Interview with Zarinah Abdullah from Malaysian Atheists and Secular Humanists

Zarinah Abdullah is a Member of Malaysian Atheists and Secular Humanists. Here we talk at in-depth about her life, work, and views.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Let us talk about some prior life for you, only need to speak about it, and to the extent that, you feel comfortable, of course. How was upbringing for you? Was education oriented around the secular public school system or the religious school system?

Zarinah Abdullah: I have to declare first that I grew up in Singapore, a secular country, in the 90s. As such, education was very much secular, especially since I went to government schools. However, I did receive religious education outside of my normal curriculum at a Madrasah — which is an Islamic religious school. I had a relatively strict Islamic upbringing, but because life in Singapore was secular for the most part, I was not coerced or pressured to wear the hijab. I did, however, dress conservatively according to Islamic standards of modesty for girls and women (long sleeved tops and bottoms where applicable).

The thing is that in Singapore, students in schools all wear short-sleeved shirts or skirts (for girls). Only boys in upper secondary wear long pants — this trend is the same for the whole of Singapore (maybe some exceptions exist, I am not sure)…