This post is done by Lim Wee Kiat .
Quak Wei Ren have nothing to do with this post so no credits is given to him =D

What were the events that led to Maria Hertogh riots of 1950s ?

In the 1940s , a Dutch couple was imprisoned by the Japanese .
They placed their daughter ,Maria Hertogh ,under the care of a Malay lady, Aminah .
Maria was raised as a Muslim and at the age of 13 ,married a Malay teacher.

When her parents demanded that Maria be returned to them ,a court trial followed.
This court trial had wide media coverage and provoked much unhappiness among the Muslim
community. The court decided to give custody to the Hertoghs.

What were the cause of the Maria Hertogh riots ?

The large crowd outside the court felt that British legal system was unfair to Muslims.
This sparked off anger towards the European and Eurasian communities which resulted in the outbreak of the riots.

What happen during the riots ?

5 people were dead and 100 hurt in the riots.

The events throughout the court trial had much media coverage in the English ,Malay and Tamil newspaper. The court's decision to annul Maria's marriage to a Malay teacher and pictures of Maria in a Christian convent were published. They felt that the welfare of Muslims was not looked into.

During the riots, the government placed a 24-hour curfew for two weeks. The British and Malayan troops as well as Singapore police were called in to maintain peace.

Conclusion

The riots showed that if religious issues are not handled carefully, hostillty and distrust could occur among the people, thus affecting the relantionships among the different religious groups.