Our faith calls for the pursuit of goodness and kindness at all times: Mufti Dr Nazirudin

More must be done to guide and convince the young that the Islamic faith calls for the pursuit of goodness at all times, said the Mufti of Singapore Dr Nazirudin on Thursday (Feb 2) through an Instagram post by his office.

Singapore’s highest ranking Muslim leader issued his statement addressing the detention of a self-radicalised 18 year-old under the Internal Security Act (ISA), alongside other “incidents of hate and violence in parts of the world”. 

He said: “This is a misguided Muslim, who channelled his religious fervour wrongly and dangerously through the online exploitations of extremist idealogues and groups, of conflicts and crises.”

In a press release on Wednesday (Feb 1), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said Muhammad Irfan Danyal bin Mohamad Nor was detained in December 2022. According to the ministry, the post-secondary student had been self-radicalised by online propaganda by the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

There is “no place for violence and aggression in the name of Islam”, Dr Nazirudin stressed in his post.

The Mufti went on to address acts of hate and violence happening abroad, including in Sweden, Pakistan and Palestine.

He urged for “the world to change its course” in order to preserve harmony and mutual respect. He added that in doing so, the young and future generations would be “witnesses to the protection of lives, faiths and beliefs, and places of worship”.

Dr Nazirudin also said that it is not okay to hurt or harm others, to burn and desecrate religious texts, and to attack any place of worship or places held sacred by others.

Those going online for religious knowledge should consult the right sources and ask when in doubt, he advised.

Parents were also urged to monitor what their children do online and to get the necessary help quickly should intervention be needed.