Strengthening inter-faith cooperation in Singapore

President of MUIS, Mr Mohammad Alami Musa 
Respected Mufti of Singapore, Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram 
President of the National Council of Churches Singapore, Bishop Terry Kee 
Faith Leaders 
Ladies and Gentlemen

1. I am happy to be here this morning for the inaugural Building Bridges Seminar. It is so good to see all our religious leaders coming together for a shared purpose – to explore how we can further strengthen our inter-faith appreciation and understanding.

2. Singapore is blessed with many decades of peace and harmony. This did not happen by chance. It is the result of the strong conviction and resolve of our religious leaders who work tirelessly behind the scenes to uphold and safeguard our social and religious harmony. Government initiatives such as Inter-Racial and Religious Confidence Circles, or IRCCs, and the Community Engagement Programme, or CEP, are the visible manifestation of their efforts. Indeed, inter-religious harmony is always a work-in-progress.
   

Building Bridges Seminar

3. This Building Bridges Seminar is yet another important step forward in our inter-faith dialogue. The Seminar was initiated and championed by the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams to develop better Christian-Muslim relations after 9/11. Over the years, it has evolved and brought together internationally renowned Christian and Muslim scholars to explore and discuss issues significant to both Islam and Christianity, issues like justice, rights, science, religious traditions and modernity.

4. Now I’m glad that we have our own Building Bridges seminar in Singapore, and I would like to recognize the efforts of Mr Alami and Dr John Chew in making this happen, and commend the MUIS Harmony Centre and the National Council of Churches Singapore (NCCS) for the very strong support towards this Seminar.

5. Prior to today’s session several participants from the Harmony Centre and NCCS had an intensive engagement over 6 months, discussing in depth their respective sacred texts, and tackling questions on how religions can positively counter the impact of modernization and globalisation.

6. I think this speaks volumes about the level of trust and understanding between the Muslim and Christian participants. It takes wisdom and maturity to come together, to seek common ground, to agree to disagree, and exchange insights on the universal teachings of the two religions.
   

7. Religious harmony is not just a matter between Muslims and Christians. It concerns all faiths and all citizens. So I hope that such open sharing and discussion, culminating in today’s seminar which includes other religious leaders, will help to bring our inter-faith cooperation to an even higher level. This is key to developing a truly cohesive and resilient multi-religious society.
   

Importance of Religion In The Post Modern World

8. The theme of this seminar – Religious Tradition and Authority in a Post Modern World – is a timely reminder of the challenges we face today.

9. We are living in an age where there are more questions about authority, and more questions about what is regarded as truth. There is generally a suspicion of grand claims, and a sense of individual empowerment – that I am my own authority, and will accept only what I personally experience or feel.

10. At the same time, we also see more people searching for deeper meaning and fulfillment in life – this is true not just in Singapore, but also around the world. With globalisation and the fast pace of modern living, questions of identity and belonging are becoming more complex for people everywhere.

11. Some turn to material possessions for meaning. Back in 2001, an article in the Financial Times reported that “Brands are the new religion”. The idea is that consumer brands, especially those with strong beliefs and ideas – I suppose they mean brands like Apple or Nike – are the ones that give purpose to peoples’ lives. Some even went as far as to predict the end of religion.

12. But material progress has brought neither contentment nor an increase in happiness. Today, religion continues to thrive, perhaps more so than before. It’s a reflection of how religion connects with the deep expression of human need and striving to go beyond ourselves. It’s an impulse towards transcendence which a poet once eloquently described as a “longing of the soul”. Or on a lighter note, as American writer TS Eliot once observed, “without religion, the whole human race would die…solely of boredom”.

13. Indeed, Singaporeans of all faiths have become more religious over the years. Mosques, churches and temples are full during their respective days of worship, and throughout key religious events.

14. I’m encouraged by these trends. Because faith is important for human beings and a positive force for society. For most religions, life is understood to be a journey to a better place for both individuals and communities. Through religion, we recognize our own mortality, and are reminded that what matters is not our possessions or positions, but how well we’ve loved, and what part we’ve played in bettering the lives of others.

15. Perhaps this is why in our ongoing national conversation about the future of Singapore, we hear a lot of people voicing out views on values. Many highlight concerns that our core values have eroded over time, and that people are now too caught up with pursuing their own self-interests and individual ambitions. So in our dialogues, we often hear a strong collective yearning for a society that is anchored on values – values such as the importance of families, graciousness, kindness, inclusiveness, respect for others, and empathy.

16. These virtues and values are also at the core of all religions. A case in point is the virtue of empathy or the saying “do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. This teaching or variants of it can be found in virtually all religious traditions.

17. Many religious groups not only talk about values within their own communities, but they also get together to translate the shared values into action. For example, The Harmony Centre has, in the past, worked with the other faith communities and the Rahmatan Lil Alamin (RLA) Foundation to help raise funds for the victims of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Sichuan earthquake and Myanmar cyclone.

18. So there is lot of common ground in the values we consider as important in our religions and also for our society at large. The government will do its part in the promotion of these values, particularly through character and values education in schools. But it is very difficult for the Government alone to be the guardian of public morals. We also need our religious leaders and organisations to play an important role. All of you help to promote values in society and help our people internalize these values and shape the moral character of our society.

19. The late Dr Goh Keng Swee once said, “Many people turn away from…religion in the mistaken belief that it is old-fashioned or even irrelevant to contemporary problems. In fact the contrary is the case…a firm moral order [needs to] be established in a society which seeks economic progress. For only then can we get high standards of conduct both in public administration and in private business”.
    

Conclusion

20. At the end of the day, the success of a nation depends not on the strength of its economy, but on the character of its people. Character and values are important to all religions. And on these matters, I believe there’s much more that unites us than divide us. So let us continue to work together, to strengthen our inter-faith cooperation in Singapore, to preserve our peace and harmony, and importantly to build a fair and just society anchored on the values that we embrace as a people.