Singapore
Singapore, an island state in Southeast Asia, is between Malaysia and Indonesia. The ethnic distribution of the country's population is 74% Chinese, 14% Malay, 9% Indian, and 3% Other.
Until the British colonialism that started in the first quarter of the 19th century, Singapore was inhabited by Malays and had a small population, but as it became a trade center during the British colonial period, it was flooded with immigrants from India, Indonesia and Malaysia, and mainly China, and gradually became a cosmopolitan region. Thus, Muslims became a minority in the region, even though they were the original inhabitants.
Today, the majority of Muslims in Singapore are Malays. Apart from the Malays, there are also a small number of Muslims of Indian, Indonesian, and Middle Eastern origin. The proportion of Muslims in the total population is around 15-16%, which means that around 1 million Muslims live in the country. The majority of Muslims follow the Shafi'i school, as in the Malay world, but there are also a small number of followers of other schools.
After the Muslims became a minority during the colonial period, various laws were passed and organizations were established from the 1880s onwards to represent the Muslim community and run religious affairs. After independence, the legal issues of Muslims were regulated by law in 1966, and two years later, the representation authority of the Muslim community was given to the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura).
Muslims of Malay origin, who are the indigenous people of the country, are socioeconomically disadvantaged compared to the country in general, while Muslims of foreign backgrounds have higher levels of education and welfare. Despite being among the richest countries in the world in terms of per capita national income, it should not be assumed that the Muslim community in Singapore possesses such a level of prosperity. However, there is an established structure in terms of religious education, worship, and daily life practices in the country.
