SINGAPORE — Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim today (Jan 26) warned about the danger of sections of society holding “stronger, if not intractable” views on a range of complex issues, as global trends and influences threaten to bring culture wars happening halfway around the world right onto Singapore’s doorstep.

Making his first speech on the threat of extremism since last week’s arrest of 27 radicalised Bangladeshi workers here, Dr Yaacob cited it as one of the challenges for the Malay-Muslim community, and urged continued efforts to counter the risk of radicalisation that has remained “because of the sheer accessibility and spread of information on the Internet”.

“Just as we rose strongly against the challenge of the Jemaah Islamiyah threat more than 10 years ago, we must press on to reach out to every segment of the community, and speak with one rational, moderate voice against exclusivist and extremist doctrines,” said Dr Yaacob, who is also the Minister for Information and Communications.

Speaking in Parliament on the second day of the debate on the President’s Address, Dr Yaacob noted that the Malay-Muslim community has “always consisted of various ethnicities and schools of Islamic thought”. “Yet in recent times, we have started to see some quarters in society, and not just in the Malay-Muslim community, holding stronger, if not intractable, views on a range of complex issues,” he said. “Harsh judgements and pejorative labels have been unnecessarily passed. Online media trends, migration changes, and regional and global influences, including developments in the Middle East, threaten to accentuate our differences and bring culture wars that are taking place half the world away to our doorstep.”

The key, Dr Yaacob stressed, lies in managing differences “to allow for a greater plurality of views and ideas, and yet not pull the society apart”.

While the Government will continues to serve as a “community arbiter”, he pointed out that this will be an increasingly difficult role due to the need to balance competing views and interests. The Government’s usual approach of “negotiating sensitive matters carefully and discreetly” is also being challenged, he said. “If we should be intolerant of anything at all, it would be against the intolerant, particularly those who sow discord, spark disunity, and incite hatred,” he added.

Dr Yaacob reiterated that the State and the Malay-Muslim community have built a positive relationship over the past five decades. He noted that the engagement on sensitive matters or issues of interest is not unique to the Malay-Muslim community. He cited how live music - which was previously banned - was allowed during the Thaipusam procession over the weekend.

However, state-community relations are not static and will evolve with the external environment, and as the community progresses, Dr Yaacob pointed out. Also, the perspectives of the Government and the communities may not always be aligned. “For example, the Government may be wary of how rising religiosity could lead to deeper divides,” he said. “But some followers from the different faiths may see religiosity as a positive development that could translate into a more spirited and engaged community.”

During the debate, Senior Minister of State (Defence and Foreign Affars) Mohamad Maliki Osman said Singapore faces “a battle of ideologies”.

Misrepresentation of Islam by terrorists has caused anxiety and fears among Muslims and non-Muslims, he said. “If left unaddressed, it will surely - and not necessarily slowly - lead to suspicion and one group blaming the other,” he cautioned.

Calling on non-Muslims to help preserve social harmony by “correcting misconceptions or stereotypical and anti-Muslim remarks”, Dr Maliki added: “To believe that violent extremism is Islamic and that terrorists are religious Muslims, our society will fall into the terrorists’ trap to sow discord.”

The Muslim community must reject any forms of violence in the name of Islam, he stressed. Muslim community leaders should also provide guidance to equip Muslims with a “moral and religious compass to navigate the complex web of information in the borderless cyber world”.

Dr Maliki noted for example, the call for Muslims to abstain from wishing Christians “Merry Christmas” or “Gong Xi Fa Cai” - a sentiment among some younger Muslims which Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam had flagged last week - have been debunked by Muslim leaders as having no Islamic basis. “This occurrence of expressing a festive greeting, if taken alone may seem insignificant, but if it were to occur every other day and if the Muslim community does not have the religious ballast to fight the ideological challenge, one can only imagine the religious fault lines it could create in our society.” Dr Maliki said.