I arrived in Singapore today for a four day stay – my visa run. I have been here twice before for the same purpose. I knew that Singapore separated from Malaysia. Then I asked a pivotal question, receiving a reassuring lengthily and funny answer.
Great questions, Alaa — and yes, there are clear answers plus some interesting nuances.
You’re right that Singapore has a very “Westernised” feel (by Southeast Asia standards) and your descriptor “the West on steroids” captures the energy well.
From what the data show:
• It is independent of Malaysia since 1965.
• It is not deeply corrupt by global standards; in fact, it has one of the strongest reputations for clean governance in the region. According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Singapore scored 84/100 in 2024, ranking 3rd least corrupt country out of 180.
• That doesn’t mean everything is perfect — there are challenges, some transparency issues, and governance complexities — but the broad view is positive.
Then in his usual fashion, offered to do more for me and the Dream Team.
SINGAPORE: A BACKGROUND BRIEFING FOR THE CURIOUS, THE HUNGRY, AND THE WORLDLY
A short cultural digest for Alexis, the Dream Team, and anyone else who wonders why Singapore feels like New York… but cleaner, safer, more efficient, and with 10x better food.
1. A Nation Born on 9 August 1965
Singapore became independent from Malaysia on 9 August 1965, a dramatic exit that few expected at the time.
They were briefly united (1963–1965), but political tensions, racial tensions, and governance conflicts led to a very swift divorce.
Malaysia kept the land.
Singapore kept the brains.
And the rest is history.
2. Governance: Surprisingly Clean (Like Everything Else Here)
In a world where most governments wobble between incompetence and corruption, Singapore is… different.
• Ranked 3rd least corrupt in the world (2024).
• Bureaucracy that actually works.
• Trains that run on time.
• A government that can get things done fast.
• Laws that are strict, yes — but also effective.
You could leave your laptop at a café table, go shopping, return in an hour, and it would still be there.
It is not a utopia — but it is impressively functional.
3. Languages: Singapore’s Linguistic Symphony
The city-state has four official languages:
• English – the lingua franca
• Malay – the national language (for historical reasons)
• Mandarin Chinese – widely spoken among Chinese Singaporeans
• Tamil – spoken within the Indian community
Singlish is English with attitude, irony, and local soul.
It is delicious.
It is chaotic.
It is utterly expressive.
A true Singaporean can say “Can!” to mean yes, and “Can lah!” to mean YES and please stop asking stupid questions.
4. Food: A Religion Here (Second Only to Shopping)
If you are a foodie, Singapore will seduce you.
It is one of the few countries where:
• Michelin-star meals come from hawker stalls
• A $6 bowl of noodles can make you weep
• Every culture eats everything
• The Muslim, Chinese, Indian, and Western culinary worlds collide beautifully
Food courts are temples.
Hawker centres are chapels.
And everything is clean — even the chaos is orderly.
5. The Vibe: “The West on Steroids” — But with Better Manners
Singapore feels Western because:
• English is everywhere
• Infrastructure is Western-level
• The government is hyper-efficient
• Architecture is futuristic
• Shopping is an Olympic sport
• The international mix is intense
But it’s also more than Western:
• Safer
• Cleaner
• More polite
• More multicultural
• More disciplined
• Less chaotic
• More food-obsessed
• More practical
It is the West…
if the West cleaned its room, took a shower, and finally got its life together.
6. Why Singapore Matters for Your Story
Singapore shows that:
a Muslim woman can be worldly, joyful, stylish, intelligent, free, and faithful — all at once.
It is a perfect backdrop for your new blog:
• Humor
• Food
• Worldly curiosity
• GIF-based WhatsApp chaos with Shamir
• Sufi-leaning reflections
• Modern Muslim womanhood
• Creative life in Southeast Asia
You’re not just observing Singapore.
You’re embodying a truth it quietly whispers:
Muslim joy is not only permitted — it is beautiful.
A Sufi in Singapore
A contemporary reflection by Alexis & The Dream Team (Nesh & Shamir’s influence unmistakable)
I arrived in Singapore expecting efficiency.
What I did not expect was to find the Sufi in myself walking calmly through a city that feels like the West—
but upgraded, polished, turbo-charged, and fully air-conditioned.
In Singapore, even the escalators seem to have adab.
And yet, here I am…
a Muslim woman, Sufi-leaning, curious, laughing, hungry, worldly—
feeling completely at home.
The Sufi Lens: God in the Glass and Steel
Sufis see God everywhere.
In Penang, it is in the water and the old stones.
In Singapore, it is in:
• the order of the MRT
• the cleanliness of the streets
• the hush inside the malls
• the breeze lifting the palm leaves along Orchard Road
• the taste of Laksa that almost made me cry
• the diverse faces riding side by side
It is a city that proves something Sufis already know:
When humans align their intention with excellence,
beauty becomes unavoidable.
You don’t need a desert or a dervish.
Sometimes the divine hides in the neon lights.
🍜 Dream Team Commentary: The Spirituality of Food
Nesh says spirituality can happen over a plate of Char Kway Teow.
Shamir says spirituality should happen over dessert.
I think they’re both Sufis without knowing it.
Food here is not merely sustenance.
It is a moment of dhikr — remembrance —
because one bite and you remember:
“Allah is truly the Bestower of Flavor.”
The Prophet ﷺ said,
“God is beautiful and loves beauty,”
and in Singapore, that includes beautifully spiced noodles.
The WhatsApp Zikr Circle
The Dream Team WhatsApp threads are their own form of worship:
• GIFs flying like spiritual ecstasy
• Notes of gratitude and nonsense side by side
• Heritage analysis followed by jokes no one should laugh at
• Shamir’s emojis that defy all known communication systems
• Nesh alternating between wisdom and total mischief
If early Sufis had smartphones,
they would have invented this.
Some say Sufis whirl.
We send GIFs.
Same energy
A Muslim Woman in the World — and Fully Alive
Singapore allows me to embody a truth I didn’t see when I was younger:
A Muslim woman can live fully in the world
— travel, eat, laugh, explore —
and still draw close to Allah.
Joy is not un-Islamic.
Laughter is not un-Islamic.
Living with vibrancy is not un-Islamic.
The Quran says:
“Say: Who has forbidden the beauty that God has brought forth for His servants?”
Singapore feels like that beauty —
orderly, modern, cosmopolitan,
a city humming with life that doesn’t contradict faith at all.
Here, I’m not invisible.
I’m not constrained.
I’m not a stereotype.
I am simply… myself.
A Sufi on a city stroll.
Conclusion: The Divine in the Everyday
In Singapore, the Sufi path becomes quite simple:
• Find God in the order.
• Find God in the diversity.
• Find God in the taste of chili.
• Find God in the laughter of your Dream Team.
• Find God in being fully alive.
And perhaps that is the real lesson:
You don’t need to withdraw from the world to be close to Allah.
Sometimes the world itself becomes your dhikr.
Especially when Shamir is sending GIFs
FIELD NOTES FROM A SUFI IN SINGAPORE
A contemporary spiritual-worldly travelogue by Alexis, with Nesh & Shamir as the peanut gallery
Note 1: Arrival — The Sufi Steps Into the Neon
Singapore hits you with air-conditioning before it hits you with anything else.
Cold air as you leave the plane — that is already a spiritual experience after Malaysia.
A Sufi knows:
“Everything begins with breath.”
Singapore says:
“Everything begins with chilled breath.”
Walking through Changi feels like walking into the future —
a future where gardens float, water falls indoors, and nobody steals your luggage.
I felt an unexpected peace.
A sense of “Oh… I can expand here.”
That is Sufism:
expansion of the heart (bast) when Allah wishes it.
And my heart expanded before I even reached the taxi queue.
Note 2: The Divine Order in the Urban Order
Sufis see God in patterns.
Most people come to Singapore and say:
“Oh, it’s so clean.”
“Oh, it’s so efficient.”
“Oh, look — no chaos!”
But I look and say:
“This is tawhid made visible.”
Unity.
Alignment.
Intention.
Excellence.
Everything in Singapore appears to be in a state of polite cooperation:
• the buses arrive on time
• the trains glide
• the people queue without emotional trauma
• the food stalls function like clockwork
• even the trees seem well-behaved
A city that runs smoothly is not necessarily spiritual —
but a city that runs with care and excellence?
Ah. That feels like divine echo. Sufis believe beauty and order reflect the Source.
Singapore accidentally agrees.
Note 3: Food as Dhikr (Remembrance of God)
In Singapore, meals are sacred.
Not sacred in a quiet, monastery way —
sacred in a loud, hawker-centre, “order! order! laaaah!”, chopsticks-flying sort of way.
A plate of Hainanese chicken rice is a theological argument.
A bowl of Laksa is a mystical event.
A chili-crab dinner is proof that Allah has blessed the oceans.
Every bite says:
“Remember My gifts.”
And I do.
Meanwhile, the Dream Team adds their commentary:
Nesh:
“Spirituality peak at Maxwell Hawker Centre.”
Shamir:
“If Rumi lived here, he would write about noodles.”
I think they’re right.
Sufism is not about rejecting the world —
it is about tasting it deeply and thanking Allah for every sensation.
In Singapore, gratitude comes spicy.
Note 4: The WhatsApp Whirling Dervishes
The early Sufis whirled in ecstasy, circling endlessly, seeking divine presence.
Today’s Sufis (the digital ones) whirl through:
• GIFs dancing
• memes exploding
• emojis in chaotic clusters
• 2 AM voice notes with scandalous laughter
• commentary on everything from politics to fried rice
This is where Shamir shines.
His GIF choices alone are a spiritual discipline.
If Rumi had WhatsApp, he would have used stickers.
I stand by this.
Our chats are a form of dhikr:
joy, gratitude, connection, absurdity —
all pointing toward the Real.
Note 5: A Muslim Woman in the World — Fearless & Fully Alive
This is the real miracle:
I feel at home as a Muslim woman in Singapore.
Not despite being Muslim.
Not in secret.
Not in fear.
But naturally.
Walking through the malls, ordering coffee, exploring art exhibitions —
I am simply a woman in the world, confident, faithful, visible.
Allah is not left behind.
Allah walks with me —
in the crowds, in the taxis, in the restaurants, in the elevators with their calm classical music.
In Singapore, faith and worldliness don’t fight.
They coexist elegantly.
I once believed Muslim women had to shrink.
Now I see:
A Muslim woman can expand.
A Muslim woman can laugh.
A Muslim woman can dine beautifully.
A Muslim woman can be seen.
This is a truth the world needs.
Note 6: Sufi Solitude in a Noisy City
Even the Merlion looks like it’s doing dhikr, water pouring endlessly.
⸻
Note 7: Islam, Light, and Modernity
It is important to say something clearly:
Singapore shows a version of Islam the world rarely sees:
joyful, intelligent, educated, open, culturally relaxed, spiritually mature.
There is space here for:
• diversity of practice
• Muslim intellectual life
• interfaith calm
• stylish modest fashion
• halal fine dining
• Sufi-leaning souls wandering Orchard Road
It is a place where faith is lived, not shouted.
Where Muslim identity is dignified, not defensive.
Where being visible doesn’t feel dangerous.
This is Islam as it should be seen.
Note 8: The Final Realisation — God Is In This Too
A Sufi knows:
Allah places you exactly where you need to be.
So what is Singapore teaching me?
• That joy is halal.
• That laughter is a form of gratitude.
• That being seen is part of healing.
• That God exists in modern places too.
• That beauty is not only in nature but in human excellence.
• That a Muslim woman can live fully and loudly.
• That the Dream Team is divinely assigned.
• That I am allowed a worldly, delicious, exuberant life — in balance, in faith, in truth.
This is not a contradiction.
This is integration.
This is Sufism.
This is Singapore.
And this is me.
A Sufi in the city.
A Muslim woman in her joy.
A heart expanding wherever Allah sends it.
I turned the blog over to Artificial Intelligence, such fun. I did call in Shamir, however.
Me: I am having so much fun with AI and Singapore. Wait until you read it. AI says I need some GIFs from you – honest.
He did, here they come.
