By: Mohd Faizal Musa
There is much that religious authorities and mufti institutions in the region can learn from Singapore’s Muslim community. In particular, the ability of Muslims in the republic to undo or overcome the phenomenon of sectarianism.
To be specific, Singapore’s religious authorities have successfully rejected the negative affliction of inter-mazhab strife. This success should be made a model or guide for uniting people of different mazhab in other places as well.
For instance, the establishment of the Islamic Religious Council (MUIS) owed directly to the generous assistance and contribution from Shi’a community leaders. This was acknowledged by Syed Hassan Al-Attas, Imam of Ba’alwie Mosque on Lewis Road, Singapore. In his own words, Sunni and Shi’a adherents have cooperated in many areas to spread the growth of Islam.
Additionally according to Syed Hassan, when the council was being set up in 1970 the process was handled by a legal practitioner by the name of Javad Namazie, a Shi’a. Syed Hassan also mentioned names such as Ameerali Abdeali, the President of the Muslim Kidney Action Association (MKAC) and J.M. Jumabhoy, of the property developer Scotts Holdings (Ascott Limited) between 1975 and 1984[1].
Key to what Syed Hassan states is that there was no emphasis on the fact that one was Sunni, or Shi’a.
The presence of the Shi’a mazhab in Southeast Asia is nothing new. Portuguese documents on the conquest of Malacca in 1511 mention the presence of three thousand “Khorasones” or Persians in Malacca during the Malay empire’s collapse.[2] It must be reminded that Shi’a had spread far and wide and declared the official mazhab in Iran by the 16th century.
The Thai scholar Plubplung Kongchana also penned an academic article with the title “The Historical Development of the Persian Community in Ayuthya in The Court of Ayuthya,’ which explains how the collapse of Malacca at the hands of the Portuguese resulted in an increase in the Muslim population of Ayuthya, where many fled to from Malacca.
Following the migration, the Ayuthya government achieved almost instant power and developed soon thereafter. The situation drew the attention of outsiders, especially among the educated class. Hamzah Fansuri, the esteemed poet of the Malay world for example, once studied in Ayuthya (Siam was known as ‘Shahr-i Naw’ in Farsi).
Meanwhile, the well-known Shi’a ulama, Sheikh Ahmad Qoomi or his Thai name, Chao Phaya Boworn Rajnayok arrived in Ayuthya with his elder brother Muhammad Sa’id in the 1600 during the reign of King Ekathotsarot (1610-1628). Sheikh Qomi lived as a civil servant during the rule of King Songtha, (1610-1628), and His Majesty’s son, King Ekathotsarot. Sheikh Qomi’s descendents never lost touch of their identity and Chao Sen (Shi’a mazhab) teachings. The presence of Sheikh Qomi in Ayuthya also allowed Shi’a Muslims to gain a foothold in the royal palaces of Siam, for example Pharaya Srihaj Dechochaj, a warfare commander; Phraya Nakornsridharmaraj, also an army general; Phraya Rajbongson, naval commander; and PhrayaYamaraj, another chief of the armed forces.
The Shi’a in Ayuthya also married Malay women. Today, many of them have family names with Siamese influences, such as Ahmadchula, Bunnak, Buranon, Chatikrat, Supmitr, Sripen, and Chularat[3].
It is therefore not surprising that the Shi’a in Singapore have long established roots. For instance, we know aboiut Shi’a religious rituals from Syair Tabut Encik Ali, a Malay language manuscript in Jawi which describes a ceremony to commemorate Muharam in Singapore in 1864. The parade was believed to be the last before being outlawed by the British for fears of being organised by underground groups.
Among excerpts of Syair Tabut Ali are:
Hear, sir, a story about Bulan Muharram / A festival of the month of Muharram
A poem written as a service / God of the sky, listen as well
At the rising of the moon of Muharram / All the people of Baharam gathered together
They built the kudu and beat the frame drum / With its sound like the roar of a tiger
The light of the multitude shone so brightly / The drum was beaten with utmost force
Bless Allah and the household of Muhammad! / The believers all gathered together in a crowd
After that, listen sir / It was already four o’clock
Everyone was walking with reserve / In remembrance of the noble Martyrs
The kudu was placed on the river bank / The Fatiha was read for the Martyrs
As soon as it finished, the kudu was pushed out / And this was the way the money was spent
The kudu stopped by the river bank / The Fatiha was read melodiously
All of them enacting their sorrow / Like a woman full of longing[4]
The ‘Salli Allah ali Muhammad’ stanzas; ‘Everyone was walking with reserve, in remembrance of the noble Martyrs’; and ‘The Fatiha was read melodiously, all of them enacting their sorrow’ describe forms of acting or performing ‘taziyeh’ in Iran, to commemorate the martyrdom of Saidina Hussein together with his family members and companions on 10 Muharram 61 Hijrah.
There is also a painting by the Orientalist artist E.Schlitter dated 1858 and titled ‘Erinnerungen an Singapore 1858’, which presents a scene from the tabut march during Asyura in Singapore. It remains part of the Singapore National Gallery collection[5]. In addition, Torsten Tschacher, in ‘‘Witnessing Fun: Tamil-speaking Muslims and the Imagination of Ritual in Colonial Southeast Asia’ also recorded the same activities in his article[6], specifically about the ways the Mamak (Tamil Muslim) community carry out the mourning of Saidina Hussein and other Sufi figures.
Meanwhile, in 1907 Singapore, Sayyid Muhammad al-‘Aqil al-Hadrami, a Malay-Arab ulama triggered controversy when he issued a statement that the act of cursing the Umaiyyah rulers was something worthy of praise, due to the rulers’ shameful conduct towards the family of Prophet Muhammad.
As mentioned earlier by Syed Hassan Al-Attas, the Imam of Ba’alwie Mosque, a Shi’a family that had contributed a lot to the Muslim community was the Jumabhoy family. Rajabali Jumabhoy, a Shi’a arrived in the republic in 1918 and set up a multinational company. In 1955, he was elected as the independent representative at the Legislative Assembly of Singapore for the Telok Ayer district, and to fulfill the nazar following his victory, he visited Karbala. Then there was Ameerali Jumabhoy, one of the founders of the Ja’fari Muslim Association of Singapore. At the time, the Shi’a community gathered on Lim Ah Woo Road to listen to talks by Shi’a ulama, including Maulana Mahazir from Lucknow, India. Today, they are more commonly gathered one central location, Geylang.
Muharam and Safar ceremonies in the Shi’a community in Singapore were present since before World War One, namely from 1914 to 1918. Even during the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, the soldiers from the Land of the Rising Sun permitted Shi’a prisoners of war to join the local Shi’a residents in mourning during the days of Ashura.
Apart from that, there was also a publishing house in the 19th century, Maktabah Ahmadiyah 50 with the address known only as ‘Main Road’ Singapore, which published works on Shi’a mazhab doctrines such as ‘Kitab Faal’ by Imam Sadiq.
All the above evidence makes up a small part of the Shi’a community’s documented history in Singapore. It also shows how mature the Singapore Muslim society is in terms of religion, apart from demonstrating Singapore’s cosmopolitanism which existed since the days of British an onwards to Independence.
[1] Nurul Azliah. 2016. Singapore’s Sunni and Shiite Muslims live in harmony: Imam. Yahoo Singapore. 12 Januari. https://sg.news.yahoo.com/singapores-sunni-and-shiite-muslims-live-in-083049968.html
[2] Mc Roberts, R.W. 1984. An examination of the fall of Melaka in 1511. Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society LVII, 1. hlm. 26-39.
[3] Mohd Faizal Bin Musa. 2013. ‘The Malaysian Shi‘a: A Preliminary Study of Their History, Oppression, and Denied Rights’, Journal of Shi‘a Islamic Studies. Volume VI. Number 4. hlm. 411-462.
[4] Julia Byl, Raja Iskandar bin Raja Halid, David Lunn & Jenny McCallum. 2017. The Syair Tabut of Encik Ali: A Malay account of Muharram at Singapore, 1864. Journal Indonesia and the Malay World Volume 45 (133). hlm. 421-438.
[5] https://www.patreon.com/posts/discussion-notes-22547644
[6] Torsten Tschacher. 2010. ‘Witnessing Fun: Tamil-speaking Muslims and the Imagination of Ritual in Colonial Southeast Asia’. Dlm. Michael Bergunder, Heiko Frese and Ulrike Schröder (pny.). Ritual, Caste, and Religion in Colonial South India, Neue Hallesche Berichte 9, Halle (Saale): Verlag der Franckeschen Stiftungen. hlm.189-218.
Photo caption: Singapore