Singapore Muslims: The Quest for Identity in a Modern City-State

Reviewed by: Islamophobia and the Question of Muslim Identity: The Politics of Difference and Solidarity by Evelyn Leslie Hamdon D. Lark Gamey Evelyn Leslie Hamdon . Islamophobia and the Question of Muslim Identity: The Politics of Difference and Solidarity. Winnipeg, MB: Fernwood Publishing, 2010. 112 pp. $17.95 sc. Through an ethnographic case study of coalition building across collective and individual identity differences, Hamdon examines a Muslim group in Edmonton, [End Page 268] Canada that came together to challenge Islamophobia in their community. Islamophobia and the Question of Muslim Identity: The Politics of Difference and Solidarity is meant "to stir conversation" (9) by "disrupt[ing] stereotypes both within the community and on the part of the dominant community towards those who identify as Muslims" (23). Although Hamdon foregrounds the question of Muslim identity, there is much of value to others who find themselves in need of negotiating spaces of contested identities. The book is a good read for those interested in political activism and/or multicultural studies in general or Islamic studies in particular. The study is set in a Canadian post-9/11 context in Edmonton and documents the fledgling efforts of a coalition of Muslim organizations. Direct observation, personal interviews, and document analysis were used to reconstruct the evolution of the Coalition. Hamdon speaks with emic authority, herself a Muslim and "a member of the Coalition from the time of its first visioning workshops until it was about one year old" (12). Despite her insider status, Hamdon allows the voices of the participants to be fully heard in the frequent data bites incorporated throughout the text. In large part, the study is concerned with "identity ... how people organize, [and] coalesce across identity differences" (23) and as a result, draws on identity theories and theories of power. In addition, insights are taken from feminist and anti-racist literature, as well as pedagogies of difference. Although the catalytic events of 9/11 and its aftermath gave birth to the Coalition, members were motivated to negotiate their differences by a desire to learn about other Muslims, share common experiences, work on a common cause and reach out to other Canadians. The value of Islamophobia and the Question of Muslim Identity is not in reasons why the coalition came together but rather in the manner in which the members negotiated across difference of identities to find solidarity in purpose. Hamdon takes the reader inside the contested space where coalition members navigated their way through diverse identities, challenged the power of essentialism and represented the complexity and multiplicity of Muslim identities. She foregrounds questions of identity within a power dynamic by critiquing how difference and homogeneity are suppressed or privileged. Although "coalitional organizing holds great promise for communities in which complex and intersecting identities and oppressions require expression and redress" (61), it is not without personal struggles and varied emotional responses. The study also illustrates that the goal of a negotiated common space through more porous boundaries serves to include as well as marginalize. Nevertheless, Hamdon shows that the Coalition has been successful in developing initiatives that serve both the Muslim community at large and outside structures such as the university community and law enforcement. By placing two crescent moons, one left-facing, the other right-facing, tentatively linked together with a single star below foregrounded on a backdrop of geometric [End Page 269] tiling, John van der Woude, the cover designer of Islamophobia and the Question of Muslim Identity alerts potential readers to the contested identities to be presented. Evelyn Leslie Hamdon makes a substantial contribution to the discourse of Muslim identity by disclosing the complexity and multiplicity of what it means to be Muslim in Canada. In documenting the work of the Coalition, Hamdon presents "a prototype for which there has been no template in recent Canadian history" (57). The contribution of this work extends beyond the Muslim community to others hoping to bridge differences within and between radicalized groups and individuals. The book comes alive for a general readership through Hamdon's accessible writing style and the voices of those interviewed, many of which are presented in a font somewhat distinct from the main text. Although presenting participant voices in a...

Objective: Rural communities in Nigeria face various socio-economic development challenges that hinder their progress and well-being. This study examines the effects of these challenges, particularly in Odugbo community, located in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. The research aims to identify key socio-economic barriers and propose strategies for sustainable development. Method: This study is based on the Social Capital Theory and employs a mixed-methods approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative research. Primary data were collected through questionnaires administered to 350 randomly selected participants, including community members and relevant stakeholders. Secondary data were obtained from literature, reports, and other documentary sources. The mean scores were used for analyzing research questions, while content analysis was applied to secondary data. Results: Findings indicate that inadequate infrastructure, limited access to healthcare and education, poor road networks, high poverty rates, and limited economic opportunities are significant socio-economic challenges in the Odugbo community. The study also highlights various strategies to address these issues, including community engagement, access to financial services, external support and partnerships, government policies, and awareness creation. Novelty: This study contributes to existing literature by providing an in-depth analysis of socio-economic challenges in a specific rural Nigerian community and proposing localized strategies for sustainable development. The findings emphasize the importance of community-driven initiatives and external collaborations to overcome socio-economic barriers.

This study explores the cash waqf and health care issues within the Muslim community in Ghana. The community encounters numerous health challenges due to the Ghanaian national health insurance's limited coverage of all health services, particularly high-cost treatment operations. As a result, many impoverished Muslims are unable to afford the cost of these operations. The aim of this study is to develop a model for a cash waqf fund that will support healthcare projects. The researchers used an inductive approach to extrapolate and derive rules related to the cash waqf; in addition, an analytical-descriptive approach was used to discover the challenges in the field of healthcare in Muslim communities in Ghana and the possibility of applying the cash waqf fund in Ghana to address the challenges by conducting personal interviews with some experts and stakeholders. The researchers also used thematic analysis to analyze the data. The study concluded with a variety of findings, such as contemporary jurists have adopted the perspective of those who argue that cash waqf is permissible, since it satisfies the Sharῑ‘ah objective of waqf, which is retaining the principal and offering its benefits, and because units of money have no specific merits that prevent units from standing for and replacing each other. Likewise, in this era, the cash waqf also plays an important role in improving the health sector in countries with a Muslim majority or a Muslim minority. Additionally, Muslim doctors in Ghana established an association to address the challenges they faced in the health sector and to provide health care services to the Muslim community in Ghana. However, the association's ability to carry out its work was hampered by a lack of funding. Therefore, the proposed cash waqf model offers potential benefits for financing projects in the health care sector of society.

As Islam’s visibility in global society increases, Muslim populations grow, and Muslim countries compete to take up positions at the heart of global sport, the interplay between sport and Islam becomes ever more illuminating. Sport in Islam and in Muslim Communities is the first book to analyse this relationship through a pluralist lens, exploring the questions it raises about contemporary Islam, globalisation, and the challenges faced by (in particular young) Muslims in negotiating their place in global society. With contributions from Muslim and non-Muslim authors, the book approaches an array of contemporary issues, from the role of sport in gender, youth and political identities in Islam and Muslim societies to sport policy in Muslim countries, sport’s role among Muslim minorities and sport marketing’s relationship to Muslim cultures. Drawing on sociology, anthropology, political science, Islamic studies and sport studies, Sport in Islam and in Muslim Communities not only examines the significance of sport in Islam, but helps to draw wider conclusions on religious identity in sporting settings and the interplay between sport, gender, political ideology and consumer culture.

Minority Muslims are Muslim communities residing in non-Muslim countries, including Europe, America, China, and India. Their presence in these nations has brought forth various novel issues concerning religious practices and the Muslim way of life. Among these issues, marriage and family dynamics are significant. Therefore, this article aims to examine the approach of the local mufti in addressing a situation where married women embrace Islam without their husbands in the United K ingdom. Although the prevailing view among the majority of Islamic scholars and in Muslim-majority countries is to dissolve such marriages, the historical context and current reality of minority Muslim communities call for a different approach. Thus, the role of the local mufti, who is esteemed within the local Muslim community, becomes crucial in preserving the integrity of Islam while simultaneously embracing the Muslim community, particularly female converts. This study employs a qualitative methodology, gathering data through interviews with local muftis and Islamic scholars in the UK. The findings reveal that this issue is interpreted differently compared to the situation in Muslim-majority countries. Therefore, the role of the mufti is crucial in issuing fatwas that take into account the context of the Muslim minority community, ensure the well-being of women who have recently converted to Islam in the UK, and balance between Shariah principles and social reality. Fatwa issued need to be carefully drafted to safeguard the maslahah (well-being) of female converts without disregarding the provisions of Shariah.

The purpose of this study is to reassess the application of the maslahah (public interest) framework in a minority Muslim setting, specifically through an analysis of the 2023 MUI South Sulawesi Fatwa (No. 003) regarding the permissibility of selling crops for pig feed in Toraja. By examining this fatwa, the study aims to contribute to the broader discourse on how Islamic legal reasoning adapts within pluralistic and socio-economically diverse contexts. The research employs a qualitative methodology that combines library research and field study. The library research encompasses Islamic legal sources, previous fatwas, and scholarly literature on maslahah (public interest) and transactions involving prohibited elements in Islam. The field study complements this with interviews involving MUI South Sulawesi scholars and Muslim community members in Toraja, providing insights into both the rationale behind the fatwa and the community’s reception. The findings demonstrate that the fatwa represents a shift from the conventional reliance on blocking the sadd al-dharī‘ah (means to harm) toward a more pragmatic application of maslahah (public interest) and istihsān (juridical preference). By allowing the sale of crops for pig feed, the fatwa acknowledges the socio-economic realities faced by minority Muslims in Toraja and highlights the adaptability of Islamic law in non-majority settings. The originality of this study lies in situating the fatwa within the lived experiences of minority Muslims, showing how maslahah (public interest) functions beyond abstract legal theorization. The implications extend to the development of a more contextual and responsive Islamic jurisprudence that remains relevant to diverse Muslim communities navigating pluralistic societies.

The corporatist politics of multiculturalism in Singapore in the 1980s has facilitated the ethnoracialization of Singaporeans and the revitalization of ethnicity. Being neither Malay nor Indian, Tamil Muslims in Singapore are marginalized to the interstices between the ‘Malay’ and ‘Indian’ categories in the official CMIO (Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Others) quadratomy and face an identity crisis. In applying CMIO multiculturalism, the state has sought to essentialize Tamil Muslim identity through its cultural policies and the state-sponsored MUIS, the Islamic Religious Council. This includes MUIS’ attempt to establish an umbrella organization to unify the 17 Tamil Muslim subcommunities. This has met with limited success, aggravated differences amongst Tamil Muslim leaders, and divided the Tamil Muslim community.

This article examines the doctrine of Jurisprudence of Muslim Minorities (Fiqh al-Aqalliyyat) in the context of the Palestinian Muslim community in Israel. The first part discusses the origins and goals of Fiqh al-Aqalliyyat. After outlining the particular historical and political context of the Palestinian minority in Israel, the article focuses on the ethno-religious political mobilization developed by the Muslim community vis-à-vis the state’s strategies of control and domination, and points out the difficulties involved in the application of Fiqh al-Aqalliyyat, as used in “Western” states, for the reality that Muslims face in Israel. The article suggests a vigilant approach toward the Jurisprudence of Minorities, as we argue that, when applying it in this context of the Muslim community in Israel, this doctrine has two substantial limitations. The first is theoretical and it concerns the doctrine’s current incapability to distinguish between different types of minorities, as well as failing to recognize a difference between various political regimes and societal lives that might be inherently less or more accommodating or even hostile to minorities, and Muslim minority communities in particular. The second limitation relates to the political dimension and the lack of consideration for the status of the Palestinian minority as an indigenous and national minority and not an immigrant minority. Their status as national minorities, at times also as indigenous peoples, who are perceived as entitled to group-based “self-government rights”, poses a serious challenge to this doctrine’s scope and viability.

After Georgia regained its independence following the collapse of the Soviet regime, national and religious identities gained particular importance. A religious revival was observed not only among Christians but also among the country's Muslim communities. The region of Adjara is populated by Georgians who profess Islam. The aim of this paper is to explore the transformation of the religious landscape in Georgia and the idiosyncratic characteristics of identity in post-Soviet Adjara. The change in Adjara's religious landscape has resulted in a specific and eclectic picture. Muslim identity in Georgia creates a religious and cultural model rooted in the specific historical, political, and cultural development of the region. For Muslim Adjarians Islam is the "religion of their forefathers" and at the same time part of their national [Georgian] identity. However, due to the long-standing dominance of the Christian national narrative in public discourse, Muslim identity has remained "suspicious." Hence, Muslim Adjarians have suffered the traumatic experience of being perceived by the mainstream, Christian majority as not "perfect Georgians" because of their Islamic identity. Alongside this perception of marginality, Muslim Georgians demonstrate a particular Islamic identity with high intercultural competencies and tolerance.

,This research critically examines the opportunities and challenges of Sri Lanka's post-civil war reconciliation efforts since 2009. Despite hopes that decades of ethnic conflict between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil and Muslim minorities could be resolved, substantive reconciliation remains elusive fifteen years after the war's conclusion. Through a qualitative case study methodology informed by feminist critical theory and postcolonial frameworks, I prioritise experiential knowledge and 8everyday9 understandings of affected communities. Drawing on investigative reports, case studies, and ten semi-structured interviews with subject matter experts (academic researchers, grassroots activists, civil society leaders, and government administrators), I have identified three primary themes. First, I found a significant gap between state and community perceptions of reconciliation, with government actions at odds with local expectations and experiences. Second, I observe how intensified military presence through surveillance and land appropriation threatened livelihoods and deepened economic exclusion in the North and East, which eroded civil liberties, perpetuating fear and mistrust. Third, I analyse how minority rights issues, particularly concerning the 13th Amendment of the Sri Lankan Constitution, language rights, and political representation, continue to reinforce inequalities that undermine reconciliation. In the absence of meaningful state-led initiatives, my research highlights how grassroots organisations and civil society actors have developed innovative bottom-up approaches to facilitate 'everyday' reconciliation. By centring the visions of Tamil and Muslim communities regarding pluralism, security, political inclusion, and systemic justice, I explore pathways for a holistic reconciliation. My findings reveal a disconnect between official reconciliation rhetoric and the lived experiences of affected communities, suggesting that sustainable peace requires addressing structural inequalities and embracing community-centred approaches within a holistic reconciliation process.

This paper, Regional Disparities, Demographic Trends, and Educational Backwardness among Muslims in West Bengal: A Critical Analysis, examines the persistent educational inequalities faced by the Muslim community, which constitutes 25% of the states population yet remains socio-economically marginalised. Drawing on Census data (2011), the Sachar Committee Report (2006), and localised case studies, the study reveals stark literacy gaps: Muslims (63.6% literacy) trail Hindus (73.2%) and Christians (82.4%), with disparities worsening in higher education (only 4.4% graduates). Regional analysis highlights acute disadvantages in high-concentration districts, such as Murshidabad (55.3% literacy) and Uttar Dinajpur (52.1%), where inadequate infrastructure, teacher shortages, and socio-cultural barriers impede access. Gender disparities are pronounced, with only 25% of Muslim girls reaching higher secondary due to early marriage (33% married before 18) and safety concerns. The paper underscores systemic neglect, linking educational backwardness to limited formal employment (predominance in informal sectors) and restricted social mobility. Policy recommendations include targeted interventions, such as prioritising school construction in Muslim-majority areas, recruiting bilingual teachers, expanding girls education initiatives, and modernising madrasas. This study addresses intersectional marginalisation and fosters inclusive development in West Bengal by advocating for spatially tailored, data-driven policies. Keywords: educational disparities, Muslim minority, regional inequality, literacy rates, West Bengal, Sachar Committee, gender gap, policy interventions.

Securitization theory describes a process by which an ordinary political issue is transformed into a security issue. In this way, it is possible to take extraordinary measures in the name of security. Securitization theory suggests that the issues that become securitized are not necessarily essential to the objective survival of a state but rather represent issues that elite groups have successfully deemed necessary for a state’s survival. This article seeks to extend the theory to include the political variable of an interest group as part of the criteria that transform a subject from being political to securitized. This article argue policymakers may choose not to include a particular group or segments of it in the category of ‘security threat’ because of the electoral variable that could affect their governance or potential election. This article will make a comparatively analyze the nature of the legislation, political language, and foreign policy in both the United States and Great Britain after Muslim citizens of both countries carried out terrorist attacks between the years 2001–2020. The hypothesis is that Britain, because of the inherent political potential of its Muslim community, prefers not to significantly transform Islamic terrorism into a security issue, while the United States does not consider the Muslim minority to be politically important and therefore reacts more harshly to the Muslim minority in the country after any kind of Islamic terrorist attacks on its soil. This article offers a new understanding of the importance of the political variable within the securitization theory.

The socio-economic phenomenon in the form of the rapid development of Islamic Islamic banking cannot be separated from government policies that provide support for this development. Regulations regarding the development of Islamic banking have provided a kind of legal certainty for the development of banks which is expected by Muslim communities who seek to invest in a bank that is deemed to be blessed by Allah SWT. The mass media is in the form of electronic media and preachers as a form of mass communication as agents in socializing Islamic banks and has also dynamized the development of Islamic banks in the country. Everything is reinforced by the MUI Fatwa which is a kind of mandatory call to invest as much as possible the Muslim community's money into a sharia bank which is considered a bank that upholds the values of justice and is considered in accordance with sharia principles.

Based on a broad understanding of institutions, the question of institutional racism concerns not only specific authorities, but also political fields established through formal and informal rules and norms. Since 9/11, the so-called prevention of Islamist extremism, shaped and regulated by various state and non-state institutions, has developed as an independent field of work in many western countries. Thus, it is not surprising that critical security researchers have increasingly addressed the question of the potentially stigmatizing effects of this work on Muslim minorities. However, initial findings from our research project on the nexus between the prevention of Islamist extremism on the one hand, and racism in Germany on the other, show that the connections between the two are far more complex than assumed. Certain prevention practices, such as the specific targeting of Muslim individuals and communities, seem not only to have stigmatizing effects (racism through prevention), but also to (re)produce anti-Muslim racism. At the same time, the study also shows that racist ideas in society can hinder the implementation of prevention measures (racism within prevention). In this light, Gaspar and Kirchgässner argue that the prevention of Islamist extremism must be understood as an (institutionalized) political field that not only has stigmatizing effects but also operates within existing racist structures. To understand these structures better, they argue for a stronger theoretical link between critical security studies and research on racism.

This paper intends to unravel the idea, the history, the theological understanding and the socio-cultural influences on the idea of “Talaq” in general and “Instant Triple Talaq” in particular. The paper also unearths the possibilities of the misuse, misinterpretation and politicization of the concept which have taken place at various historical junctures. At empirical level, the paper attempts to draw the attention toward the perception and opinion of the Muslim women through the structured questionnaire regarding the Instant Triple Talaq and Triple Talaq Act enacted by the Government of India. The study focuses on how the existing power structure in the Muslim community and the deeply rooted cultural practices that in a way were antithetical to the basic Islamic beliefs have shaped the lives of Muslim women in India. The study does not find the Triple Talaq Act passed by Indian parliament as something constructive, rather regards it as interference on part of state institutions into the religious affairs of a particular community. The study finally draws a parallel between the literate and illiterate strata of Muslim women and their perception toward the Triple Talaq Act.