Sharia Practices in Singapore

The implementation of Sharia in Singapore is a unique phenomenon. It is said, Singapore is a secular country, with the Muslim community as a minority. However, Muslims in Singapore can perform their religious obligations without any hindrance. There are some of Islamic aspects, that Singapore has "advantages" over other countries all around the world. As reported in The Telegraph newspaper on June 10, 2014, a research done in George Washington University, involving 208 countries, found that Singapore was ranked 7th as the “Most Islamic Country”. Whereas the neighbouring country, Malaysia, was ranked at 37th. As compared to other countries with Muslims as their major population, Malaysia was at the highest position.

In the same article, Hossein Askari, a Professor in International Business and International Relations said;“Looking at an index of Economic Islamicity, or how  closely the policies and achievement of countries reflect Islamic economic teachings –Ireland, Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden, The United Kingdom, New Zealand, Singapore, Finland, Norway, and Belgium round up the first 10. If a country, society, or community displays characteristics such as unelected, corrupt, oppressive, and unjust rulers, inequality before the law, unequal opportunities for human development, absence of freedom of choice (including that of religion), opulence alongside poverty, force, and aggression as the instruments of conflict resolution as opposed to dialogue and reconciliation, and above all, the prevalence of injustice of any kind, it is prima facie evidence that it is not an Islamic community.

In 2017, Singapore has added into their historical record where they have elected Mdm Halimah Yacob as the first female President, who dons a hijab. As compared to the Muslim countries, Mdm Halimah Yacob has broken the record where she is the first Muslimah leader who wears the hijab.

The Singapore government says they basically are not anti-Islam, but they refer the ‘abangan’ Muslim community, a religious concept practiced by some Muslims in Indonesia, especially in Java (PERGAS, 2017). ‘Abangan’, in Singapore government's perspective is seen as moderate and tolerant. That matter is exactly what was said by Lee Kuan Yew (2002), the Singapore founding father: “There are more than 230 million Muslims in South East Asia. Nearly all were tolerant and easy to live with. The majority of the 200 million Indonesian Muslims were abangans, Muslims who have fused Islam with Buddhism, Hinduism, and other beliefs. They were not intense and strict Muslims of the Arabs in the Middle East.”

The Muslim community in Singapore consist of various streams of schools of thought such as the Shafi’ee school (which forms the majority of Muslims), the Hanafi, and the Hambali. There are Muslims who do not ‘follow’ the practices from any of them. Apart from the schools of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jama'ah (Sunni), there is also a group of Shi’as and Ahmadiyya followers (Ahmad Nizam, 2012).

To ensure that there is peace between fellow Muslims in different schools of thought of Islam or between Muslims and non-Muslims, the Singapore Muslim scholars and leaders have launched a campaign for the concept of kesederhanaan (simplicity) in Islam. A concept which was later recognized as the concept of wasatiyyah. The concept of simplicity is the response of Singapore's Muslim leaders to the balancing symptoms of the emergence of two extreme understandings, namely radical and liberal understandings.

Lately, the concept of wasatiyyah has become popular among Muslims when many personages are writing about this concept. Even political figures are also making this concept as their political manifesto. There are several terms used to refer to the concept of wasatiyah, such as Islam Hadhari, Islam Nusantara, and Kesederhanaan dalam Islam (Moderation in Islam).

In Singapore, MUIS (2006) presents the features of the moderation of Singapore's Muslim community, then named 10 Features Singapore Muslim Community excellence: 1) Holds firm to Islamic principles while adapting itself to changing context. 2) Appreciates Islamic civilization and history, and has good understanding of contemporary issues. 3) Appreciates other civilizations and is self-confident to interact and learn from other communities. 4) Morally and spiritually strong to be on top of the challenges of modern society. 5) Progressive, practices Islam beyond forms/rituals and rides the modernization wave. 6) Well-adjusted as contributing members of a multi-religious society and secular state. 7) Inclusive and practices pluralism, without contradicting Islam. 8) Believes that good Muslims are also good citizens. 9) Be a blessing to all and promote universal peace. 10) Be a model and inspiration to all.