Muslim Students to Study Sexuality in Singapore

SINGAPORE, September 19, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – A textbook focusing on sexuality and emotions for Muslim teenagers will be introduced in Islamic religious education classes in November at mosques and private centers, Singapore’s largest Muslim body confirmed Monday, September 19.
The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) is putting out the book as part of a bid to jazz up religious instruction, the khaleej Times online reported Monday.
The book, with “X-rated” on its cover, and workshops are aimed at discussing previously taboo issues with religious teachers.
They are part of a revamp of religious education for Muslim youth.
Sexuality education is an integral aspect of becoming an adult, Farah Mahamood Aljunied, head of the council’s Islamic Education Strategic Unit, told The Straits Times.
It enables students to discuss such issues as boy-girl relationships in a religious framework, she said.
The approach aims to further convince Muslim teenagers to abstain from premarital sex, the paper said.
Farah added that several religious centers in Middle Eastern countries have open question-and-answer sessions with experienced teachers.
Thirteen mosques and nine centers in Singapore plan to offer the program including the book, the paper added.
From an Islamic point of view, sex education means informing a young man and woman about how to satisfy sexual desires innate in them according to the laws established by Almighty Allah, IOL fatwa section reads.
It is natural that such kind of education must exist in the Muslim societies since it aims, originally, at teaching a Muslim the morals of Islam and its rulings, it added.
Training
The council is also training instructors to be more approachable and engaging.
“Ask your friendly trainers those X-rated questions that you’ve always wanted to ask,” the course textbook urges.
“Just remember to keep it decent and proper, all right?”
MUIS was established in 1968, when the Administration of Muslim Law Act came into effect in Singapore .
It advises the President of Singapore on all matters relating to Islam.
Chief among its other functions are administration of mosques, distribution of Zakah and issuance of fatwas.
Singapore lies in southeastern Asia and is mainly islands between Malaysia and Indonesia .
Muslims in the country number about 450,000 to 500,000, making around 14 to 15 percent of the population.
Chinese make 76.7% of the population, Malay 14%, Indian 7.9%, and other 1.4%.
Chinese Buddhists are the majority, followed by Muslim Malays, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Taoist, and Confucianist.
Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but was separated two years later and became independent.
It subsequently became one of the world’s most prosperous countries with strong international trading links (its port is the world’s busiest in terms of tonnage handled) and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe , according to the CIA’s Fact Book.
It enjoys a remarkably open and corruption-free environment, stable prices. Its economy depends heavily on exports, particularly in electronics and manufacturing.