The tamil muslim dilemma

Abstract

The corporatist politics of multiculturalism in Singapore in the 1980s has facilitated the ethnoracialization of Singaporeans and the revitalization of ethnicity. Being neither Malay nor Indian, Tamil Muslims in Singapore are marginalized to the interstices between the ‘Malay’ and ‘Indian’ categories in the official CMIO (Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Others) quadratomy and face an identity crisis. In applying CMIO multiculturalism, the state has sought to essentialize Tamil Muslim identity through its cultural policies and the state-sponsored MUIS, the Islamic Religious Council. This includes MUIS’ attempt to establish an umbrella organization to unify the 17 Tamil Muslim subcommunities. This has met with limited success, aggravated differences amongst Tamil Muslim leaders, and divided the Tamil Muslim community.