S'pore must continue to keep out Islamophobia: Shanmugam

SINGAPORE – Warning of Islamophobia "developing to a greater degree" in other parts of the world, Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam on Sunday (Dec 31) urged Singaporeans to continue keeping the scourge at bay.

Adding that he has been worried about the issue for some time, Mr Shanmugam stressed that Islamophobia is "unacceptable", and "bad in itself".

"I am very concerned about the Islamophobia that I see developing in many parts of the world, and not just in the West. We see it in elections, in public statements in many countries, both in the West and in Asia," said Mr Shanmugam, who was speaking at the sidelines of a community event in Yishun. He added: "We have limited ability to change the world. But we must do our best to try and keep such Islamophobia out of this country, and promote interfaith harmony."

To that end, Singapore has done "reasonably well". He said: "So far, we can look at the situation here, contrast it with everywhere else and say we have done reasonably well but (let's) not to be complacent about it."

He pointed out that Islamophobia arises from a "deep misunderstanding of the true teachings of Islam", and the peaceful nature of the vast majority of Muslims around the world.

While there are Muslims who are extremists, intolerant and "make absurd, ridiculous propositions" about non-Muslims, women and other groups, they are "very few" in numbers, said Mr Shanmugam. "And let's be honest, you have such people in every religion," he added.

Unfortunately the almost daily television images and media stories focusing on Islamic extremists, and the "terrible, regular terrorist attacks, the deaths of so many innocent people, and the wars in the Middle East, have all combined to create a seriously untrue image of Islam, across the world", he said.

Islamophobia is one of the outcomes of the backlash that the world is seeing now, he noted. Reiterating that the vast majority of the victims of terrorists are innocent Muslims, Mr Shanmugam emphasised the need for non-Muslims to have a "better appreciation of the nature of Islam, the true essence, true philosophy and beauty of Islamic teachings". "They are both very deep and powerful," he added.

Mr Shanmugam stressed that Islamophobia increases the risk of violence both from terrorists who kill in the name of Islam, and from those who want to attack Muslims.

JERUSALEM ISSUE

Responding to reporters' questions, Mr Shanmugam said the United States' decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel — a move which was rejected by 128 United Nations member states including Singapore — has resulted in "a risk that you will see increased levels of violence".

"This issue would be used by both (terrorists and Islamophobes) and of course (IS) will use it to try and get more recruits, more converts," he said. 

While he did not want to specifically comment on the US' move, Mr Shanmugam said Singapore's position was made clear "in the way we voted in the United Nations". He reiterated: "We believe that both Israel and the Palestinians have legitimate rights in Jerusalem and this is something that should be part of a negotiated two-state solution. Our position had been made very clear."

On the potential knock-on effect of the US' decision on Singaporeans, Mr Shanmugam said the country's religious leaders, both Islamic as well as non-Islamic, "generally understand where the Government is coming from and our principled position, and they've done a lot to calm the ground".

Adding that Singapore has worked very hard for decades in building harmony between the races and religions, he said: "We do not want to bring in international disputes into Singapore. We are Singaporeans, we practise our religions freely. At the same time, the Government takes a principled position, for example on the status of Jerusalem, and I think that is appreciated on the ground."