On March 3, Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam said in Parliament that police are currently investigating an Imam (prayer leader) who allegedly made inflammatory comments against Christians and Jews.

The minister mentioned this during his ministry's Committee of Supply debate, where he talked aspects of our country's safety, particularly on terrorism, SGSecure, and the fight against drugs.

In case this is the first you're hearing about this, let's fill you in on what happened.

The alleged incident, recorded on video by one Terence Helikaon Nunis, happened during Friday prayer at the Masjid Jamae (Chula) on January 6.

The Imam's sermon was uploaded onto a Facebook page called A Muslim Convert Once More on February 24 by Nunis, a Muslim convert.

In his post, Nunis alleged that the Imam said, "God Grant us victory over the Jews and the Christians, God Grant us victory over the Jews and the Christians".

Nunis said the Imam was "supplicating as if we are all living in the Crusades", ending his post by urging readers not to "encourage this sort of thiking (sic) or condone this sort of supplications".

Criticism from NUS Professor

His post drew responses across the spectrum — some supported his stance, while others fired back at him. One of the people in the latter camp was Khairudin Aljunied, Associate Professor at the Department of Malay Studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

In a not-so-subtly critical post on his Facebook page, which he appears to have taken down completely, Khairudin recounts an imaginary conversation between an Imam and a convert. We reproduced his post (which appears to also have been taken down) below:

The Imam and the Silly Convert

Once, there was a convert who was unhappy with what he heard from an Imam. So he went up to the Imam angrily and said:

Convert: Can you stop saying things that will hurt people?

Imam: I am sorry brother, but what did I say that might hurt anyone?

Convert: You said those things and you know it. It’s offensive! I’ve just shared a video of what you said.

Imam: I was speaking to Muslims in this small congregation but you, my brother, shared it to the world. Now everyone is offended. So was I wrong or you?

Convert: [already feeling stupid] But you said things that are offensive to others! I must expose you.

Imam: [gently putting his hands on the convert] Brother, I think you should stop being a Muslim for now.

Convert: What!!!

Imam: I read verses from the Quran and these verses have been read on the pulpit every Friday and during Eids since the time of the Prophet Muhammad till this day for over a thousand years. Muslims and non-Muslims lived peacefully even when these verses were read. Things change when you came.

#sillyconvertmakestheloudestnoise #shareatwill

All involved now under investigation

Minister Shanmugam said Khairudin's response "encouraged vilification" of Nunis, and is "quite contrary to the norms, values, and laws in Singapore". All involved are currently under a through investigation, he added.

According to a Today report, Khairudin followed up his criticism with another Facebook post, saying that his words were "not meant to malign, insult or say bad things about anyone in particular, whoever you may think it is".

He also said that the Islamic community "cherish(es) the good relations [they] have had with non-Muslims" and that they hope "for those who say that they are converts to Islam or for that matter those who say that they are true Muslims to preserve the peace that we all cherish".

Khairudin, by the way, is known for his outspoken views. Back in 2014, he received backlash for calling lesbianism "cancers" in reply to a question on how to deal with liberal Islam which was showing support for the "lesbian movement".

More recently, he kickstarted a Facebook initiative to make the point that one’s PSLE score does not determine who one is or will become. Participants stated their PSLE scores and how they ended up in life now — as a message to PSLE students that one grade does not determine their entire life course.

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Top photo via Facebook and The Rakyat Post

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