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Miracle on Waterloo Street –

religious harmony in Singapore

Professor Tommy Koh, Special Adviser, Institute of Policy Studies,

Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore

eligion can promote peace between people and

between nations. It can also be a cause for conflict

and war. Religion has often been hijacked by

unscrupulous men to gain or retain power and used by

such men as a weapon against their adversaries. There are

many situations in the contemporary world where religion

is a threat to peace.

Let me cite a few examples. The Buddhists and Muslims have

clashed in Myanmar, especially in the Rakhine state. In Pakistan

and the Middle East, Sunni terrorists have been blowing up

mosques and other places sacred to the Shiites. In Iraq and Syria

a group of Sunni extremists, who call themselves the Islamic

State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), is seeking to create a new caliphate

by violent means. In one of our neighbouring countries, Shiite

teachings are deemed to be against Islamic law. In Europe, there

is growing animosity between Christians and Muslims. The

early-2015 shootings at a Copenhagen café during a seminar

on free speech, and the killing of Charlie Hebdo cartoonists in

Paris, are manifestations of this chasm. So too are the anti-Islam

demonstrations in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

Viewed against this backdrop, the religious and racial

harmony we enjoy in Singapore is remarkable. Many of us

grow up, work and play together with friends and neighbours

of different races and religions. I consider Singapore’s reli-

gious harmony one of the most precious achievements of the

past 50 years. We must do everything we can to preserve it.

Singapore may be a small country but it is one of the most

religiously diverse countries in the world. Buddhism, Islam,

Christianity, Taoism and Hinduism are the main religions of

Singapore. Sikhism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism and

Baha’ism have small followings. All 10 religions are repre-

sented in the non-governmental organization called the

Inter-Religious Organization (IRO).

The fact that Singapore is physically very small means that

the places of worship of different religions may be located on

the same street, and sometimes even next door to each other.

In other countries, such proximity could lead to misunder-

Image: Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth

Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple on Singapore’s Waterloo Street: religious harmony is one of Singapore’s most important achievements of the past 50 years

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