Iftar at Khalid Mosque – Opening Remarks by Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law

MOS Faishal

President MUIS, and MUIS Senior Management

Mosque Chairman and Community Leaders

Brief Remarks on I-H

1. We are meeting here today, and there are many things that are happening around the world. Many bad things. Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, and of course, Palestine.

2. In fact, this morning, I spoke with the media about Palestine.

3. I think many of you know, there was a post which was on the Israeli Embassy website, which referred to the Quran.

4. I was upset as well, when I saw the post. So, I told the media today: When I saw it yesterday, I said this is not acceptable. I told my Ministry to tell MFA to ask to take it down. They took it down.

5. Why is the post wrong? Because when they put up something like this, this can make people very angry in Singapore. There are some people who will get angry, and they may go and do things. And the Jewish community is a minority, the Muslim community is a minority, and this can create trouble between the Jews and Muslims. And I don't want that in Singapore. So, it was insensitive, inappropriate, jeopardised our security and harmony. So we said take it down.

6. There are other reasons. You cannot just take selectively some religious texts, and then make a political point. Or selectively use the Quran for this purpose at this time. And I said it is an astonishing attempt to rewrite history.

7. But we don’t intervene because somebody said something untrue. If they had just said things which are not accurate, generally embassies, even if we don’t agree with them, we don’t intervene. But when they say things that affect safety and security of Singapore, within Singapore, then we intervene. That’s what we did immediately.

8. I understand there is a post by the embassy today saying that this (post) was not authorised. They didn’t know about it, somebody put it up, and they will take severe action against the person who put it up. So, in a way, that is good because they accept that the post was wrong in the first place and should never have been put up.

9. The religious harmony we have between our groups, between the different racial groups in Singapore, is too precious. We have worked very hard for this. You don’t find this very much in many other places and we cannot let it be undermined by actions like these.

10. More broadly, the ongoing crisis in Gaza is a tragedy.

Recognition of Qaryah Groups

11. Qaryah groups are closely-knit with the communities in their neighbourhoods. Volunteers make sure that prayer spaces are conducive, accessible, including for the elderly and those who need help. Tonight I’m going for one in my own area at Yishun.

12. I thank you for working with MUIS and also looking at what the Muslim community’s views and concerns are, giving the feedback.

13. The Gotong Royong spirit is a very important aspect to keep the spirit vibrant.

14. We met one year ago – there were some issues at that time. It’s good that we found a solution. At that time, I told you, the Government could always re-locate to make sure that the Qaryah prayers can carry on properly. I think this year the situation is much smoother. So I thank everybody involved for making sure that it’s much smoother this year.

15. And I want to assure you that the Government continues to recognise the very important role that you Qaryah groups play, and we will continue to support you, support your efforts, to serve the community – including support for the leadership, and also those who are looking at leadership renewal, so that the Qaryah groups can continue to have a great future.

16. Thank you all for your dedication to the community.