Noor Deros studied at Madrasah Al-Junied Al-Islamiah from 1991 to 2003.
A rather unfamiliar name surfaced during a Parliamentary exchange between Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam and Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh on 14 October.
A certain Noor Deros made comments earlier this year ahead of the 2025 General Elections that lay at the heart of the back-and-forth.
Source: UND – Ustaz Noor Deros Official on YouTube
The Islamic preacher claimed to have met with the Workers’ Party’s (WP) Malay candidates and said that they were the only ones who “took him seriously”.
He then urged Muslims in Singapore to vote for the WP’s Faisal Manap over Masagos Zulkifli.
Although WP Secretary-General Pritam Singh said Deros is someone who “really no one knows”, he is not as low-profile as many think—he even made the news in 2014.
From his early career in Singapore to his move across the Causeway — this is all you need to know about the self-proclaimed religious teacher.
Noor Deros studied at Madrasah Al-Junied Al-Islamiah from 1991 to 2003.
The school, with a long history dating back to 1927, is one of the six private Islamic institutions of learning in Singapore.
According to its website, the madrasah aims to nurture “global Islamic leaders,” and Al-Azhar University.
Al-Azhar University is an institute of higher learning, accredited in 1969, that Deros attended from 2004 to 2008.
Source: Britannica
In Cairo, at Al-Azhar University—one of the most prestigious centres of Islamic learning—Deros specialised in Creeds and Philosophy.
He returned to Singapore after graduating from Al-Azhar and worked at Masjid En-Naeem from 2009 to 2011.
Deros became an independent preacher from 2012 to 2015.
In June 2014, Deros started the Wear White movement as a reaction to the sixth annual Pink Dot rally.
He had urged Muslims against taking part in the event and encouraged believers to wear white clothes to prayers as a statement against the “growing normalisation” of the LGBT lifestyle in Singapore.
Source: Wearwhite on Facebook
A Facebook post from 29 June 2014 announcing the successful launch of the campaign said:
More Muslims are now speaking about social ills that are plaguing our community. There is clear rejection of the LGBT lifestyle.
The Wear White movement prompted an urgent statement from the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis), which said that programmes in mosques should not be seen as a movement to oppose the LGBT community.
Despite backlash from human rights activists, the movement was also backed by other conservative groups within the Singapore Christian community.
Lawrence Khong, then the head of the Faith Community Baptist Church and the LoveSingapore network of churches, also encouraged church-goers to wear white during services.
Source: Wearwhite on Facebook
Two years later, in 2016, Khong would revive the movement as its champion — rebranding it as a campaign that promotes traditional family values.
While Deros clarified that he was not a part of Khong’s campaign, he threw his support behind the Christian pastor.
He then told reporters that the original Wear White movement had shifted gears to focus on Islamic educational programmes for youth.
Deros continues to be credited as Wear White’s founder, as seen in media and also academic papers.
In 2017, Deros applied to be recognised as a religious teacher in Singapore.
However, Singapore’s Asatizah Recognition Board (ARB) rejected his application as he did not wish to comply with the Asatizah Recognition Scheme Code of Ethics.
The Code is Ethics ensures accountability and integrity among religious teachers while safeguarding Singapore’s unity, peace and harmony, said ARB.
Source: Noor Deros on Facebook
Despite counselling from at least 12 senior members of the Asatizah fraternity, Deros still failed to observe the framework.
As such, he remains an unaccredited ustaz, or religious teacher, in Singapore.
Deros is now based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he has built a career as an independent preacher and spiritual healer.
Apart from teaching, he has spoken at conferences such as the International Mental Health Recovery Conference in 2019.
Deros is also a Vice President at MIASA Malaysia, a Mental Health Advocacy non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Selangor.
Apart from his interest in spirituality and mental wellness, Deros also specialises in Islamic creed — particularly, the challenges posed by Western philosophy.
He often addresses this topic on his Facebook page, once posting about the dangers of allowing the global idol group BlackPink to perform in Singapore.
Source: Live Nation Singapore
He highlighted issues such as hypersexuality, vanity, and greed.
“Moral erosion, when left unchecked, can undo a nation from within,” said Deros, who urged Singapore authorities to direct youths towards lesser harms.
“Let us not make the mistake of thinking decay only comes from poverty or war.”
Noor Deros is active on both Facebook and YouTube, where he has about 40,000 followers and 2,000 subscribers, respectively.
Source: UND – Ustaz Noor Deros Official on YouTube
Like many digital content creators today, Deros even has an affiliate link with the e-commerce platform, Shopee.
Announcing the link on Facebook, the preacher told his followers that he would receive a “small commission” when they use his link to purchase items.
A quick check by MS News shows that users under the Shopee Affiliate Program (SAP) can earn up to 10% commission per order.
“Your support will help me continue to produce beneficial and high-quality content,” wrote Deros, who also has a paid subscription model on Facebook and YouTube that costs S$3 a month.
Source: @miasa.malaysia on Instagram
He further shared that these subscribers will receive exclusive private presentations and in-depth seminars.
Publicly available sources reveal little about his personal life; the Singaporean is married with children.
On 14 Oct, Mr Shanmugam said that the WP’s reaction to “such an important matter begs many questions”, noting that the party took two days to release a response to Deros’ claims.
He also took issue with the eventual statement, stating that it was ambiguous.
The home affairs minister emphasised the severity of Deros’ comments, highlighting that they were “reckless” and risked dividing voters along racial and religious lines.
In response, Mr Singh argued that highlighting the man’s claims earlier might have amplified them unnecessarily.
However, he agreed that WP could have been clearer in their message.
Also read: WP’s delayed response to Noor Deros’ statements during GE2025 ‘begs many questions’: Shanmugam
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Featured image adapted from SidangKalam Arkib on YouTube.