The Declaration of Religious Harmony of Singapore is a statement that affirms the importance of, and the commitment of Singaporeans towards, religious harmony. It is a basis for Singaporeans to reflect on religious harmony, and what should be done to achieve it.
The idea of having a Code on Religious Harmony was proposed by the then Prime Minister
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong (; born 20 May 1941) is a Singaporean former politician who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1990 and 2004, and Secretary-General of the People's Action Party between 1992 and 2004. He was the Member of Parliament (MP ...
in September or October 2002. This followed strains in racial harmony in the country following the
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
in the United States of America and the arrest and detention of members of the
Jemaah Islamiyah
Jemaah Islamiyah ( ar, الجماعة الإسلامية, ''al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmiyyah'', meaning "Islamic Congregation", frequently abbreviated JI) is a Southeast Asian militant extremist Islamist terrorist group based in Indonesia, which i ...
terrorist network in Singapore in December 2001.
The Declaration was issued on 9 June 2003 by a working committee chaired by
Minister of State
Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...
Chan Soo Sen and involving the national bodies of all mainstream religious groups in Singapore, after six months of intense debate over its wording.
[{{cite web , title=More than words, a S'pore way of life , url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes20030610-1.2.2 , website=The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB) , accessdate=25 September 2019 , date=10 June 2003]
Subsequently, an
Inter-Religious Harmony Circle (IRHC) comprising representatives of the religious groups involved in the working committee was formed to promote the Declaration. The IRHC has encouraged Singaporeans to recite the Declaration during the week when
Racial Harmony Day
Racial Harmony Day is a day in Singapore to celebrate its success as a racially harmonious nation. It is observed on the 21st of July every year, with most activities organised by schools and grassroots organisations, including religious groups.
H ...
(21 July) is marked every year.
Text of the declaration
:We, the people in Singapore, declare that religious harmony is vital for peace, progress and prosperity in our multi-racial and multi-religious Nation.
:We resolve to strengthen religious harmony through mutual tolerance, confidence, respect, and understanding.
:We shall always
::Recognise the secular nature of our State,
::Promote cohesion within our society,
::Respect each other's freedom of religion,
::Grow our common space while respecting our diversity,
::Foster inter-religious communications,
::and thereby ensure that religion will not be abused to create conflict and disharmony in Singapore.
Notes
See also
*
Inter-racial and religious confidence circle
*
National Pledge (Singapore)
External links
The text of the Declaration on the website of the Inter-religious Organisation, Singapore
2003 in Singapore
Religion in Singapore