To the Singapore Muslim community, 

Saturday (Sept 11) will be the 20th anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks. 

Known also as 9/11, it was a horrific day when the world witnessed live on television two hijacked planes crashing into the iconic twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. 

The tragedy triggered a global war on terror against Islamist extremism.

For many Singaporeans, the two decades will feel like the blink of an eye, characterised by news footage of wars in remote areas and photographs of suspects detained under the Internal Security Act here. 

Against constant official warnings of “not if, but when” terrorist threats might happen, Singapore has been fortunately spared. 

To most of us, 9/11’s geopolitical impact was probably felt in the inconvenience of removing shoes for security screenings at airports.  

Aside from the latest dramatic withdrawal of American military forces from Afghanistan, the events at the dawn of the millennium seem so distant as we grapple with Covid-19 today.

But, to you, it must have been a long 20 years of having your faith negatively spotlighted and misrepresented as the war on terror raged on. 

Whether officially or casually, you are probably often compelled to denounce acts of Islamist violence happening in places however remote, or to distance yourself from detained suspects however unrelated. 

For you, the possibility of being singled out for further checks is always real in airports. 

Back home, you worry about how the rest of Singapore would react should a terrorist attack happen. 

You may wonder about the sudden alarm among your non-Muslim friends over the pandemic-motivated “Asian hate” recently, when you have been facing Islamophobic sentiments for the past two decades. 

As a non-Muslim, I am using this opportunity to acknowledge the challenges that you have been facing in the last 20 years. 

In avoiding the binary “clash of civilisations”, I commend your community for showing a more progressive vision of Islam co-existing as an integral part of Singapore’s multiculturalism, a vision that is stronger than any military hardware or security operation in defeating extremism. 

Without this vision, Singapore will be a very different place. 

Thank you for your sacrifices and contributions in keeping Singapore safe and peaceful all these years.

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