One Mosque Sector (OMS) Townhall 2026

Mr Kadir Maideen, Chief Executive MUIS
Sohibus Samaha Dr Nazirudin Mohd Nasir, Mufti of Singapore
Mosque and community leaders,
Ladies and gentlemen

Assalamuailakum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatu. Allow me to begin in Malay.

1. Masjid mempunyai tempat yang istimewa dalam kehidupan beragama masyarakat kita.

2. Kita datang ke masjid untuk beribadah dan menimba ilmu. Kita juga datang untuk mencari panduan, membina ukhuwah, mengeratkan silaturahim dan mencari ketenangan apabila melalui saat-saat sukar.

3. Tetapi masyarakat kita sedang berhadapan dengan dunia yang kian berubah. Cabaran yang mereka hadapi juga semakin pelbagai dan rumit.

4. Anak muda hari ini banyak mencari jawapan berkaitan agama di ruang digital.
   Ada keluarga yang bergelut dengan tekanan kehidupan.
   Ada yang menjaga ibu bapa yang semakin uzur.
   Ada juga warga emas yang menjalani kehidupan bersendirian.

5. Jadi persoalan untuk kita hari ini ialah: bagaimana masjid kita boleh terus kekal relevan dan dekat dengan masyarakat, apabila keperluan masyarakat sendiri terus berubah?

6. Masyarakat meletakkan kepercayaan yang besar kepada masjid, asatizah dan para pemimpin kita.

7. Dan, kepercayaan itu adalah satu amanah.

8. Amanah ini menuntut kita bukan sekadar meneruskan apa yang sudah kita lakukan, tetapi sentiasa bertanya, apa lagi yang perlu kita perbaiki, dan bagaimana kita boleh berkhidmat dengan lebih baik lagi?

9. Inilah yang saya harap dapat kita fikirkan bersama hari ini;

   • bagaimana kita boleh membina sektor masjid yang lebih kuat,

   • lebih dekat dengan masyarakat; dan

   • bagaimana kita boleh berkhidmat dengan lebih baik

10. Izinkan saya teruskan dalam bahasa Inggeris

Strong foundations begins with trust

11. I believe our Muslim community is confident, resilient and united. Grounded in Iman, strengthened by Ilmu, shaped by Ihsan, and sure of our Identity. Our mosques, long guided by the 4Is of Iman, Ilmu, Ihsan and Identiti, are central to building and sustaining of our long-standing traditions and foundations of our Muslim community here in Singapore.

12. At the heart of all this is trust. Our community has placed their trust in our mosques, our asatizah and our leaders. It has taken generations to build. In this room I see generations of leaders, some are second or third generations from previous leaders of our mosques – your parents have been involved, and your grandparents have been involved. But, we must never take this for granted. And we must continue to learn of new ways in how we can stay relevant in how we serve and how we lead.

13. Earning that trust today means rethinking what it means to be close to the community. It is no longer enough to open our mosque and engage those who come through its doors. We have to meet people where they are, understand what they are going through, and learn how we can reach them earlier – in our neighbourhoods, through Qaryah networks, and increasingly, in the digital space.  

14. That is a lot to ask of any one mosque. And no mosque should carry this alone. Behind every mosque, stands a wider network – our asatizah, Qaryah leaders, MUIS and our community partners. This is what One Mosque Sector means: different parts of the sector working as one, sharing our strengths and supporting one another so that every mosque can better serve its community.

Responding to changing needs, strengthening our sector

15. Let me share three steps we are taking.

16. First, religious guidance closer to the ground. When a young person asks a difficult question, they should not have to wait or turn to a stranger online. We will appoint Mufti Associates bridging the Office of the Mufti and our mosques across the four districts. They will offer guidance that fits our local context and mentor our Mosque Religious Officers (MROs), so trusted guidance and expertise is closer at hand when it matters.  

17. Second, a listening ear when life gets heavy. Sometimes people need more than a ruling. They are grieving, or their family is struggling, or they are simply overwhelmed. Our asatizah are sometimes the first people they turn to and they can be a steady presence in those moments, listening, praying with them and reminding them they are not alone. Through the Islamic Spiritual Care and Guidance framework, we will equip our asatizah to spot these needs early, provide appropriate care and guide individuals to the right support. MUIS is also partnering PPIS on a research study to better understand how mosques can support various community needs, particularly for seniors, families and youths. This builds on existing efforts between MUIS, PPIS and mosque partners to strengthen the capabilities of MROs in supporting communities and families.

18. Third, reaching families earlier. We now have deployed Family Development Officers in our mosques, so couples, parents and families can get support when they need it. With our community partners, we will also expand programmes such as ARIF, to support more than 500 families by 2027. We want our mosques to be where families come to before a problem becomes a crisis, not only after. We want to intervene and help our families earlier so our mosques would be the first place they think of for help.

19. And where someone cannot come to the mosque, the mosque must go to them. That is the idea behind our Qaryah networks. In District West, for example, Qaryah 2.0 is reaching families in rental housing estates through home-based religious learning. Elsewhere, Qaryahs are finding ways to reach seniors who live alone. The principle is simple: if you cannot easily come to the mosque, we will find a way to bring the mosque closer to you.

Greater reach, greater responsibility

20. If you think of our Qaryahs, you think of them during Ramadan for tarawih prayers, but our Qaryahs are still out there. You can see how you can leverage on them to understand and listen to the community, be the contact point for the mosques as well. All these efforts bring our mosques closer to people's lives. And the closer we are, the greater the trust. Parents trust us with their children. Young people trust our asatizah with their personal questions. Families turn to us in the hardest moments of their lives. That trust is precious and we must protect it.

21. Recent events have shown us how painful it is when it is broken. A sacred space was misused. Young people seeking guidance in our mosque space had their trust broken. It should never have happened.

22. We must learn from it, act on it, and strengthen our safeguards. But safeguards must not make our mosques distant or unwelcoming. We should never have to choose between being open and being safe. Our mosques must be both.

23. Last week, I announced the Committee to Strengthen Safeguards in Religious Settings, led by Ustaz Fathurrahman Dawoed and Associate Professsor Razwana Begum. They had their first meeting two days ago and their work has begun. The Committee will be engaging relevant selected stakeholders such as religious teachers, madrasah staff, parents, young persons including children, to understand how safeguarding currently works in practice, what measures exist, how well they are working, and where the gaps are. This will lead to practical, prioritised recommendations to make religious settings safer for everyone. This is not about adding rules for their own sake. It is about learning from what has happened, building on what already works, and fixing what does not.

24. The value of safeguard lies not only in its design but in its execution and implementation. Do our people know the boundaries expected of them? Does someone feel safe raising a concern? Are warning signs recognised, and acted on quickly? This responsibility cannot rest with the Committee or MUIS alone. It is also the responsibility of every mosque leader, asatizah, staff member and volunteer, especially to protect the young persons and children that parents have entrusted to us.

25. This is our amanah. And we honour it with ihsan – not only by meeting the standard expected of us, but by asking, every day, how can we serve better, and protect better?

Strong mosques, stronger community

26. To our mosque leaders, asatizah, staff, Qaryah leaders and volunteers – thank you.  The trust our community places in our mosques has been built over many generations before us. Today, you carry that trust forward through your service and dedication.

27. Our needs will keep changing, and so must the way we serve – reaching people earlier, supporting them better, protecting them always. Ultimately, the strength of One Mosque Sector will not be measured by how many new initiatives we introduce or how many people we reach, but by something more fundamental: whether our community continues to place its trust in us.

28. Let us earn that trust every day. Let us honour it as an amanah. And let us leave the next generation with mosques that are stronger, closer to community and safer for all – ready to meet the needs of tomorrow.

29. Thank you.