“Worldwide, surveys indicate that religion, religious fervour and religiosity are not in decline. Religions will continue to appeal to individuals and groups who seek motivation to pursue peace or violence, preserve or destroy life, enable social development or social disintegration, and to be a force of unity or discord.

Religious leaders and activists need to take the bull by its horns and effectively address this ambivalence of the sacred.

They can best do this through discourse and dialogue. The International Conference on Cohesive Societies that Singapore is hosting next month is a platform where the two contradictory sides of religion can be deliberated.”

– Amb Mohammad Alami Musa, Head of Studies in Inter-religious Relations in Plural Societies Programme (SRP), RSIS