Mosque leaders discuss progress made on five-year masterplan since 2011

SINGAPORE - Mosque leaders and key staff from 68 mosques attended the 49th Mosques Council Meeting on Saturday, where they were given an update on the progress made since the five-year plan for mosques was unveiled in 2011.

Minister for Communication and Information and Minister In-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim also held a closed-door dialogue session with the leaders at Sultan Mosque, and a panel discussion was chaired by Haji Abdul Razak Maricar, chief executive of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis).

Haji Abdul Razak said in a speech that nearly half of the 29 recommendations agreed on in the Convention have been successfully implemented. Achievements include developing more leaders and offering integrated services to the community through Nadi Khidmat centres.

Nearly 100 mosque officers have undergone a Certificate in Mosque Management, with two mosques starting new social development programmes in their communities. Another 150 officers will undergo the programme by next year.

Dr Yaacob said a key challenge was how to enhance the quality of the experience for people visiting a mosque, "so that everytime they walk into a mosque they want to come back".

He also said he had asked the mosque community to "think about what they can do to remember our pioneers as part of the 50th anniversary celebration".

"I'm not in favour of large dinners and a big entertainment event, but it's really an occasion where we can honour our pioneers and their contributions so that the younger generation recognises that what we see today is on the back of the hard work of our earlier pioneers."

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