Author: John O'callaghan
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: February 4, 2002
Two young Muslim girls will put
Singapore's government in a testing position on Monday if they wear headscarves
to primary school as officials weigh the emotive issues of religious sensitivities
and ethnic cohesion.
In a rare case of civil disobedience,
the parents of Nurul Nasihah and Siti Farwizah Mohamad Kassim have defied
the national rule on common public school uniforms by having their daughters
wear the traditional Muslim ''tudung''.
The impasse comes at a sensitive
time for the city state of four million people as the government and religious
leaders stress the need for harmony after the arrests in December of 13
suspected Muslim militants for plotting a bombing campaign.
Monday is the deadline for the girls
to comply with the uniform rule and Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong made clear
they would be suspended if they arrived for class in headscarves. ''You
cannot give way on that,'' Goh told a gathering of Malay Muslim professionals
on Saturday, countering the idea that the tudung could help children learn
about cultural diversity.
''If the court decides that the
government is wrong, we will go by the court's decision. I think that's
the best way to move forward instead of punishing their own young daughters.''
Mohamad Nasser said his daughter Nurul would remove her headscarf only
if she were allowed to wear it when she enters secondary school. ''I have
not decided if I will send her to school on Monday,'' he told the Sunday
Times newspaper. ''I will discuss the matter with my family and relatives.''
Almost all of the city state's 450,000
Malays are Muslim, making Islam the second-largest religion after Buddhism.
Since the Sept 11, Singapore's Muslim leaders have been at pains to emphasise
the moderate nature of their community and its role in society. But the
issue of headscarves is only one of several long-standing grievances that
include the exclusion of Muslim men from sensitive areas of the military
and concern over Malays lagging behind the Chinese majority economically.
One Opposition party accused the
government of being out of line. ''Racial harmony can't be preserved by
coercing citizens to conform to dress code,'' the Singapore Democratic
Party said in a statement. ''Such an insensitive ruling will lead to greater
resentment among those being coerced.'' (Reuters)
