Singaporean Youth Get Ramadan Education
Those who do not understand Islam or have inadequate knowledge of it may have a different mindset and might not be “giving the right messages or advice to their friends,” Khalid Shukur Bakri, chairman of the celebrations, told Channel News Asia on Monday, June 23.
“They may have a different view ... of Islam so whatever they would say on Facebook, whatever they would point out to their friends, might not be the actual or right thing according to Muslim teaching,” he added.
The Touch of Ramadan celebrations, supported by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, is an initiative spearheaded by the North West Mosque Cluster and Ramadan Youth Challenge Committee 2014.
Focusing on youth, the organizing committee of Ramadan celebrations has decided to involve new media tools to attract this important segment of the society.
This Ramadan plan will involve new media initiatives such as an interactive Web portal, social media pages, a video competition and a WhatsApp service that allows youth to get free Qur’an teaching services and daily tasks from administrators.
The committee has also enlisted the help of interest groups and members from the Private Islamic Educators Network to help spread the message to youth.
A new Ramadan Frequently Asked Questions guidebook was also produced.
Along with new media tools, the committee will organize Islamic education classes for the young, prayer workshops, Qur’an literacy programs, as well as outreach efforts targeting homes.
Absent Knowledge
The decision to focus on youth followed a research from the Singapore Islamic Hub showed that about 60 per cent of Muslim youth do not get full Islamic education, Ahmad Ghazali Nordin, head of the Ramadan Youth Challenge, a youth outreach campaign, said.
By issuing this year’s campaign, officials hope to reduce this percentage “to make (those youths) a part of us in the mosque and in the community,” he said.
For Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs, the plan was important to help youth who are exposed to many distractions in modern day world.
The senior Singaporean official urged the community to engage youth through mediums such as social media or youth ambassadors.
“It’s the peer-to-peer kind of connection that we want to encourage ... using the platforms that young people are comfortable with,” he said.
Muslims in Singapore are estimated between 450,000 to 500,000, making around 14 to 15 percent of the population.
Source: On Islam
