(AhlulBayt News Agency) - Singapore is opening its first Indian Muslim Heritage Centre in May next year. The Centre will be situated in the complex of the Nagore Durgah monument along the Telok Ayer Street in the Central Business District.
The Centre is expected to feature the lifestyle and culture of the Indian Muslim community in Singapore through photographs and stories, along with featuring significant historical events. The authorities of the Centre expect it to serve the purpose of communicating to the younger generation the community’s history. However, the Centre would be open to all in Singapore as ‘the history of the Indian Muslim community is a learning point for all communities’ in the country, according to Mr Naseer Ghani, secretary of the Nagore Durgah Fund-raising Committee. Mr Ghani is also the vice-president of the Federation of Indian Muslims, an umbrella body for 15 Indian Muslim groups in the country.
The Centre will also an eatery run by the halal food chain 'Banquet' serving the traditional cuisine of the Indian Muslim community with the menu including hot-favourites ‘nasi biriyani’ and ‘teh tarik’. It is supposed to take up 20% of the floor space.
The Nagore Durgah monument was built nearly 180 years ago by the Chulia Tamil Muslims, who went to the country for trade, in commemoration of the original Nagore Durgah in Nagapattinam district in coastal Tamil Nadu. The Dargah was built in the memory of Sufi saint Shahul Hamid, who is believed to have contributed much to the spread of Islam in India.
The shrine in Singapore was gazetted as a national monument in 1974 and is one of the 61 buildings protected by the government for their historic value. It has been undergoing a massive renovation for two years, according to reports. It is still visited by Indians to pay respect to the sufi saint and as a connection to their roots.
The shrine is going to be converted into a heritage centre as per an application filed at the Preservation of Monuments Board which was approved in July this year. The leaders of the 60,000-strong Indian Muslim community in the country came together for the setting up of the Heritage Centre. The plans for the centre came up in 1994 when a committee was formed to raise funds, according to reports. Even though a good majority in the community reportedly supports the idea, a small number is suspicious of whether a heritage centre could fully capture the religious tradition associated with the shrine, especially with an eatery included.
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