Minister-in-charge of Muslims Affairs Masagos Zulkifli has asked Saudi Arabia to increase the number of haj places for Singaporean Muslims.
Singapore requested Saudi Arabia twice in 2019 to increase haj quota
On Jan. 20, Masagos took to Facebook to post about his meeting with Saudi Minister of Haj and Umrah, Mohammed Saleh Taher Benten.
Masagos said he had built upon previous requests by President Halimah Yacob and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Previously, Halimah had made the request to the Saudi King, Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, during her visit to the country in November.
At that time, the King had replied that he would "look into the request seriously".
Saudi Arabia impressed with behaviour of Singapore's pilgrims
Masagos further said that Saleh had praised Singapore's pilgrims for "exemplary behaviour" and their cooperation with the authorities while performing the haj.
In turn, Masagos extended his gratitude to both the Crown Prince and King of Saudi Arabia for the hospitality and services extended to Singapore's pilgrims.
Invitation extended to a Saudi scholar
Masagos added that he had also extended an invitation to Shekih Hatim Al Awni, a "leading moderate scholar in the region", to participate in an upcoming International Conference of Communities of Success (ICCOS) organised by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS).
One topic that both parties touched on was developing religious guidance for Muslims minorities living in "peace and harmony" within secular societies, while still preserving their religion.
With regard to Hatim's profile, Jordanian platform The Muslim 500 described his greatest contribution as highlighting "clear connections" between extremism and core texts on Salafism, an ultra-conservative movement within mainstream Sunni Islam.
Additionally, Hatim has also written on rapprochement between different Islamic schools of thought.
You can see Masagos' post in full here:
Top image from Masagos Zulfikli Facebook