Faiths/Festivals of Arab Immigrants

Source 1: A description of the Arabs’ contribution towards their faith.

According to the Raffles Town Plan in 1822, land was set aside for Kampong Melaka (Melaka Village) for the Muslim community. With the support of philanthropist Syed Omar bin Ali Aljunied from Palembang, a surau (prayer house) was established in 1820. The original building was a simple wooden structure with an attap roof.

With monetary contributions from merchant Syed Abdullah bin Omar Aljunied, the wealthy son of the original founder, a brick building replaced the original wooden structure in 1855. The surau served as a meeting point not only for the local Malays and Jawi Peranakans, but also early Muslim immigrants such as Arabs and Indonesians. A new road through Kampong Melaka brought more worshippers and thus a larger building was required. Syed Omar bin Ali Aljunied and his descendants are buried at the mosque.

Reference:

Cornelius-Takahama, V. (2016). Masjid Omar Kampong Melaka.  Singapore Infopedia, National Library Board. Retrieved from https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_688_2004-12-27.html

Source 2: An extract of the hardship faced by Arabs when embarking on their pilgrimage to Mecca.

“By making their pilgrimage to Mecca without sufficient money, Malayan pilgrims underwent great suffering,” Mr. J.M.I Maricar, the Singapore Arab, told a Free Press reporter on his return from Mecca and a three months’ tour of the Near East and India, by the liner Conte Rosso yesterday.

“A Malayan Pilgrim, going to Mecca as a desk passenger, must take not less than $700; a second class passenger $1000 and a first class passenger $1500. With less than these amounts they will suffer.” Mr Maricar pointed out.

“I hope that the British Government will stop pilgrims attempting to make the pilgrimage to Mecca without sufficient funds.” He added.

Reference:

The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1939, February 28). Hardships of Poor Pilgrims. Retrieved from http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/singfreepressb19390228-1.2.92

Source 3: An extract depicting the celebration of Prophet Mohamed’s birthday.  

“The main mawlud (Prophet Mohamed’s birthday) celebration would be at Madrasah Alsagoff. This was in 1931. They had lorries. The children would get up on the lorries and sing. We would sing and carry flags. Very happy. The lorries would go round the kampong. We would sing songs like ‘Geylang Si Paku Geylang’ and songs in praise of the Prophet Muhammad. I used to sit in the lorries as well … We would have a feast first at the madrasah, then we’d get on the lorries for the procession.”

Reference:

National Heritage Board. (2012). Kampong Glam A Heritage Trail.  https://www.nhb.gov.sg/~/media/nhb/files/places/trails/kampong%20glam/kgglamtrail.pdf 

Source 4: A brief family history of the Aljunieds in Singapore.

DR SHARIFAH MARIAM ALJUNIED, on how the Ba'alawi orientation (also known as Sufi Tradition) led her great-great-great-grandfather Syed Omar Ali Aljunied to give Singapore founder Thomas Stamford Raffles the swathe of land on which St Andrew's Cathedral now stands.

It was Raffles, she notes, who had written to Palembang-based Syed Omar, who was his friend, to move to Singapore and help it prosper. "Syed Omar was already a big player then in the spice and textiles trade, as he had his own ship and many connections," she says.

Syed Omar settled here in late 1819 as Singapore's first Arab resident, went into real estate and soon owned large tracts of land in downtown Singapore. In 1834, he returned to his hometown of Tarim in southern Yemen with his five sons in tow as it was a tradition among their tribe, the Hadhramis, to have a religious education there before marriage.

Reference:

Cheong, S. (2015, September 24). Arab trader's role in Singapore landmark. The Straits Times. Retrieved from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/arab-traders-role-in-singapore-landmark

Source 5: An extract on ‘Madrasah’ in Singapore since the 15th century.

The term 'madrasah' is legally and colloquially defined in Singapore today as a 'religious school'. Such religious schools have existed in Singapore since the import of Islam in the early 15th century till today.

Muslim reformists became aware of the limitations of the Qur'anic and pondok schools during the colonial era. These reformists were discontented with the brand of Islam taught in pondoks, which they felt devoted too much attention on devotional worship and basic rituals of Islam (fardhu a'in) and did not sufficiently prepare Muslim students for socio-economic development and employment opportunities. The early madrasahs in Singapore established by Muslim reformists during the colonial era were therefore considered as "modernist institutions", and were lauded for the attempt (albeit limited) to shift Islamic education away from such traditional forms to a more Westernised structure.

Reference:

K12 Academics. (2020). History of Madrasahs in Singapore. Retrieved from https://www.k12academics.com/Education%20Worldwide/Education%20in%20Singapore/Madrasahs%20in%20Singapore/history-madrasahs-singapore

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