tudung issue In early 2002, the Ministry of Education suspended two female Muslim students from a primary school for breaking school- uniform rules by wearing tudungs (Muslim headscarves) to class. Two other girls were later also suspended, wearing tudungs two weeks into the school year. Many devout Muslims consider the donning of the tudung obligatory once a girl reaches puberty. In these cases, however, the girls had not reached puberty.

The parents of the girls involved in this issue felt the government was denying them freedom of religion. The government’s stance was that national schools were secular, and that school uniforms were an important means of building unity amongst students of different racial, religious and social backgrounds. The government also encouraged the parents to send the girls back to school in proper uniform. Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) issued a statement advising Muslim parents to prioritize their children’s education. One of the girls eventually went back to school without her tudung, while the other three attended private schools. The issue sparked a year- long public debate about the practice of religion in a secular state.

See also Islam and multiracialism.