Earlier on Sunday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it had ordered Meta to disable access to social media posts containing a video of a man stepping on the Quran.
Acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Faishal Ibrahim, who was also at the Khatib event, denounced actions that deliberately insult any religion, saying they have “no place in Singapore”.
“An insult to one religion affects all other religions and their communities, because it undermines the mutual respect that holds our society together,” said Assoc Prof Faishal, who is also Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs.
He said Singapore’s social fabric is precious and must be protected.
“Acts like these only serve to sow discord and erode the trust that we have worked hard to build in our multiracial and multireligious society,” he added.
The incident is believed to have taken place on a public bus in Singapore.
While the original video is no longer available, it was reposted and shared on other social media platforms, MHA said.
MHA said it takes a strong stance against threats to Singapore’s racial and religious harmony.
“We will not tolerate such behaviour, and offenders will be dealt with swiftly and firmly,” it added.
MHA and the Singapore Police Force assessed that the content of the video constitutes an offence of insulting the religion of another person in Singapore under Section 17F(4) of the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act 1990.
In view of the religiously offensive social media posts, the police issued Disabling Directions under the Online Criminal Harms Act 2023 (OCHA) to Meta to deal with the content.
Police investigations are ongoing.
IMPACT OF WAR IN MIDDLE EAST
Asked about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Mr Shanmugam said the impact on the thousands affected by the war has been “huge”.
He also pointed to the economic impact globally, including on Singapore, citing risks to energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
“(Oil and gas prices have) already gone up, and they are likely to go up further, because some of the energy ministers from Gulf countries have talked about the situation. At least one has said there might be a stop to the flow of oil and gas,” he said.
Mr Shanmugam added that with so much dependent on energy, the knock-on effects would be felt by people, businesses and economies around the world.
He also pointed to uncertainty over how long the war could last, noting that recent statements suggest it may extend beyond earlier predictions of three to four weeks.
“America and Israel probably know what the aims are, but from a public perspective, that’s not clear to me; looking at the public statements, what the war aims are,” he said.
This “substantial element of uncertainty” is bad for both the Middle East and the rest of the world, he said.
“Wars usually are bad for people involved as well as others who are impacted. But in this case, it is quite a lot of people around the world affected,” said Mr Shanmugam.