Khadijah Mosque, one of Singapore’s oldest, to be revamped
One of Singapore's oldest mosques, home to a resource and counselling centre for countering extremism, will be renovated to better serve the community.
The Khadijah Mosque in Aljunied, which was built in 1920 and underwent major preservation works in 2001, will get a new facade that will expand the resource centre come mid-2023.
An outdoor gallery, multi-purpose hall and new entrance and reception area will be added.
These plans were announced at an event yesterday, attended by Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, several ministers and Muslim leaders, and members of the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) that runs the centre.
In a speech, Mr Heng underscored the pivotal role played by the mosque in supporting the RRG's work, as well as the RRG's critical role in building understanding and tolerance, given the deepening fault lines along race and religion in many societies.
"The Resource and Counselling Centre serves not only to provide visitors with a better appreciation of global terrorism, but also an opportunity to understand the actual message that Islam teaches its followers - that of peace," said Mr Heng.
"This is why we have peace and harmony in Singapore."
The Resource and Counselling Centre, which opened in 2014, allows members of the public to seek clarifications on radical ideology and violent extremism, and get counselling. It also stores resource materials that RRG counsellors refer to in their work with radicalised individuals.
Mr Heng noted that prior to Covid-19, the centre's gallery, which can only accommodate 30 visitors at a time, had welcomed a remarkable 15,000-plus visitors.
RRG vice-chairman, Ustaz Mohamed Ali, said the expansion is needed because of the rising number of visitors and the wider variety of its counter-radicalisation activities in the community.
Mr Heng also noted that Singapore's diverse society has remained harmonious and cohesive not by chance, but because of a determined collective effort, and thanked the Muslim community for its contributions on this front.
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