Several months ago, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong did something that Western leaders almost never dare to do: he openly called out the danger of Islam’s political agenda.

His warning came after Islamic activist groups began telling Muslims in Singapore to vote only for Muslim candidates. Wong made it clear this was unacceptable. He called it what it is—“identity politics”—and said it was a direct violation of Singapore’s pluralist model. He warned that once a society starts voting strictly by religion, the outcome is inevitable: escalating cycles of ethnic and religious violence.

Wong reminded the public that Singapore was founded on a secular, merit-based system after breaking away from Muslim-majority Malaysia in 1965. Malaysia chose the opposite path: elevating Malay-Muslim identity above all others and embedding Islam into national law and culture. Today, parts of Malaysia are sliding deeper into sharia enforcement, while Singapore has prospered by refusing to mix religion and politics.

That is the crux of Wong’s warning. Islam is not simply a private faith. Everywhere it gains political power, it demands supremacy. The call to vote only for Muslim candidates is not a fringe idea—it is a blueprint for Islamizing society from within. Once this “identity politics” takes root, tolerance dies, minorities are silenced, and freedom collapses.

Singapore’s leader put it bluntly:

1. Identity politics has no place in Singapore.
2. Religion and politics must never mix.

These are not just abstract principles. They are survival rules for any free and diverse nation. The reality is that Islam, when politicized, does not tolerate pluralism. It seeks dominance. And if Singapore—surrounded by Islamic-majority neighbors—were to allow this to spread, it would lose the very stability and freedom that make it unique.

Wong’s courage stands in stark contrast to Western leaders, who bow to the same Islamic demands under the guise of “diversity” and “inclusion.” Singapore has drawn a line. The question is whether other nations will do the same or continue to let Islam weaponize democracy to destroy it from within.

PM Lawrence Wong