Governance of Islam in Singapore has been strongly shaped by the authoritarian state's micro-management of nation-building, commanding influence of Islamic institutions such as the peak religious bureaucracy MUIS (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura or Islamic Religious Council) and reliance on draconian legislation such as the Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act (MRHA), Sedition Act and the Internal Security Act (ISA). Inter alia, these Acts are geared towards curbing the politicisation of religion by attempting to separate religion from politics, regulate religious activity, restrain the development of an autonomous Muslim civil society. The efficacy of the MRHA and no-tudung (headscarf) policy is analysed in the context of the ‘othering’ of the Muslim community and the denial of their localised socio-economic and political grievances in motivating some to support radical Islamist ideology in the era of the ‘war on terror’.