Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
7-2009
Abstract
The focus of Singapore's response to terrorism post 9/11 has been to reach out to the “moderate, mainstream” Muslims as a bulwark against societal implosion. This article examines the broad-based endeavor toward “religious moderation.” While coercive draconian legislation remain the mainstay against extremists and radicals, the mobilization of soft law, aspirational norms, and values are consciously woven into the state's endeavors to enhance society's resilience and cohesion. They also seek to regulate religious conduct at a time when the state wishes to entrench secularism as a cornerstone of the governance of a multi-racial, multireligious society. Rights and regulation are not antithetical to each other; they are integral to the entire process of managing sociopolitical risks that presents a real danger of an incivility spiral in which distrust, fear, and suspicion conspire toward societal breakdown.
Discipline
Asian Studies | Public Law and Legal Theory | Public Policy | Religion Law
Publication
Law and Policy
Volume
31
Issue
3
First Page
351
Last Page
379
ISSN
0265-8240
Identifier
10.1111/j.1467-9930.2009.00294.x
Publisher
Wiley
Citation
TAN, Eugene K. B..
From Clampdown to Limited Empowerment: Hard and Soft Law in the Calibration and Regulation of Religious Conduct in Singapore. (2009). Law and Policy. 31, (3), 351-379.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/918
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9930.2009.00294.x
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, Public Law and Legal Theory Commons, Public Policy Commons, Religion Law Commons