Governing Muslims in Singapore's secular authoritarian state

The governance of Muslims in Singapore has been strongly shaped by the secular authoritarian state's commanding influence over Islamic institutions, such as the main religious bureaucracy Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (the Islamic Religious Council), and reliance on draconian legislation, such as the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA), the Sedition Act and the Internal Security Act. Inter alia, these laws attempt to inoculate religion against politics, regulate religious activity and restrain the development of an autonomous Muslim civil society. The contradictions associated with the MRHA and no-tudung ('headscarf') policy are analysed within the framework of the authoritarian state's assertive secularism. The significance of localised socio-economic and political grievances in motivating a small number of Singaporean Muslims in supporting radical Islamist ideology is also considered.