Influence of madrasahs on national identity in Singapore.

As a country that has achieved 45 years of independence, the construction of Singapore’s national identity is still an ongoing effort. As such, this research paper investigates the views of polytechnic students formerly from Madrasahs on how the religious institution influences their national identity. This paper is based on 16 face-to-face interviews with polytechnic students who formerly attended 10-11 years of full-time Madrasah. Apart from that, this report is also substantiated with newspaper articles and organisational reports that are connected to this research paper. Through the interviews, this research found that (1) madrasah focuses on the cultivation of Muslim identity, (2) values associated with being a Singaporean is primarily taught through ukhrawi subjects and (3) the Muslim identity becoming a ‘reflexive-project’ (Giddens 1991) as these students constantly reflect upon their self so as to project a Muslim identity that is compatible with the Singapore national identity. Unlike other academic papers concerning Madrasah education, this paper offers an insight of the students’ assessment of how their Madrasahs influence their national identity.Bachelor of Art