MUIS to strengthen religious guidance, spiritual care and family support at mosques

Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad stressed the importance of safeguarding the trust that families and young people place in mosques and religious teachers.

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10 Oct 2026 04:10PM

SINGAPORE: The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) is introducing new initiatives to strengthen religious guidance, spiritual care and community support at mosques, as it seeks to better respond to the changing needs of the Muslim community.

These include appointing Mufti Associates across four mosque districts, developing an Islamic Spiritual Care and Guidance framework, and expanding community outreach through Qaryah networks, or local Muslim community groups.

The initiatives were announced at the One Mosque Sector Townhall on Saturday (Oct 10), which brought together about 350 mosque and Qaryah leaders and officers for a dialogue with Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Zaqy Mohamad.

Mr Zaqy also stressed the importance of safeguarding the trust that families and young people place in mosques and religious teachers.

"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," he said.

"We must learn from it, act on it, and strengthen our safeguards. But safeguards must not make our mosques distant or unwelcoming," he added.

"We should never have to choose between being open and being safe. Our mosques must be both."

His remarks came after a case involving the sexual abuse of two young boys by a self-styled religious mentor, who is not an accredited religious teacher, conducting religious lessons at a mosque.

The 37-year-old offender was sentenced in August to 27 years and 10 months' jail and 24 strokes of the cane.

Mr Zaqy earlier said that the offender was neither a mosque staff member or volunteer, nor an accredited religious teacher under the Asatizah Recognition Scheme (ARS) and was not conducting a formal religious class organised or approved by the mosque.

Following the case, MUIS announced measures to strengthen security at mosques, including patrols and CCTV monitoring.

MUFTI ASSOCIATES ACROSS FOUR MOSQUE DISTRICTS

The initiatives announced on Saturday were part of a broader effort under the One Mosque Sector to bring help closer to the Muslim community as its needs evolve, while strengthening collaboration among mosques, asatizah, Qaryah networks and community partners.

Four District Office of Mufti Associates will be appointed to serve Singapore's four mosque districts.

They will provide more localised religious guidance and mentor Mosque Religious Officers (MROs), acting as a bridge between individual mosques and the Office of the Mufti.

MUIS said this would give mosque officers stronger support when responding to religious questions and emerging issues in the community.

The Mufti Associates will work alongside MUIS' Religious Content and Guidance unit, which will oversee religious content and guidance standards, while the associates will support their delivery across the four mosque districts.

SPIRITUAL CARE FRAMEWORK

MUIS is also developing a structured Islamic Spiritual Care and Guidance framework to establish a more consistent approach to spiritual care across the mosque sector.

Asatizah and MROs will be trained to identify people's spiritual care needs, provide appropriate religious and spiritual guidance, and connect them with professional or community services when additional support is required.

The support is intended to complement care provided by counsellors, healthcare professionals and social service agencies.

Implementation will begin with 20 MROs across four pilot mosques undergoing structured training in spiritual care.

The four pilot mosques are expected to be ready by the second quarter of 2027. The pilots will allow MUIS to refine the framework before effective approaches are progressively expanded across the mosque sector.

The framework is intended to address complex needs including family difficulties, end-of-life care, rehabilitation and social isolation.

MUIS is also working with PPIS on a study examining how mosques can better support seniors, families and young people, including those dealing with caregiving, illness, bereavement, family difficulties and social isolation.

SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES

Four Family Development Officers have also been deployed to Al-Khair Mosque, An-Nur Mosque, Al-Falah Mosque and Darul Ghufran Mosque.

Together with AMP Singapore, a non-profit organisation serving the Muslim community, they will enhance the delivery of the ARIF programme, which is expected to support more than 500 families by 2027 through parenting programmes, fathering support and marriage enrichment programmes.

The four mosques will act as first-stop centres for Muslim couples seeking help.

MUIS is also expanding its Qaryah networks to reach residents who may be less connected to mosque programmes.

For instance, in District West, Qaryah 2.0 is reaching families in rental housing estates through home-based religious education, while QaryahKITA has been rolled out at five locations to serve the broader community.

Later this year, Masjid Hasanah at Teban Gardens will pilot Qaryah Emas to connect seniors with their local mosque and strengthen their social networks.

SAFEGUARDS COMMITTEE BEGINS WORK

Mr Zaqy also gave an update on the Committee to Strengthen Safeguards in Religious Settings, which he previously announced.

The committee held its first meeting on Thursday and has begun its work.

It will engage selected stakeholders including religious teachers, madrasah staff, parents, young people and children to understand existing safeguards, assess how well they work and identify gaps.

This will inform "practical, prioritised recommendations" to make religious settings safer, Mr Zaqy said.

He added that having safeguards in place was not enough if they were not properly implemented.

"Do our people know the boundaries expected of them? Does someone feel safe raising a concern? Are warning signs recognised, and acted on quickly?" he said.

"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."