Faith in Architecture: 50 Houses of Worship in Singapore
Gül İnanç (ed.)
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2015
ISBN: 9789810953737

Often we are not fully aware of the artistic, diverse and divine features of more than a thousand houses of worship, which surround us in this small, culturally diverse city-state. This semi-photobook is a humble attempt to give 50 of these sacred sands/stones the voice required to share their stories with us and for us to move a little closer to understanding and appreciating the art and culture of major faiths being practised both locally and globally. Complementing the reflections and photography in the book are astute sketches by renowned Singapore artist, Dr Ho Chee Lick.

Priest in Geylang: The Untold Story of the Geylang Catholic Centre
Fr. Guillaume Arotçarena
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2015
ISBN: 9789810936785

Cosmopolitan Singapore -- emblematic of globalised capitalism -- usually calls to mind a number of clichés: orderly, clean and green, a shopping and business paradise, and a model of sound economic management. Tourists, journalists and passing businessmen cast an absent-minded glance at the local society, noting that the food is excellent, e-communication works well and armoured tanks are absent on street corners.

But after 17 years living here, the author shows a different side of Singapore: looking at her from the grassroots. Beyond his personal atypical story, he draws with light strokes of the brush, a picture of a warm and generous people, much less passive than one os often given to think. He also describes the difficulties faced by civil society, and tracks the rapid social evolution in the city-state as it is confronted with major challenges: a nose-diving demography, cramped territory with an infrastructure which cannot be extended indefinitely, and massive immigration which in increasingly resented by the local population.

Most of all, Fr. Arotçarena places on record the work and significance of the Geylang Catholic Centre, which makes this priest in Geylang himself a legend.

One More Chance: The Story of Benny Se Teo From Heroin Addict to Restaurant Boss
Colin Cheong
Singapore: Armour Press, 2014
ISBN: 9789814597425

By the time he was in Primary 5, Benny Se Teo was packing opium and running the packets to his father’s opium den in Chinatown. At 15, Benny had his first puff of pot, then one night, he bought a straw of heroin and his troubles truly began.

In jail after his umpteenth arrest, he began to bleed in his stomach and had to be rushed to hospital. In those hours, he remembered the Saviour he had accepted in 1980 at the first halfway house he had been sent to. And he remembered the pain he had caused his family - especially his mother. He decided to get clean and stay clean.

This is Benny’s story - of how his faith and the faith his friends placed in him, turned him from a hard-core heroin addict into a restaurant boss. But it is more than a story of a wasted youth - it is also a primer for young people who have the idealism and drive to start businesses that can help society and make the world a kinder place.

Different Under God: A Survey of Church-Going Protestants in Singapore
Terence Chong & Hui Yew-Foong
Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2013
ISBN: 9789814414425

This is a comprehensive analysis of Christianity in Singapore, covering religious, social and political attitudes. It analyses individual and discussion-group responses from churchgoers in both mainline denominations and independent churches, and covers issues such as moral values and attitudes, including those on sexuality and sexual orientation, money and giving, organizational belonging, and governance.

Keeping the Faith: Syed Isa Samait, Mufti of Singapore, 1972-2010
Syed Zakir Hussain
Singapore: Straits Times Press, 2012
ISBN: 9789814342087

Syed Isa Semait worked as a typist, welder, bookseller and marriage registrar before being appointed Mufti of Singapore in 1972 at the age of 33. He soon found his decisions aimed at improving the religious life of Singapore’s Muslim community challenged by many. Some called him a government lackey. But backed by his peers and older religious leaders, he persevered and gradually won the hearts and minds of many Muslim Singaporeans round to what he was convinced was the best way for them to organise their religious affairs in the midst of rapid development.

Keeping the Faith tells the story of Syed Isa, the Mufti of Singapore for almost 40 years, and how with his guidance, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis, or Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura) oversaw improvements to the collection and administration of zakat or tithes, the fixing of Islamic calendar dates, the administration of wakaf or endowments, and the revamping of religious education to keep up with changing times. By the time he stepped down from the post of Mufti at the end of 2010, Syed Isa had helped see to a more confident and progressive Muslim community that was no less religious but more conscious of the role it could play in a cosmopolitan, multi-religious Singapore. As an active member of the Inter-Religious Organisation, Syed Isa also led the way in fostering friendships with leaders of the various faiths in Singapore.

Keeping the Faith shows how Syed Isa applied his knowledge and convictions to help shape what he believed would lead to the best outcomes for his community.

VR Nathan: Community Servant Extraordinary
Bala Baskaran, Said Abdullah, & Arun Senkuttuvan
Singapore: ISEAS, 2012
ISBN: 9789814379847


In conveying his condolences to VR Nathan’s wife, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that “as chairman of Hindu Endowments Board, VR Nathan had served the Indian community with distinction and unwavering commitment”. Lee also said that VR “had done much for inter-religious harmony in Singapore”. Soon after, Zainul Abidin Rasheed, then Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said in Parliament that he was “very amazed” when he saw at VR’s funeral leaders of different faiths paying their last respects and offering prayers. That perhaps is the ultimate tribute any Singaporean of faith could hope for. This is the story of what made an unemployed immigrant from India with little education transform into an ideal Singaporean – successful in his career, yet caring for fellow citizens.

The AWARE Saga: Civil Society and Public Morality in Singapore
Terence Chong (ed.)
Singapore: NUS Press, 2011
ISBN: 9789971695514

In March 2009, the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) was briefly taken over by a Christian faction. Their coup was overturned within a matter of weeks, but the episode highlighted a variety of issues, including the role of religion in civil society, sex education, homosexuality, state intervention and media engagement. Although the immediate issue was control of an activist group concerned with women's rights, it has implications for the agendas and concerns of NGOs, 'culture wars', the processes of citizenry mobilization, mass participation and noisy democracy, and liberal voices in contemporary Singapore.

In this book, academics and public intellectuals examine the AWARE saga within the context of Singapore's civil society, considering the political and historical background and how the issues it raised relate to contemporary societal trends. In addition to documenting a milestone event for Singapore's civil society, the authors offer provocative interpretations that will interest a broad range of readers.

Singapore Shifting Boundaries: Social Change in the Early 21st Century
William S.W. Lim, Sharon Siddique & Tan Dan Feng (eds.)
Singapore: Asian Urban Lab, 2011
ISBN: 9789814022743

This book aims to depict the richly textured and nuanced fabric of social life in Singapore in the early 21st century, as Singaporeans live in a blur of shifting boundaries where past, present and future co-exist.

36 commentators, artists and activists of different ages and backgrounds share their views in stimulating and compact pieces that come in a variety of literary forms, including essays, commentaries, reflections, poems, dialogues, novel and script excerpts, blog entries and presentations.

These colourful pieces touch on identity, language, culture, ethnicity, sexuality, politics, memory, religion, geography, arts and activism, painting a picture of the complex and vibrant society that is Singapore today.

The Sikhs in Singapore
Arunajeet Kaur
Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2010
ISBN: 9789814279925

This book attempts to understand the arrival, settlement, and subsequent assimilation of Sikhs into the multiracial society of Singapore. It traces the story of the Sikh experience in Singapore from their arrival in the colonial Straits Settlements through to their recognition as a 'model minority' in the post independent republic. This multi-disciplinary narrative begins by exploring primary historical documents and continues with an ethnographic stance in describing the contemporary issues facing the Sikh community. In this approach the author presents a narrative that spans over a hundred years in an attempt to understand the changes and developments of the Singaporean Sikh community.

Muslims in Singapore: Piety, Politics and Policies
Kamuludeen Mohamed Nasir, Alexius A. Pereira, & Bryan S. Turner
London: Routledge, 2010
ISBN: 9780415560085

This book examines Muslims in Singapore, analyzing their habits, practices and dispositions towards everyday life, and also their role within the broader framework of the secularist Singapore state and the cultural dominance of its Chinese elite, who are predominantly Buddhist and Christian. Singapore has a highly unusual approach to issues of religious diversity and multiculturalism, adopting a policy of deliberately 'managing religions' including Islam in an attempt to achieve orderly and harmonious relations between different racial and religious groups. This has encompassed implicit and explicit policies of containment and 'enclavement' of Muslims, and also the more positive policy of 'upgrading' Muslims through paternalist strategies of education, training and improvement, including the modernization of madrasah education in both content and orienttation. This book examines how this system has operated in practice, and evaluates its successes and failures. In particular, it explores the attitudes and reactions of Muslims themselves across all spheres of everyday life, including dining and maintaining halal-vigilance; education and dress code; and practices of courtship, sex and marriage. It also considers the impact of wider international developments, including 9/11, fear of terrorism and the associated stigmatization of Muslims; and developments within Southeast Asia such as the Jemaah Islamiah terrorist attacks and the Islamization of Malaysia and Indonesia. This study has more general implications for political strategies and public policies in multicultural societies that are deeply divided along ethno-religious lines.

Issues of Law and Justice in Singapore: Some Christian Reflections
Daniel K.S. Koh and Kiem-Kiok Kwa (eds.)
Singapore: Armour Publishing, 2009
ISBN: 9789814270168

This book is an attempt at putting together in one accessible volume what some Singapore Christians think about matters of law and justice in their own country. It is the first volume in the CSCA Christianity in Southeast Asia Series.

The writers share the same concern about Christians being the light and salt of the world. Christians can make meaningful contributions to public discussions on matters which affect the common good. Justice properly understood is justice for all even if it is informed by the Christian faith. That is why Christians who love God and their neighbours are interested in issues of law and justice.

While the book is primarily written for Christians, it may be of interest to the wider readership. Readers will be able to identify some common interests, and gain further understanding of how thoughtful Christians have sought to contribute to developing a wholesome social vision, "based on justice and equality", for a multi-racial, multi-religious society.

Light On the Lotus Hill: Shuang Lin Monastery and the Burma Road

Chan Chow Wah

Singapore: Khoon Chee Vihara, 2009

ISBN: 9789810826741 

Light On the Lotus Hill documents the life and history of Venerable Pu Liang, the 10th Abbot of Shuang Lin Monastery, who was also the chairperson of the Singapore Chinese Buddhist Association from 1937 to 1942.

In 1935, Venerable Pu Liang initiated the 2nd restoration of the Shuang Lin Monastery but when the Sino-Japanese war erupted in 1935, he stopped the restoration project and supported the China Relief Fund founded by Tan Kah Kee.

After the fall of Singapore, Venerable Pu Liang was arrested and executed by the Japanese. It is reasonable to believe that if Venerable Pu Liang had survived the war, he would have restored the Shuang Lin Monastery.

Through the Bamboo Window: Chinese Life & Culture in 1950s Malaya & Singapore
Leon Comber
Singapore: Talisman, 2009
ISBN: 9789810814663

This volume collects together and reprints four classic books written in the 1950s by Dr Leon Comber: Chinese Ancestral Worship; Chinese Festivals in Malaya; Chinese Magic & Superstition in Malaya; and Chinese Temples in Singapore. These books on Chinese life and customs were reprinted many times but have long been out of print. Written for the layperson, the style is simple and unpretentious, yet Comber meticulously presents a veritable cornucopia of a culture still relevant and extant in modern Southeast Asia.

This new publication addresses the rich heritage of the overseas Chinese community's roots and practices, and those reading about or visiting Southeast Asia will find it a ready source of information and knowledge of ancient and classic Chinese culture.