I say nothing feels better than finding the wind has scattered a small seed of your civilization in a distant land. It’s the evil feeling of manifest destiny that strikes a chord of joy in your heart when you walk through Singapore’s Arab District as a Syrian-American tourist.

Long before the Europeans arrived, Arab traders plied the coastlines of the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia, bringing with them the teachings of Islam.

The Arab District remains a Malay enclave held firmly together by strict observance of the tenets of Islam. At the heart of the community is the Sultan Mosque, a beautiful site.

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:35:13 -0700

–