I think eventually what will defeat the PAP in POWER & INFLUENCE will not be the RP-SDA-NSP-WP-whatever-P, but the rise of mega-religionists riding on the worldwide tide of 'RELIGIOSITY'.
Having 'penetrated' the market place, it has also 'penetrated' public service, finance & professional ranks for a long time already. Best part is, since its 'people power' & 'spirit power' has proven to cause the powers-that-be to think twice, it is obviously a successful model to emulate.
See the following excerpt taken from Asiaone Forums ... this subject matter & its threads has been totally removed 3 times without any reason given ... but secularists remain unbowed ....
Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset;"> Originally Posted by Mark_2008
Agreed!
Obviously this is about investigating organized religion that appears to be minting money under the false pretense of charity, and unlawfully acquiring what is supposed to be public facility.
Wonder why the govt is allowing this christian purchase to go through. because it is christian?
Imagine if kwong ming shan starts to buy vivocity or ngee ann city and converts the central space into a mega altar, burning incense and chanting everyday?
or some big mosque buys Plaza Sing and converts the cinema and food court levels into a large praying hall?
All major religious groups are well-funded, but you don’t see them being so brazen厚脸皮
about their operations. More than 40% of singaporeans are buddhist/taoists; the christians only make up 10%, yet they are allowed to make so much noise regularly.
From show-off real estate purchases, to evangelising ‘harassing’ people in public places,. they like to think they are more educated, better to do, and more enlightened than others.
NKF’s& Ming Ying, are exposed ...We' shall see then....
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Mar 26, 2010
The new face of Islamic teachers
A new breed of Muslim religious teachers is breaking the traditional mould. Unlike their elders and predecessors who teach in small groups in a low-key way, they are adopting innovative methods to reach out to their followers. These range from renting halls for large-scale congregations to acting in telemovies and blogging. Insight meets three ustaz who are creating a buzz in the community.
By Nur Dianah Suhaimi
OPEN TO WINNING IDEAS
'I think we can learn a thing or two from the way Christians worship. There's nothing wrong with learning from others and borrowing their strategies.'
Islamic preacher Fahrurazi Kiayi Kassim
Ustaz Fahrurazi Kiayi Kassim (second picture) can fill an entire exhibition hall at the Singapore Expo (above), with 15,000 followers hanging on to his every word. He holds large-scale sermon gatherings at least three times a year on special occasions such as the beginning of the Islamic new year or during Prophet Muhammad's birthday prayers. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF FAHRURAZI KIAYI KASSIM
View more photos
Charismatic preacher has 15,000 followers
WHEN Ustaz Fahrurazi Kiayi Kassim conducted his first religious class 15 years ago, the few who turned up all dozed off while he was preaching.
Worried and depressed, the then 23-year-old went home and did some reflecting. He realised that his father's 'no nonsense' method of teaching was not working with most people and that people expected to be entertained, even by religious teachers.
His father, Mr Kiayi Kassim Adnan, was a well-known religious teacher who taught many of Singapore's top Islamic clerics.
So the young Fahrurazi learnt to crack some jokes. He befriended the young and started to talk like them and use their lingo.
Today, he has acquired the aura of a charismatic preacher. Such is his popularity that he now counts about 15,000 Muslims as followers, ranging from well-heeled professionals to Indonesian domestic helpers.
His classes at the mosques are often packed, with crowds spilling onto the sidewalks. His Sunday morning classes are meant for young people but elderly housewives and retirees cannot resist turning up.
Ustaz Fahrurazi is now known as the only Muslim preacher in Singapore who can fill an entire exhibition hall at the Singapore Expo, with 15,000 followers hanging on to every word of his joke- peppered sermons.
Guess where he got his inspiration from? The idea of conducting large-scale sermons, he says, came from studying the ways of charismatic churches such as City Harvest.
'I notice that every Sunday, they will rent huge halls at the Singapore Expo and busloads of worshippers will turn up. It's really amazing how they are able to attract so many people.'
He studied City Harvest's logistics and held his first large-scale sermon at Singapore Expo in 2005. He was surprised when more than 15,000 people turned up. His father was so moved by the massive congregation of worshippers that he cried.
Since then, Ustaz Fahrurazi has been holding large-scale sermon gatherings at least three times a year - on special occasions such as the beginning of the Islamic new year or during Prophet Muhammad's birthday prayers.
Each time, he hires about 30 buses to take his followers from all over Singapore to the Singapore Expo near Tanah Merah.
However, his new ways have attracted some criticism. His detractors feel that renting a hall at $30,000 for four hours is wasteful.
Others think there is no need to hold large-scale sermons when smaller gatherings at the mosques are just as effective.
But Ustaz Fahrurazi is unfazed, reasoning that people are more attracted to the less formal setting offered by the exposition halls.
'Some youngsters don't want to go to the mosques because they have to cover up. So going to the Expo for sermons is a good starting point for them,' he says.
As the fifth of eight children who grew up in a kampung in Sixth Avenue, he attended mainstream schools but received daily religious lessons from his father at home.
Disobedience was not tolerated and he was often punished with a few strokes of the rotan, or cane.
Recalling his childhood, he says: 'My father was so strict, we didn't even have a television set at home because he believed it would be a bad influence on us. I would sneak over to the neighbour's house to watch TV. But my father would always find out and cane me when I got home.'
As he grew older, he began to realise that he had inherited his father's passion for Islamic teaching. While his siblings went on to become engineers and teachers, he quit his technician job at Singapore Power after three years to become a full-time religious teacher, teaching small classes at the mosques. He was only 23 then.
Today, apart from teaching, he also runs a travel agency which specialises in Islamic vacations and the haj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. Business is good as many of his followers sign travel packages with his agency.
He has no qualms about enjoying his success. He drives a BMW 3 Series and lives in a five-room flat in Bukit Panjang with his wife and two sons.
'There are always people who think a religious teacher should live like an ascetic. But I don't think we have to live like paupers. We live in Singapore where people have lifestyle aspirations,' he says.
For now, his biggest aspiration is to mobilise Singaporean Muslims to congregate and worship in huge numbers regularly, the way the followers of Christian charismatic churches do. Even Malaysia has not seen such large-scale sermons being organised, he notes.
'I think we can learn a thing or two from the way Christians worship. There's nothing wrong with learning from others and borrowing their strategies.'
[email protected]
Our government’s action in this city harvest’s saga will set the precedence for other prosperity gospel churches to follow and perhaps other religious groups too.
As reported above, we see the emergence of charismatic Muslim preachers and a new trend in Muslim worship. Why shouldn’t the Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, etc all follow suit for the advantages and benefits that they have seen of city harvest so-called 'success' and the non action by our government which some may interpret as 'silent endorsement'..
For Christians, we are seeing the danger of a senior pastor manipulating God’s Word to solicit funds from their congregation. I believe that even though this subject borders on Christian theology, any senior civil servant or Minister should be able to immediately sense that something may be wrong when a senior pastor or priest or ustaz preaches on a sustained basis that his followers give lots of money to his church/temple/mosque and that God will give his followers, "30 folds, 60 folds, a hundred folds".
But I have full trust that the authorities monitoring this thread knows what is happening and will take the necessary action to restore public confidence, social justice and prevent the weak and young from organised manipulation.
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Having 'penetrated' the market place, it has also 'penetrated' public service, finance & professional ranks for a long time already. Best part is, since its 'people power' & 'spirit power' has proven to cause the powers-that-be to think twice, it is obviously a successful model to emulate.
See the following excerpt taken from Asiaone Forums ... this subject matter & its threads has been totally removed 3 times without any reason given ... but secularists remain unbowed ....
Quote:
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td class="alt2" style="border: 1px inset;"> Originally Posted by Mark_2008
Agreed!
Obviously this is about investigating organized religion that appears to be minting money under the false pretense of charity, and unlawfully acquiring what is supposed to be public facility.
Wonder why the govt is allowing this christian purchase to go through. because it is christian?
Imagine if kwong ming shan starts to buy vivocity or ngee ann city and converts the central space into a mega altar, burning incense and chanting everyday?
or some big mosque buys Plaza Sing and converts the cinema and food court levels into a large praying hall?
All major religious groups are well-funded, but you don’t see them being so brazen厚脸皮
about their operations. More than 40% of singaporeans are buddhist/taoists; the christians only make up 10%, yet they are allowed to make so much noise regularly.
From show-off real estate purchases, to evangelising ‘harassing’ people in public places,. they like to think they are more educated, better to do, and more enlightened than others.
NKF’s& Ming Ying, are exposed ...We' shall see then....
</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Mar 26, 2010
The new face of Islamic teachers
A new breed of Muslim religious teachers is breaking the traditional mould. Unlike their elders and predecessors who teach in small groups in a low-key way, they are adopting innovative methods to reach out to their followers. These range from renting halls for large-scale congregations to acting in telemovies and blogging. Insight meets three ustaz who are creating a buzz in the community.
By Nur Dianah Suhaimi
OPEN TO WINNING IDEAS
'I think we can learn a thing or two from the way Christians worship. There's nothing wrong with learning from others and borrowing their strategies.'
Islamic preacher Fahrurazi Kiayi Kassim
Ustaz Fahrurazi Kiayi Kassim (second picture) can fill an entire exhibition hall at the Singapore Expo (above), with 15,000 followers hanging on to his every word. He holds large-scale sermon gatherings at least three times a year on special occasions such as the beginning of the Islamic new year or during Prophet Muhammad's birthday prayers. -- PHOTO: COURTESY OF FAHRURAZI KIAYI KASSIM
View more photos
Charismatic preacher has 15,000 followers
WHEN Ustaz Fahrurazi Kiayi Kassim conducted his first religious class 15 years ago, the few who turned up all dozed off while he was preaching.
Worried and depressed, the then 23-year-old went home and did some reflecting. He realised that his father's 'no nonsense' method of teaching was not working with most people and that people expected to be entertained, even by religious teachers.
His father, Mr Kiayi Kassim Adnan, was a well-known religious teacher who taught many of Singapore's top Islamic clerics.
So the young Fahrurazi learnt to crack some jokes. He befriended the young and started to talk like them and use their lingo.
Today, he has acquired the aura of a charismatic preacher. Such is his popularity that he now counts about 15,000 Muslims as followers, ranging from well-heeled professionals to Indonesian domestic helpers.
His classes at the mosques are often packed, with crowds spilling onto the sidewalks. His Sunday morning classes are meant for young people but elderly housewives and retirees cannot resist turning up.
Ustaz Fahrurazi is now known as the only Muslim preacher in Singapore who can fill an entire exhibition hall at the Singapore Expo, with 15,000 followers hanging on to every word of his joke- peppered sermons.
Guess where he got his inspiration from? The idea of conducting large-scale sermons, he says, came from studying the ways of charismatic churches such as City Harvest.
'I notice that every Sunday, they will rent huge halls at the Singapore Expo and busloads of worshippers will turn up. It's really amazing how they are able to attract so many people.'
He studied City Harvest's logistics and held his first large-scale sermon at Singapore Expo in 2005. He was surprised when more than 15,000 people turned up. His father was so moved by the massive congregation of worshippers that he cried.
Since then, Ustaz Fahrurazi has been holding large-scale sermon gatherings at least three times a year - on special occasions such as the beginning of the Islamic new year or during Prophet Muhammad's birthday prayers.
Each time, he hires about 30 buses to take his followers from all over Singapore to the Singapore Expo near Tanah Merah.
However, his new ways have attracted some criticism. His detractors feel that renting a hall at $30,000 for four hours is wasteful.
Others think there is no need to hold large-scale sermons when smaller gatherings at the mosques are just as effective.
But Ustaz Fahrurazi is unfazed, reasoning that people are more attracted to the less formal setting offered by the exposition halls.
'Some youngsters don't want to go to the mosques because they have to cover up. So going to the Expo for sermons is a good starting point for them,' he says.
As the fifth of eight children who grew up in a kampung in Sixth Avenue, he attended mainstream schools but received daily religious lessons from his father at home.
Disobedience was not tolerated and he was often punished with a few strokes of the rotan, or cane.
Recalling his childhood, he says: 'My father was so strict, we didn't even have a television set at home because he believed it would be a bad influence on us. I would sneak over to the neighbour's house to watch TV. But my father would always find out and cane me when I got home.'
As he grew older, he began to realise that he had inherited his father's passion for Islamic teaching. While his siblings went on to become engineers and teachers, he quit his technician job at Singapore Power after three years to become a full-time religious teacher, teaching small classes at the mosques. He was only 23 then.
Today, apart from teaching, he also runs a travel agency which specialises in Islamic vacations and the haj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. Business is good as many of his followers sign travel packages with his agency.
He has no qualms about enjoying his success. He drives a BMW 3 Series and lives in a five-room flat in Bukit Panjang with his wife and two sons.
'There are always people who think a religious teacher should live like an ascetic. But I don't think we have to live like paupers. We live in Singapore where people have lifestyle aspirations,' he says.
For now, his biggest aspiration is to mobilise Singaporean Muslims to congregate and worship in huge numbers regularly, the way the followers of Christian charismatic churches do. Even Malaysia has not seen such large-scale sermons being organised, he notes.
'I think we can learn a thing or two from the way Christians worship. There's nothing wrong with learning from others and borrowing their strategies.'
[email protected]
Our government’s action in this city harvest’s saga will set the precedence for other prosperity gospel churches to follow and perhaps other religious groups too.
As reported above, we see the emergence of charismatic Muslim preachers and a new trend in Muslim worship. Why shouldn’t the Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, etc all follow suit for the advantages and benefits that they have seen of city harvest so-called 'success' and the non action by our government which some may interpret as 'silent endorsement'..
For Christians, we are seeing the danger of a senior pastor manipulating God’s Word to solicit funds from their congregation. I believe that even though this subject borders on Christian theology, any senior civil servant or Minister should be able to immediately sense that something may be wrong when a senior pastor or priest or ustaz preaches on a sustained basis that his followers give lots of money to his church/temple/mosque and that God will give his followers, "30 folds, 60 folds, a hundred folds".
But I have full trust that the authorities monitoring this thread knows what is happening and will take the necessary action to restore public confidence, social justice and prevent the weak and young from organised manipulation.
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