The Muslim Community Experience Towards a Community of Success
On 9-10 September, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) launched the International Conference on Communities of Success (ICCOS). With the theme “Contributing Citizens, Dynamic Institutions”, the 2-day conference brought together over 500 religious leaders and scholars, state officials and community leaders from all over the world on building the 3Cs of successful Muslim communities – Character, Competency and Citizenry.
See: iccos.sg
On Conference Day 1, Mufti Dr Nazirudin Mohd Nasir shared about the Singapore Muslim community’s experience towards becoming a Community of Success.
Here are 7 themes that he spoke about:
Lessons Learnt During The Pandemic
The pandemic has given us a crash course on the most important ingredients of success in a fast-changing world. Undoubtedly, there has been much pain, suffering and disruption, but the pandemic has taught us one of the most, if not the most important thing, the worth of human life, that one life lost is one too many. I recall the Eid (Hari Raya of 2020). Mosques were shut. I stood in an empty mosque that morning to deliver the customary sermon broadcast to the homes of Muslim families in Singapore. The air in the mosque was filled with sadness and longing for the community. I could feel immense emptiness. Then I recalled a story more than 10 centuries ago in Damascus, where the Imam stood on the pulpit to an empty mosque safe for a handful of people when a plague had struck the city. He asked, where are the people who were just here the other day? Someone responded they had all perished because of the plague. We missed the community dearly, but we took comfort in the fact that they were safe at home with their families.
More than just a crisis or a passing storm, it tells a compelling story of resilience, adaptability and solidarity. It offered us opportunities to relearn and reset. Indeed, for a small but very diverse nation like Singapore, our success hinges on our collective ability to quickly adapt to changing circumstances and conditions, to stay resilient, guided by our principles and values as we navigate the changes, and to remain connected with each other, and care for one another with charity, compassion and hospitality.
How Faith Groups In Singapore Dealt With The Pandemic
Faith communities which are an important aspect of our social fabric in Singapore, embody and reinforce these values. During the lockdowns and circuit breakers, there was doubt if religions could survive the pandemic when places of worship had to be closed. There was no divine revelation that says, “Thou shalt social distance,” so faith communities would quickly lose relevance. I disagree. In our scripture, there is an even more important revelation if we only looked at the right place. A revelation that asks of us not only to social distance but to wear masks, vaccinate and take all the necessary safety measures to save lives. The Quran says, “and whoever saved a life, it is as if he had saved all humanity.” (Surah Al-Ma’idah, 5:32)
Faith groups remained resilient, adapted and implemented safe measures for the greater good of society and to protect lives. Beyond that, religious leaders expressed solidarity and support for each other. Faith communities could draw strength from this togetherness at a time when anxieties were high. I am deeply thankful for religious leaders for your constant support and encouragement for our community too. Through the crisis, we have engendered greater trust and confidence in each other and grown stronger together.
These experiences during the pandemic are not an exception to the rule, but a culmination of and testimony to our social norms, especially when severely tested; to be able to live together peacefully as a multireligious and multicultural society, to work together to build a safe and prosperous home for all, to respect each other and care for one another, and to be able to come together and express solidarity in times of crisis. For the Muslim community, this is the social context we live in. No doubt, it is unique and gives rise to particular, and sometimes, unprecedented theological, jurisprudential and existential questions.
The Role of Faith In Creating a Harmonious Society
We acknowledge that there are religious doctrines, traditions and ideologies that may not sit well with aspects of our contemporary condition. There are episodes in Muslim history that raise questions on the role of faith in these environments – because faith has been used to seek dominance, control and power; or to fight for rights so that only our norms and values prevail. But could faith be the catalyst and impetus to create a harmonious society that benefits as many people as possible with justice, fairness, equality and progress?
To answer these questions, Muslims look to the Shariah as a comprehensive system of religious values, principles and laws. So how would the Shariah respond? What is the theology that instructs our behaviours and shapes our attitudes in living in modern and diverse societies? How do we interpret religious laws to respond to our unique context? What does our religious identity look like as citizens of a modern secular state? How the Shariah responds to these questions depends on our social compact. What the Shariah does clearly is to provide the necessary foundations. The sum total of the Shariah is its attention and sensitivity to the human condition. It exhorts humankind to protect and enhance welfare and well-being. Everything that it sets out for its followers to do is never outside the realm of human life and society but within it and for its benefit. This is to use the term of the influential medieval theologian Imam Al-Ghazali, maqsud al-shar’, i.e. the intent of the Shariah, which is to protect the five fundamentals of religion, life, intellect, progeny and property. In one of the most extensive commentaries of a prophetic Hadith, “Do not inflict injury or repay one injury with another” (Sunan Ibn Majah), the fourteenth century jurist Najmuddin al-Tufi argued that the Shariah is all about the avoidance of harm. We can add to this many other beautiful articulations of the protection of the fundamentals by Al-Shatibi, Ibn Qayyim, and many others.
Read: What You Need to Know About Maqasid Al-Shariah
But where and how do we place the human condition and interest in relation to the divine? Is it at the centre of the religious worldview, or at its margins and periphery? Can we read the maqasid of Al-Ghazali and Shatibi, and the idea of the common good or maslaha, humanistically, as Tufi argues, as opposed to theologically?
If we see the world in a binary sense with two distinct and irreconcilable realms or entities, then only one or the other would prevail. If a worldly life that functions on reason and rationality clashes with a worldview and laws from a sacred source, then we will always remain in conflict, both in our minds and with others out there. A bifurcated world, where God’s law cannot be reconciled with the modern world and secular institutions, is a distorted imagery that harks back to a triumphalist worldview. Many medieval thinkers had tussled with this, such as Averroes (Ibn Rushd), Maimonides (Musa bin Maimun) and Thomas Aquinas, in the Islamic, Jewish and Christian traditions. For them, the human intellect or reason has an important place in their faith, and to varying extents, there are ways in which both can be harmonised.
Read: Preserving The Sanctity of The Shariah
This challenge is even more acute today, as the gulf between religious norms and values and the liberal secular state seems to widen. If one makes no attempt to bridge the divide, we will end up with communities withdrawing and not participating fully, because you have, on the one hand, an ‘Islamic identity’, and on the other hand, a “non-Islamic” realm, which is, to use Durkheim’s term, profane, where believers do not belong, at least not fully. Withdrawal means we become only concerned with protecting our own faith and demanding that our religious rights must be met at all times as citizens.
The Symbiotic Relationship Between Community and State
However, if we exercise a thoughtful reading of our religious traditions and teachings, we find that these aspects of modern life are not anathema to our faith. Our identities and allegiances to faith and nation do not need to conflict. For us in Singapore, we can be good Muslims, good neighbours, and good Singaporeans. This is our unique Singapore Muslim Identity (SMI). But as Prime Minister said earlier, we need to adjust and adapt in a diverse society.
In fact, the expectation that there should be no need to adjust or compromise is both unreasonable and unrealistic. It is very clear from Islamic history that this was even never the case during the Prophet’s time. The Prophet asked the companions to migrate to Abyssinia in early Islam to seek a peaceful and safe life under the protection of a Christian king Negus. Some of them called Abyssinia home and did not leave, even after Muslims had settled in Madinah under the leadership of the Prophet there.
Read: What Does Islam Really Say About Muslim-Christian Relations?
In a similar way, he negotiated for a safe passage of Muslims to Makkah at Hudaibiyah by making some compromises as he carefully considered the perspectives of non-Muslims on the terms of negotiation. As odd as it sounds, faith truly becomes meaningful and purposeful when we have to make difficult choices, to adjust, adapt and negotiate in difficult situations. Remember, the more uncomfortable and challenging, the greater the reward. It is how we resolve these tensions, how to reconcile these differences and forge a common path, that would determine if we could ultimately work towards building successful communities.
These prophetic examples are consistent with how the Quran sets out the mutual and symbiotic relationship between community and state. Success depends on the level of trust, confidence and support between the two. When the state offers its citizens a safe space to live and practice what they believe, then we must do good and act honourably (al-birr) and with fairness (al-qist). This, to me, is the clearest indication of the Quran’s exhortation to work towards the common good, founded on the values of doing good and fairness.
Read: Islamic Quotes on Peace and Justice
Based on your experiences in your respective communities, you may have different experiences, formula, and proposals on how to achieve this. For us in Singapore, faith communities are a significant part of our society, even as state governance and public institutions are secular. At the same time, faith communities are free to practice their religion, including in the public realm, so long as the common good is not compromised and religion is not politicised. Every community, even as it seeks to advance its own interests, places the collective good of society above all else. This is a middle path (al-wasati), a delicate state of affairs, and it requires that everyone plays their role judiciously.
This approach has given us confidence that we can thrive in Singapore and contribute to our nation’s prosperity and progress. But we can only get to this point with confidence and competence in engaging with our unique context. And this is not just for the leaders or the Asatizah but especially for the community.
Empowering Religious Education and Guidance
Religious education and guidance must be empowering, and the responsibility of leaders and scholars is to work out the principles and values that can help the community make their own decisions when faced with their own problems. This is how our fatwa institution works today, where we refrain from the tradition of simply saying, this is halal or ok, this is haram or not ok, but we say, consider these principles and apply it to your situation. Think for yourself too. Trust me, this is a lot more difficult than giving straight answers, but with increasingly more circumstantial and complex issues, this is the way forward.
Read: What is Halal?
Our international guests would notice that we have a lot of halal-certified food establishments here, especially fast food chains like McDonalds, Burger King and many others. Some are very excited about this, we can ensure it is halal, but we can’t say it is healthy (tayyib). We have also launched campaigns to educate the Muslim public on what halal actually means, not what halal certificates are, because there is some confusion out there. This empowering approach is one of the many competencies we train our Asatizah and future religious leaders, after they graduate and take up life-long learning courses to acquaint themselves with our context today.
Read: Common Questions About Halal and Halal Certification In Singapore
With Empowerment Comes The Need for Inclusivity
With empowerment comes the need for inclusivity. No one should be left behind in our pursuit for success. Inclusivity is obviously a huge topic and has many dimensions, some of which are contentious and needs to be carefully discussed in the realm of religious thought.
For example, how do we address intra-faith diversities and dynamics, and different lifestyle preferences, as well as what I refer to as controversial and confrontational hermeneutics, i.e. the reinterpretation of religion and its laws that challenge mainstream and traditional viewpoints? We are increasingly dealing with exceptionally complex issues, made more challenging by social media that democratises religious and social discourse. But these are not insurmountable if we learn to come together to discuss rationally and sensibly, to work out solutions for our community and society.
The religious positions we took during the pandemic were unprecedented, even controversial initially. But we worked closely with medical experts and listened carefully to scientific insights before issuing the positions (fatwa). Around the world, if you recall at the time, there were communities which rejected science and medical guidance because ‘God is greater than the virus’, some declared. Like Averroes, Aquinas and Maimonides, we needed to find ways to reconcile between science and faith, that they complement, not conflict with one another.
Read: 4 Muslims Who Made Amazing Discoveries During the Islamic Golden Age
As we look back, perhaps what is emerging is a new model for success in a more open, complex and nuanced world we live in. The long-held notion of a dichotomous but conflicting and sometimes acrimonious relationship between the religious and the secular, between faith and science, between Islam and the secular state, no longer reflect our social realities today. For example, within spaces which are largely defined as ‘religious’ in the traditional sense, the ‘secular’ is present. On the other hand, faith communities take ‘secular’ needs and interests serious too, even as they practice their religion. This conference is another clear evidence of how this nuance is at work, a nuance that is very much needed if faith communities and the state were to have greater trust and willingness to work with each other.
How we live today could very well have been a page from a book that Ibn Rushd or Maimonides would have written.
The Role of Islam In Facing Complex Challenges Ahead
There are many more complex challenges ahead. Our work to forge success cannot wait much longer. The world has now entered into a new phase of grave geopolitical and economic uncertainties which can deepen fault lines and chip away at social cohesion.
Like other faith communities, I am convinced Islam too has a very important role to play in this historical moment. But this requires of us, Muslims, the courage and honesty to speak about our strengths and weaknesses, our gaps and blindspots. Success will only flow from confidence in our own identity, by being authentic, comfortable in our own skin, and ready to engage with our socio-political context and realities on its own terms.
Our generation has to chart its own path towards success, empowered by tradition, not incapacitated by it. This requires confidence and courage to read our traditions afresh, think critically, and co-create solutions creatively with others. This is broadly what we refer to here in Singapore as the 3-C’s of success: Character, Competency and Citizenry.
I must, however, admit that it is tough to be both a realist and yet, remain staunchly hopeful these days. The pandemic, climate, economy, and conflicts all make it feel like it is much easier to fail than to succeed, like the odds are against us – so much so that signs of giving up with Earth as our home are beginning to appear. It is not only deglobalisation that we should fear, but de-earthisation.
Whilst we cheer scientific progress, the sense of desperation is becoming more obvious when scientists are searching for a new home in the lava tubes of our planetary neighbour, a red, dusty, dry planet and planning to leave this blue magnificent world God has entrusted upon us.
Whatever your views are on life on Mars, Earth is still our first and only home now, and most probably in our generation. So we must fight tooth and nail to keep our communities and societies successful. We must believe that we can succeed with God’s grace and with our hard work and determination.
The crisis we have been through should bring us, as Ibn Khaldun suggests in the aftermath of the epidemics of his time, “a world brought into existence anew”, not a new world elsewhere in the galaxy, at least not yet. We must fix the problems we have created here, not move these problems elsewhere.
So back to earth and back to Singapore, let us take the first step towards that direction with this conference. The accompanying Research Programme[1] aims to develop new epistemologies, frameworks and knowledge for us to explore new frontiers here.
Read the full speech at https://www.iccos.sg/iccos-2022/lecture-by-mufti/
References:
[1] Research Programme in the Study of Muslim Communities of Success (RPCS). The RPCS conducts research as part of developing new knowledge and publishes a series of online articles to update on the evolving religious discourse and analysis of issues relevant to the theme of Muslim Communities of Success.
Read more: https://www.muis.gov.sg/officeofthemufti/RPCS/About/Introduction
