The community is supposed to be led by the umara and the Ulama. In the person of Rasulullah and his Khulafah Ar Rashideen, Umara (political leadership) and the Ulama (Islamic scholars leadership) were found in the same persons. It has now devolved into separate groups. In Singapore, the umara had been co-opted by the government for a long time. The British effectively managed the political leadership of the community with different forms of patronage, recognition etc. After decolonisation, the Umara are owned by the government when the PAP took over. We are told that the Minister in charge of Muslim Affairs is our leader. The Malay MPs are part of the leadership. In his dismissal of the Collective Leadership proposal in 2001, Goh Chok Tong detailed a tripartite leadership structure for the community: 1. Malay MPs 2. Mendaki 3. MUIS The Minister is the apex of the communitys leadership. The Ulama were independent. Even though MUIS is owned by the government, there was an independent class of Ulama in Pergas. But it appears that there is real concern that Pergas has been co-opted by the government. If that is the case, where are the independent leadership? Are Muslims led by any independent group or does each road lead back to the government? Do we have any right to be concerned? Or should we just let it be?
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 02:31:29 +0000
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