Renowned Islamic preacher, Mufti Ismail Menk, has been banned from entering Singapore.
The government alleged that his views promote religious discord in the country.
Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement that its decision to reject Menk’s application for a short-term work pass stemmed from his “segregationist and divisive teachings”.
Menk was banned together with another preacher Haslin bin Baharim whom the government claim he is promoting “disharmony between Muslims and non-Muslims”.
Both preachers were barred from entering Singapore to give lectures on a religious-themed cruise scheduled for late November.
The ministry claimed that Menk said Muslims were not allowed to greet people of other faiths on their religious festivals.
Their views “are unacceptable in the context of Singapore’s multi-racial and multi-religious society”.
“They will not be allowed to get around the ban by preaching instead on cruise ships which operate to and from Singapore.”
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Menk said he had faced “no issues coming into Singapore as a tourist … but will not be joining the cruise now for reasons not within my control”.
“To imply that I was using the cruise ‘to get around the ban by preaching instead on cruise ships which operate to and from Singapore’ is erroneous,” he said.
“I have never been on a cruise before, let alone give lectures on board. This was purely for a humanitarian mission to Banda Aceh.”
According to Islamic Cruise, which organised the voyage, Menk was scheduled to give a series of talks on the five-day cruise, including one titled “Navigating Towards Paradise”, with proceeds from the event to be distributed to underprivileged people in Banda Aceh.
Credit : aledeh.com
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