Hawzah News Agency-Mr Amrin was referring to the motion of the day for the annual English-language debate: Muslims in Singapore are not proactive in countering radicalism.

Teams from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Ngee Ann Polytechnic engaged in a spirited debate on it.

Mr Amrin, who was guest of honor, said after the debate that it is an important issue of the times, and one that every Muslim has to grapple with. "We should not take such questions defensively as questions like these are opportunities for us to reflect and ask ourselves... All major religions face it, so there's no need for us to feel that we are being targeted."

He added: "The fact that people have to ask probably means that we don't do enough, or it's not visible enough." He urged the 130 young people in attendance to keep up efforts to fight radicalism.

Earlier, the team from NUS had argued for the motion, saying that current efforts were mostly led by institutions and the Government.

Such efforts also did not address the root cause of radical ideology, they argued, and focused more on ferreting out people who have already gone astray and are considering launching terror attacks.

Said Ms Aaeshah Ng, 24, who was on the team: "Counter radicalism is seen as only valuable insofar as it actually enhances the benefits of counterterrorism."

A similar topic was explored at a seminar for young people, organized by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) as part of ongoing community efforts to expose and debunk extremist thoughts. Speakers spoke about issues such as reconciling religious values with the needs of modern society.

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