGAS SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 14

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 15

JOBÂ OPPORTUNITIES

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 16

Own a

registered IECP and

hiring? Submit the job opening information to

iecp@muis.gov.sg

SEPT 2019, ISSUE 13

PAGE 17

DESIGN & CONTENT ARS Office & ARS Secretariat

EDITOR Ustaz Fauzan A. Roslee Ustaz Irwan Hadi Ustaz Muhammad Haniff Hassan

Ustazah Sukarti Asmoin Ustaz Fauzan Arif Roslee

ARS NEWSLETTER IS Â A PUBLICATION OF