This is a summary of a talk given by Hossein Roshandel on 30 November, 2014, on the Islamic Golden Age and its contributions to science and philosophy, at the invitation of Humanist Society (Singapore). Mr. Roshandel is an Iranian and a Postgraduate Student in School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University since Jan 2012. The event was held at OnePeople.SG.

Hossein started his presentation with a basic introduction about the Middle East region. The “golden age” of Islam, remembered for its great accomplishments in science and innovation, is roughly defined as the era between two major invasions, the Arab conquest of Persia in the 651 and the Mongol sacking of Baghdad in 1258. The period also coincided with the Middle Ages in Europe. Many of the great thinkers in the Islamic world at that time were in fact Persians using the Arabic language to write their works. [Read more…]

The death of people we know and love is often shocking and painful. Offering a dignified and meaningful way to bid farewell to those who have lived without religion is important.

Our organisation, at this point of time, do not have the capability to offer humanist funerals and memorial services. However, non-religious funeral packages exist in Singapore and have been in business for many years. We have a compiled a list for your reference, including contact numbers and rates (where available). However, information on the websites are not exhaustive and we do not have complete knowledge of the packages. Please contact the providers for more information.

Members of the humanist community have asked us if the Mandai Columbarium provides a place for deceased people who did not profess a religion or did not choose to be affiliated to any religion. To our knowledge, there is no differentiation between religions (or the lack of) for the deceased in the government managed columbariums. According to the FAQs on the NEA website, the niches are also allocated sequentially.

[Read more…]