Workers’ Party MPs share anecdotes from Sengkang mosque visit ahead of Ramadan

Ahead of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Members of Parliament (MPs) from the Workers’ Party (WP) on Sunday (11 Apr) paid a visit to the Al-Mawaddah Mosque in Sengkang to learn more about the work carried out by the mosque for the community.

In a Facebook post yesterday, Sengkang GRC MP, He Ting Ru said that the focus of and activities at the Al-Mawaddah Mosque — known as the loving and affectionate mosque — “very much reflect the younger demographics of their congregants in Sengkang”.

One of the unique features of the mosque, located at 151 Compassvale Bow, is the permanent wedding dais, she said.

A wedding dais, known as pelamin in Malay, is a raised platform where the bride and groom will usually be seated. However, the dais is temporarily unavailable due to the current prohibition of communal dining, said Ms He.

“We also learnt about the work the mosque does within the community, from conducting religious classes on the weekend to looking out for low-income families,” she added.

Ms He also said that she and her fellow Sengkang GRC MPs — Jamus Lim, Louis Chua and Raeesah Khan — were “extremely honoured to be the guests” of the mosque, together with WP chief Pritam Singh and his fellow Aljunied GRC MP, Faisal Manap.

“Thank you to Ustaz Firdaus and the rest of the board for sharing with us, explaining the various adaptions to be made due to the ongoing pandemic, and taking time out of your preparations for the start of Ramadan tomorrow evening. We look forward to learning more as we work together with our Sengkang community,” she said.

In a Facebook post of his own on Sunday, Assoc Prof Lim said that while he has “many fond memories” of his time in Abu Dhabi, one of the things he misses “is the early morning adhan: the Muslim call to prayer”.

“Especially when set against the blazing sunrises and sunsets—Arabic sunsets are stunning, owing to the drier desert air, which permits more vivid color wavelengths to pass through—the haunting melodies of a solo voice, calling the faithful, are something to behold,” he said.

“Although we didn’t get to enjoy the adhan at Masjid Al-Mawaddah this morning, #TeamSengkang and #TeamAljunied gathered to visit the mosque and connect with a number of representatives for the Muslim community in #SengkangGRC,” said Assoc Prof Lim.