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.
Keywords
religious moderation, secular governance, soft law and regulation, social cohesion, sociopolitical risk management
Discipline
Law and Politics | Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility
Research Areas
Public Interest Law, Community and Social Justice; Legal Theory, Ethics and Legal Education; Public Law
Publication
Law & 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
EUGENE, Tan K. B..
From clampdown to limited empowerment: Hard and soft law in the calibration and regulation of religious conduct in Singapore. (2009). Law & Policy. 31, (3), 351-379.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4783
Copyright Owner and License
Contributor and Singapore Academy of Law
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