 The idea of having a Code on Religious Harmony was proposed by the then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong in September or October 2002.This followed strains in racial harmony in the country following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States of America and the arrest and detention of members of the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network in Singapore in December 2001.The Declaration was issued on 9 June 2003 by a working committee chaired by Minister of State Chan Soo Sen and involving the national bodies of all mainstream religious groups in Singapore, after six months of intense debate over its wording.