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SINGAPORE – Mosques here will continue to strengthen their preparedness for emergencies, even as their leaders assure parishioners that they remain safe and sacred spaces, Executive Director of the Singapore Islamic Religious Council (Muis) Esa Masood said on Saturday (January 30) .
At an induction session for members of the mosque’s board of directors, Esa encouraged mosque leaders to step up their efforts to partner with other community service organizations.
“As leaders of mosques, you play a vital role in assuring our Jemaah that our mosques continue to be safe sacred spaces for our children, our parents, our family, our friends and neighbors.
“Going forward, we will continue to strengthen and emphasize strengthening our emergency preparedness capabilities to ensure we are prepared,” said Esa, who spoke at the recently renovated Abdul Gafoor Mosque on Dunlop Street.
Muis said mosques here have developed their emergency preparedness capacity since 2017.
In addition to emergency drills and drills, they have also introduced an integrated threat-oriented people detection system that mobilizes people to be on the lookout for security threats.
Esa’s comments come after the revelation of a plot by a young Protestant Christian to attack Muslims in two mosques here: the Yusof Ishak Mosque in Woodlands and the Assyafaah Mosque in Sembawang.
The 16-year-old Singaporean of Indian origin has been detained under the Internal Security Act.
On Thursday, the Minister of Law and Home Affairs, K. Shanmugam, said that places of worship should not become fortresses, but should remain open and welcoming.
He also called on the wider community to counter radical ideologies by educating young people against far-right extremism.
Esa, in her speech, said that the community condemns all acts of terror and violence.
“This has no place in any religion, and such acts aim to divide communities.”
Noting the arrest of the teenager, he said: “In truth, this is a grim reminder of the threat of radicalization online, and with social media permeating our lives, it brings the danger of extremist ideologies into our homes, which can confuse people especially our youth. “
He also affirmed the close ties between Singapore’s religious communities.
“In fact, the day after the news broke, we welcomed Christian leaders to our mosque to reaffirm our ties of friendship and to point out that threats of violence will not tear us apart as a society,” said Esa.
“Most importantly, we can be reassured that the case is an isolated incident and that our law enforcement agencies were able to catch it early.”
He stressed that the close ties built by mosques and the community around them, including grassroots organizations and other religious groups in their neighborhood, are “extremely vital in peacetime so that we can unite in difficult times.”
“When there are threats to our social fabric, like this planned attack, we must close ranks and stand strong together, and never allow the message of hate to tear us apart.”
At the investiture session, 39 volunteers from three mosques received their letters of appointment as members of the mosque’s board of directors.
In total, 217 volunteers from 19 mosques under the southern mosques group will receive the letters of appointment to serve as board members for a period of three years.
Esa said the road ahead in the next few years will be challenging due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and called on leaders to do their part to protect parishioners and deepen efforts to collaborate with partners.
“Despite this, we are confident that our mosques will emerge stronger, while our community will become more resilient after this pandemic,” he added.
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