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Singapore Fears Racial Backlash in Wake of Attacks on U.S.
JAKARTA, Sept 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Fearing a backlash and possible tension in the tiny nation state, Singapore's deputy prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong, on Saturday urged Singaporeans not to allow attacks on the U.S. to affect racial and religious harmony in the country.
"Don't let the attacks on the United States affect racial and religious harmony in Singapore," Loong said.
"Singaporeans should not look on Muslim citizens differently, or hold them somehow responsible for the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center [WTC] in New York," he said.
He added that there is no reason for Muslim Singaporeans to "feel uncomfortable or defensive, or become overly sensitive to perceived slights."
"We should take note of how the U.S. incident has affected racial and religious relations in many countries.
"Let us remind ourselves that these events are motivated by factors which have nothing to do with the situation in Singapore.
"We must not allow this incident, or any future external events, to tug us in different directions," Loong said.
Speaking at the Singapore Malay Teachers' Co-operative 70th anniversary dinner at the Ritz-Carlton Millenia Hotel, he said it was good that Malay-Muslim leaders in Singapore had taken a public stand condemning the attacks as being contrary to Islam and the humane values it stands for.
"Muslim Singaporeans do not condone these acts of terrorism. The vast majority hold moderate and balanced views of their faith," said B.G. Lee.
He noted that, so far, race relations here continue to be "easy and relaxed", although a few Muslims here have expressed concern privately that events in the U.S. will affect how non-Muslim Singaporeans view them.
There are more than half a million Muslims in Singapore, which has a population of four million, according to latest census released this year.
An increasing number of Americans and Westerners are being accepted as Singaporean nationals under a new scheme to attract foreign intelligence.
A huge majority of Singaporeans are of Chinese descent, composing more than 80% of the population.
Fears are that an attack on any Muslim country may make the situation tense in the tiny island south of Malaysia, and that there might be some racial backlash.
Sentiments among Muslims worldwide are that the attacks should not be blamed on Islam or Muslims, even though the hijackers presently seem to be of Middle Eastern origin.
Many ASEAN Muslims disapproved of the attack that caused the death of thousands of civilians.
The Singaporean deputy premier said that external developments affect Singapore because globalization and technology beam world events live into homes through vivid images that cannot be shut out.
He cited examples like the May 1998 riots in Indonesia, during which many Indonesian Chinese became victims, and the storming by Indian troops of the Sikh Golden Temple at Amritsar in 1984, creating tension within the Indian and Chinese communities in Singapore.
The 1991 attack on Baghdad during the Gulf War was altogether a source of tension in many Muslim countries, where the heavy bombing and killing of Iraqi civilians angered many Muslims.
"Like people all over the world, Singaporeans have seen the film clip of the airliner flying straight and level onto the World Trade Center tower and exploding into a fireball.
"Singaporeans, too, of all races and religions, feel sympathy for the victims and anger at the perpetrators of the crime. This is natural and human," Loong said.
"But whoever was responsible for these horrendous attacks against innocent persons, we should not let it affect racial and religious harmony in Singapore."
With additional reporting by Kazi Mahmood
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