Mufti calls on Muslims to help each other progress as a community
The Muslim community should work together to improve its quality of life, instead of “getting plugged into unhealthy competition that divides society”, said the Mufti of Singapore Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram. Photo: Nuria Ling/TODAY
SINGAPORE — The Muslim community should work together to improve its quality of life, instead of “getting plugged into unhealthy competition that divides society”, said the Mufti of Singapore Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram on Friday (Sept 1).
Delivering his sermon on the morning of Hari Raya Haji at Masjid Petempatan Melayu Sembawang, Dr Fatris called on Muslims in Singapore to cooperate with one another and “leverage the strength of our potential”.
“By committing to cooperate, we can move ahead and progress collectively,” said the Mufti, as he called on the community to “strengthen the bonds of relationships and seek to deepen these ties”, and “abstain from matters that can cause divisions and hostility”.
Urging the community to adopt moderation, Dr Fatris told the congregants that those who “do not respect the law or the rules of living in a society” will “cause destruction and long-term negative effects”.
On Friday morning, some 850 worshippers gathered at the Masjid Petempatan Melayu Sembawang, where Hari Raya Haji prayers were held. Hari Raya Haji is also known as Eid al-Adha, or the feast of sacrifice.
Cooked food — made with meat that was slaughtered the night before — was distributed after the prayers, a tradition that originated in the 1980s, said mosque chairman Mohd Amin Ab Latip, 67.
The mosque — one of the last kampong mosques in Singapore — is one of 25 korban, or sacrifical slaughter, centres. It sacrificed 150 sheep in the afternoon to distribute to congregants and about 40 persons with disabilities.
Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli, who attended the sermon, also helped to distribute cooked food to the congregants after the morning prayers.
