Sunday, January 26, 2020

Singapore - general Islamic info

Without going into too much detail here, the majority of Singapore's muslims are Malay, so they are very similar in beliefs and practices you would find in Malaysia (see the forum there). There are several other pseudo-islamic sects that you will find in Singapore, which are more underground in Malaysia. There is an Ahmadiyyah masjid (masjid taha), a baha'i organization, as well as a Shia masjid. Some sunni masjids have more than one solat time due to madhab differences.

There is a government agency controlling islamic affairs (http://www.muis.gov.sg). They help handle general muslim affairs (masjids, zakat, marriage, funeral, etc). There is a halal certification for Singapore, however in comparison to Malaysia, there are far less restaurants and food suppliers that bother with selling halal food. The Islamic hub is located in Toa Payoh North bordering Bishan. There is a madrasah school in the same compound as Muis and one of the larger masjids. Some masjids will display translations of the Khutbah in english on projectors.

Other than masjids, prayer space is almost non existant. There are some websites that try to keep up with Musollah locations, but if you start looking in Singapore, the results are quite strange. In the year that I lived there, I don't think I found any place outside of a masjid. Usually what was listed was stairwells, part of a parking lot, going to some office and asking for a specific person so you can use their closet, etc. There are a fair number of masjids at least, though they may be out of walking distance, and transport may be a bit slow.

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