by N My husband S and I would like to pride ourselves on preserving tradition… somewhat. We always ensure our home is all decked out and ready for major festivals. During the Chinese New Year season, red adorns the outside of our home, with chun lian to bring in great luck for the year. During…
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by Sukayna A The topic of sectarian differences is no stranger to me. I was born into a Shia Malay-Muslim Singaporean family. My parents were Sunnis prior to their marriage, but along the way transitioned into the Jaafari Mazhab (within the Shii’ sect). Even as Shiites, my parents had sent me to a Sunni madrasah for…
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by Firqin Sumartono When I was in university discussing available scholarships for graduate school with a friend, I suggested that she look within her community for available scholarships, since that was what I was doing. She replied and looked at me as if I understood what she was implying, “Chinese scholarships are so competitive! Everyone’s…
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Kuralgal by Nadyanna Majeed “Half Indian, half Chinese, how come Muslim?” “Your IC what race?” Indian, following grandfather. “Mother tongue what then?” Malay. “Huh?! Why?!” The questions never end, even from myself. 老师，早安。 Selamat hari, Cikgu. Why can’t I complete that last one-third? “Indian cannot speak Tamil? How can liddat?” “Take Malay because easy, that’s…
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by Atifa Othman The words of someone’s father once slammed me in my face like a truck when he assumed I was leeching his son’s money and influencing him to do drugs. He wasn’t the only parent to think that of me. I recently stirred problems because of the exact same assumptions by someone else’s…
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(This story is one of many in the book Perempuan: Muslim Women Speak Out. Click the link to buy a copy!) by Raudah binte Abdul Rashid ___ Be understanding of the cultures and practises of others Bonding session with senior management and the food served had pork. Me: Oh ok. Ya, I wasn’t hungry anyway.…
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Beyond The Hijab 