The spate of terror attacks around the world has affected Singapore, with Muslims here feeling like they are under the spotlight and non-Muslims perhaps worrying if they could still trust Muslims, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Calling on Singaporeans to “work very hard to maintain a multi-racial and multi-religious society”, Mr Lee yesterday noted that the self-radicalised Singaporeans who were arrested by the authorities here were motivated by conflicts in the Middle East and the extremists ideologies of terrorist group the Islamic State (IS).

“When we see religious conflicts elsewhere, we have to remind ourselves (that) those are not our fights. We must not let events elsewhere erode the trust and harmony between different races and religions in Singapore,” said Mr Lee, who was speaking at a dialogue on terrorism and religious extremism with community leaders from the various races and faiths.

The closed-door dialogue — where only Mr Lee’s opening remarks were open for media coverage — was held a week after the Prime Mininster had met with Malay/Muslim leaders. About 300 community and religious leaders attended yesterday’s event.

The last time he had conducted a similar session with leaders from the various groups was in November 2014. Since then, Mr Lee noted, much has happened: There have been more frequent terrorist attacks in the West, and fierce fighting in the Middle East against the IS terrorist group. At home, the authorities are seeing a steady trickle of self-radicalised individuals.

Stressing that the threat to Singapore has grown more serious, Mr Lee said the country has to expect the external environment to have “caused some doubts and qualms among Singaporeans”.

While Singapore is “an oasis of peace”, Mr Lee reiterated that it is not possible for the country to be disconnected from the conflicts happening around the world. “When racial or religious conflicts happen elsewhere, it can have an impact on Singapore.”

Fortunately, the Republic enjoys strong racial and religious harmony, with Muslim and non-Muslim religious leaders working hard to promote inter-faith relations. “We must keep up this effort, to repair the harm done by external events, and to strengthen the trust between different faiths,” Mr Lee urged.

He added: “What we have didn’t happen by chance. (It has taken) many years of patience, accommodation, adjustments — some hard spots along the way — but finally everybody coming together.”

Last month, TODAY reported that a preliminary study done by behavioural sciences experts at the Home Affairs Ministry showed that radicalised individuals here were found to be primarily driven by the Syrian conflict.

Apart from self-radicalised Singaporeans, the radicalisation of foreign workers here is also a worrying trend, Mr Lee said.

Among other cases, several Indonesians, including domestic helpers, were repatriated after they were found to have been radicalised. The authorities also arrested 40 Bangladeshi workers under the Internal Security Act last year, after they had formed a radical group planning extremist actions against Bangladesh and in other countries.

Mr Lee pointed out: “If we are attacked by foreign terrorists, that’s one thing — I think that’s bad. But if we are attacked by Singaporean terrorists — our own citizens attack our own country — I think the psychological impact will be much worse.”

He also warned against extremist and exclusivist religious teachings “creeping into the mainstream”. If the “exclusivist views” take root here, “it will weaken our racial harmony, and make us more vulnerable to a terrorist threat”, he said.

“It will also encourage a backlash — there will be Islamophobia. Non-Muslims will begin to see Muslims in a negative light, and I think that will be very bad, and equally unacceptable,” said Mr Lee, adding that it is not the Malay/Muslim community’s fight alone against the extremist threat and “we are all in this together”.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by ALFRED CHUA

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