SINGAPORE: On Wednesday, November 8, Minister of Law and the Arts, K Shanmugam, highlighted the significance of spiritual leaders in weighing in on issues affecting residents of their populations.
Speaking at a gathering put on by the Inter-Religious Organization ( IRO ), Mr. Shanmugam stated that there had recently been remarks that religious leaders should not be involved in providing guidance or advice on the situation in Israel and Gaza.  , The secretary omitted to mention the origin of these remarks.
The occurrence, the Singapore debut of locally produced video” Technologies of the Soul,” was organized by the IRO, a non-governmental organization founded by officials of various beliefs with the stated goal of working towards religious unity.
The special guest at the screen, Mr. Shanmugam, discussed how religious officials in other nations behave differently than those in Singapore.
He noted reports of more than 1, 000 anti-Semitic works in France and a ten-fold increase  in Muslim attitude in Australia.” We have also seen how speech by religious leaders may aggravate, rather than reduce conflicts,” he said.
” We can be grateful that things have so far been very diverse in Singapore. A bit of it has been done on purpose over the years; it is not by accident. And one of the main causes of this is the advice provided by our spiritual leaders.
The social issue in Palestine is what is happening. And the truth is, according to Mr. Shanmugam, there are performers from all sides who misuse church for their own political gain.
” Catholic leaders, and the IRO have a responsibility and important work to guide our communities in this region, given that faith is being invoked by many around the world.”
He continued,” For Singapore, the priority must be to uphold and maintain harmony and peace in the community.”