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  • Home
  • About RSIS
      • Introduction
      • Building the Foundations
      • Welcome Message
      • Board of Governors
      • Staff Profiles
        • Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
        • Dean’s Office
        • Management
        • Distinguished Fellows
        • Faculty and Research
        • Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
        • Visiting Fellows
        • Adjunct Fellows
        • Administrative Staff
      • Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
      • RSIS Endowment Fund
      • Endowed Professorships
      • Career Opportunities
      • Getting to RSIS
  • Research
      • Research Centres
        • Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
        • Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
        • Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)
        • Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
        • International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
      • Research Programmes
        • National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
        • Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
      • Future Issues and Technology Cluster
      • [email protected] Newsletter
      • Other Research
        • Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
      • Graduate Programmes Office
      • Overview
      • MSc (Asian Studies)
      • MSc (International Political Economy)
      • MSc (International Relations)
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      • NTU-Warwick Double Masters Programme
      • PhD Programme
      • Exchange Partners and Programmes
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      • Financial Assistance
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        • Bulletins and Newsletters
        • Commentaries
        • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
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        • IDSS Paper
        • Interreligious Relations
        • Monographs
        • NTS Insight
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        • RSIS Publications for the Year
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    • RSIS
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    • Diagnosing ‘Extremism’: The Case of ‘Muscular’ Secularism in Singapore
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    Diagnosing ‘Extremism’: The Case of ‘Muscular’ Secularism in Singapore
    by Kumar Ramakrishna

    02 January 2019

    This paper makes three main arguments: first, religious extremism is best understood in context. This stance is adopted in diagnosing the specific case of Islamic extremism in the globalized, multi-religious city-state of Singapore, which, having departed from Malaysia only 54 years ago, is still a relatively young polity. Second, the paper argues that to identify and cope with Islamic extremism, the Singapore State should be more explicit and firm in its articulation of what the current author calls a “Muscular Secularism” policy. Third, the paper argues that at this historical juncture in Singapore’s history – with politicized and often violent interpretations of Islam very much in the news worldwide – a more explicit and similarly unapologetic articulation of what may be called a “reconciled” Singaporean Muslim Identity is needed. Forging such an identity though is an understandably sensitive issue that must be left to the Singaporean Muslim community and its leaders. The challenge is to fashion a Singaporean Muslim Identity that would be theologically sound, but integrated within the secular, globalized, multicultural context of modern Singapore. Such a reconciled Singapore Muslim Identity would meanwhile complement efforts to fashion a more clearly articulated and strongly promoted wider Singaporean Identity and Master Narrative.

    Categories: Journal Articles
    Source: Taylor & Francis Online
    Citation: Kumar Ramakrishna, "Diagnosing ‘Extremism’: The Case of ‘Muscular’ Secularism in Singapore" in Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, Vol. 11, Issue 1, 2019, pp. 26-47

    Last updated on 15/06/2021

    This paper makes three main arguments: first, religious extremism is best understood in context. This stance is adopted in diagnosing the specific case of Islamic extremism in the globalized, multi-religious city-state of Singapore, which, having departed from Malaysia only 54 years ago, is still a relatively young polity. Second, the paper argues that to identify and cope with Islamic extremism, the Singapore State should be more explicit and firm in its articulation of what the current author calls a “Muscular Secularism” policy. Third, the paper argues that at this historical juncture in Singapore’s history – with politicized and often violent interpretations of Islam very much in the news worldwide – a more explicit and similarly unapologetic articulation of what may be called a “reconciled” Singaporean Muslim Identity is needed. Forging such an identity though is an understandably sensitive issue that must be left to the Singaporean Muslim community and its leaders. The challenge is to fashion a Singaporean Muslim Identity that would be theologically sound, but integrated within the secular, globalized, multicultural context of modern Singapore. Such a reconciled Singapore Muslim Identity would meanwhile complement efforts to fashion a more clearly articulated and strongly promoted wider Singaporean Identity and Master Narrative.

    Categories: Journal Articles
    Source: Taylor & Francis Online
    Citation: Kumar Ramakrishna, "Diagnosing ‘Extremism’: The Case of ‘Muscular’ Secularism in Singapore" in Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, Vol. 11, Issue 1, 2019, pp. 26-47

    Last updated on 15/06/2021

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    Diagnosing ‘Extremism’: The Case of ‘Muscular’ Secularism in Singapore
    This paper makes three main arguments: first, religious extremism is best understood in context. This stance is adopted in diagnosing the specific case of Islamic extremi ...
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