Dr Rahil Ismail

National Technological University of Singapore, Singapore

Muslims in Singapore as a case study for understanding Inclusion/Exclusion Phenomenon

Abstract

Judged selectively by history and culturally perceived through the lens of ‘folk information’, Singapore’s Muslims might be considered the significant ‘other’ in the transformation of the nation since independence. The country’s description of itself as a multiracial and multi-faith nation with a sizable Muslim minority has produced a considerable degree of deliberate political management within the broader national-political agenda. Accordingly, a similar delicate balancing act is replicated within the community itself too, framed by Singapore’s governing authority of controlled expressions with regard to ‘sensitive’ issues of race, religion and ethnicity.

Self-described as a “Muslim Community of Excellence”, Singapore’s Muslim community continues to negotiate and evolve within this prescribed framework navigating the causes, manifestations, subtleties and consequences of inclusion and exclusion in most aspects of Singapore life. While the Singapore government’s penchant for carefully constructed political and public ‘debate’ on race, religion and attending issues of inclusion and exclusion, racism and discrimination, has undoubtedly played its part in creating this “oasis in a troubled world”, it has also created a sense of disconnected reality between the demand of “public cheer” and the palpability of “private frustrations”, not only within the Muslim community but with other cultural groups as well.

This delicate balancing act of being both Muslim and Singaporean has demanded an extraordinary level of adroitness as the global phenomenon of Islamophobia has impinged upon Singapore’s public and private discourse as enabled by a vacuous sloganeering approach to complex issues of international relations and a demeaning, racist linguistic framework. Issues of inclusion and exclusion are no longer political, economic, spatial or domestic but have assumed a heightened emotional, psychological and global context. The primary challenge for the community therefore is to confront these new disconcerting challenges through an adaptation of practical accommodation as a minority in a multi-faith country while holding firm to the fundamental tenets of Islam. Significantly, it is a challenge to continue being Muslim and Singaporean.

Bio

Rahil Ismail is an Assistant Professor at the National Institute of Education, Singapore.

She earned her honours degree in History at the National University of Singapore and later a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from the University of London. She received both her Masters and PhD in International Studies from the School of International, Development and European Studies, University of Leeds. Her current research and publishing interests are in international relations, multicultural studies and heritage studies. Her teaching duties at NIE/NTU include American history, Multicultural education and international conflict and cooperation.