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Challenge Lies In Fighting IS Ideology, Not Group

KUALA LUMPUR — The threat of the Islamic State looms large over Malaysia, where the authorities have arrested dozens of suspected militants and uncovered several terror plots planned in the name of the militant group in recent months.

Those detained come from all walks of life, making it extremely challenging, if not impossible, for the authorities to profile suspects and pre-empt attacks.

The country’s top counterterrorism official Ayub Khan said the challenge of dealing with the Islamic State is having to fight ideology rather than an organisation. “(The Islamic State’s) doors are open to anybody … We have our work cut out for us as we are monitoring not just organisations or groups, but also individuals,” he said.

In the most recent case, six suspected militants were charged last week — the youngest being a 17-year-old. The six were part of a group of 12 who were arrested near Kuala Lumpur last month for plans to attack Putrajaya, the federal parliament and entertainment venues with explosives.

The police also detained one of the youngest Malaysians who wanted to join the group in February — a 14-year-old girl who planned to marry a man, 22, in Egypt before heading to Syria to join the militant cause.

Since April 2013, Malaysia has arrested 107 for suspected militant activities. They include military personnel, civil servants and university students, among others — a worrying sign that even people who serve the nation are buying into the group’s ideology. Two men from the Royal Malaysian Air Force were charged last month along with four other suspected militants for plotting to kidnap high-profile figures, rob banks and raid armed-forces installations.

Malaysia passed the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act Bill last month, giving the police sweeping powers to arrest and detain those suspected of terrorist activities.

Last August, the police arrested 19 who had formulated plans to bomb pubs and a Malaysian brewery managed by Carlsberg. These were targeted reportedly because Islam forbids the consumption of alcohol.

A group of radicals arrested last year were planning to attack several targets in Malaysia and had their sights set on a wider campaign — the creation of an Islamic caliphate that includes Singapore, said the counterterrorism division.

The Islamic State has been adept at spreading its propaganda on social media, making it difficult for authorities to distinguish when pre-emptive action should be taken.

“We don’t go after these sympathisers as there is no evidence to show they are involved,” Mr Ayub said, but added that the counterterrorism division is taking all possible measures for intelligence gathering and making arrests. Officers are also sent to engage the people by giving talks at schools.

When asked if Singapore and Malaysia are on high alert for attacks, Mr Ayub replied: “The IS threat is a global problem. We are working with other countries through the exchange of information and intelligence.”

Of the 200 Malaysians who were fighting in Iraq and Syria, some have died as suicide bombers and others in combat.

Indonesia faces a similar growing threat from the Islamic State and launched a six-month operation in April to crack down on militants with suspected links to the group. The authorities believe about 500 Indonesians have joined the group in Syria and Iraq. AGENCIES

Source: www.todayonline.com

May 28, 2015
MUFTI: Lapor Individu Berfahaman Radikal Kewajipan Agama

Mufti Ustaz Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram (gambar) berkata setiap rakyat mempunyai tanggungjawab membantu orang yang menunjukkan tanda dipengaruhi fahaman radikal tentang agama mendapatkan bimbingan betul.

Bahkan, melaporkan kepada pihak berkuasa seseorang yang cenderung melakukan perkara yang melanggar undang-undang ialah satu kewajipan agama.

“Jika anak-anak muda kita menunjukkan tanda bahawa mereka telah sampai satu peringkat yang sangat radikal sampai ibu bapa berasa ia di luar kemampuan mereka untuk membimbing, dan (anak muda itu) menunjukkan kecenderungan melakukan sesuatu yang melanggar undang-undang, maka menjadi kewajipan (kita) melaporkan mereka kepada pihak berkuasa.

“Ini tidak boleh dilihat sebagai satu penganiayaan atau mengorbankan anak sendiri, tetapi satu kewajipan setiap warganegara, malah setiap ibu bapa, untuk membantu anak mereka dan menyelamatkan anak mereka itu,” ujar Ustaz Fatris.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas mengenai kes baru dua belia radikal – seorang diberkas dan seorang lagi ditahan – di bawah Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA).

Ustaz Fatris berkata juga menjadi tanggungjawab, termasuk di sisi agama, untuk keluarga, ibu bapa, guru, sahabat, sebagai contoh, berwaspada dan memerhatikan.

“Jika kita mendapati ada seorang yang kita kenali, baik seorang rapat dengan kita sekalipun, menunjukkan tanda awal dia terpengaruh oleh pandangan sempit dan radikal tentang agama, hendaklah kita mengorak langkah membantunya,” katanya.

Orang ramai boleh membantu individu yang menunjukkan tanda dipengaruh fahaman radikal dengan memberi jawapan sahih bagi persoalan yang dalam fikirannya, ujar beliau.

Jika berasa tidak berupaya memberi jawapan itu, mereka boleh merujuk individu tersebut kepada asatizah bertauliah.

Mereka juga boleh pergi ke masjid kerana ada t pegawai agama terlatih dan berkelayakan memberi panduan, ujar Ustaz Fatris.

“Sekiranya ini tidak diberi perhatian, dibimbangi ia akan sampai ke peringkat anak itu tidak dapat dibantu, tidak dapat dibimbing dan tidak dapat diselamatkan,” tambah beliau.

Semasa diminta mengulas, Ketua Eksekutif Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (Muis), Haji Abdul Razak Hassan Maricar, berkata Muis akan memperluas pendekatannya berhubung belia.

Ini walaupun Muis telah merombak pendidikan Islam beberapa tahun lalu untuk menjadikannya lebih sesuai kepada belia dan turut membincangkan isu semasa yang dihadapi masyarakat.

“Kami akan meningkatkan sesi perbincangan dengan pelajar di institusi pengajian tinggi. Kami juga akan memastikan masjid lebih peka dan bersedia menangani isu pengganasan dan individu radikal sendiri,” ujar beliau.

Source: http://beritaharian.sg

May 28, 2015
Vulnerable Youths Are Easy Prey For Terrorism Propaganda

They may be bored, looking for excitement, or simply think that radicalism is an adventure.

Those were some of the reasons terrorism experts cited as to why vulnerable young people can be influenced by terrorist propaganda online.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Home Affairs revealed that an unnamed 17-year-old youth was arrested earlier this month under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for further investigations into the extent of his radicalisation.

Another youth, M Arifil Azim Putra Norja’i, 19, has been detained since April under the ISA for terrorism-related activities.

The trend of ISIS targeting young people is a global phenomenon that is likely to persist, said Professor Rohan Gunaratna, who heads the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research.

He pointed to three “terrorist indicators”: a sudden change of behaviour, isolation from the community and family, and hatred towards other religious communities.

“As long as Singaporeans remain alert and vigilant (to these indicators), it will be very difficult for a successful terrorist attack to take place,” he said.

Source: www.tnp.sg

May 28, 2015
Mohammed Zeyara: Men And Women Should Be Treated Equally In Islam

Many Muslim men after living a long life of practicing major sinful acts such as drinking, adultery, clubbing and so on, come back and repent to Allah swt. Alhamdulilah. However, when some of those men start looking for a wife, they look for someone who is as pure as a Mary (pbuh). Now that’s hard to grasp, but what is even harder to grasp and more sickening is when a man who did not even repent, practiceing a life of a non-Muslim, and still wants someone as pure as Mary (pbuh).

Question is, why did society make a female’s sin worth so much more than a male’s sin? A sin is a sin. Whether it’s from a male or a female. A girl having a *bad* history is worth the same as a guy having a bad history. A girl should not be ignored just because she once talked to a guy or because she did not wear the Hijab during a certain time of her life. Wallahi girls get pushed aside for the silliest reasons such as, “because her brother in law’s cousin’s brother’s son’s wife smokes Shisha…”

Please remember, Allah is the most fair. He will give you someone who you deserve. So the more you work on improving your self, the better your spouse will be inshaAllah.

Source: Mohammed Zeyara

May 27, 2015
Pinoy Lawyer Thinks Ello’s Account Hacked By SG

A Filipino site, ManilaSpeak.com, recently interviewed their “foreign law expert”, Attorney Joyce Domingo Dapat, with regard to the arrest of Edz Ello in Singapore [Link].

ManilaSpeak is said to be “an aggregator of great minds” [Link]. The site aims to bring together the “most dynamic” Filipino opinion-makers.

“ManilaSpeak was borne out of a desire to give readers intellectual, well-researched opinion. We hope to influence movers and shakers – from leaders of the nation to leaders in lifestyle – in our own humble way,” the site says.

ManilaSpeak wrote, “A Filipino registered nurse, Edz Ello, who is working in Singapore is now facing a unique kind of case. He was arrested due to an alleged Facebook post that maligned Singaporeans. He is now being charged with sedition and lying by the police and was laid off from work by the Tan Tock Seng Hospital.”

In the interview, the Attorney, Ms Dapat, said that what Tan Tock Seng Hospital “did to” Mr Ello may be considered unjust because “there should be a proper charge with evidence related to his work, not merely a comment on Singapore as a whole”.

“If no one saw him type the post, then how can they be sure that his account was indeed not hacked? This is a professional we are talking about. How come his spelling in the post is atrocious? Something does not connect,” she said.

Subsequently, the Singapore police spent some time doing digital forensic analysis of the computing devices Mr Ello used as well as examining server logs (‘FT investigation delay due to ‘digital forensic analysis’‘).

But Ms Dapat rebutted, “They still cannot prove that he was the one who typed the post. Also the tone of the post resembles Singaporean speech and spelling.” Ms Dapat seems to imply that it was a Singaporean behind those posts instead.

The following is the seditious post allegedly made by Mr Ello:

Ms Dapat said that the hospital’s move to lay off Edz Ello is unjust given that nothing has been proven yet.

“I guess they did it because of fear that their reputation will suffer. A similar case occurred when another person posted disparaging remarks against the prime minister. There was no due process, he was similarly just removed from work,” she said.

Ms Dapat felt that it was wrong to impound Mr Ello’s passport.

“This is a violation of the right to travel if the person has not yet been convicted and is not in the black list. This is a basic violation of human rights,” she said.

With regard to the $10,000 bail set for Mr Ello’s case, Ms Dapat said, “The biggest mistake of Mr. Ello was that he lied to the police. But then again, maybe he was scared. He is still young. Imagine you’re in a different country then suddenly somebody is arresting you. Of course, you would be afraid. So the bail was doubled. SGD5,000 for sedition and SGD5,000 for lying.”

Ms Dapat thinks it would be difficult for Singapore to prove sedition.

“Also cybercrime is so hard to prove. Also, all those who saw the post but did not report it may also be called conspirators. What’s important in the proving sedition is proving intent to wreak havoc in Singapore,” she said.

Finally, Ms Dapat seems to think that Filipinos are “diligent” and “speak better English”. She also thinks that Filipino is one of the 4 major races in Singapore.

She said, “According to our kababayans, Singaporeans really look at Filipinos as their competition given that we are diligent and speak better English. You really have to be careful about what you say. Also you have to consider that there are an average of 4 different cultures in that country: Indians, Malaysians, Chinese, and Filipinos. You have to be careful not to offend anyone with your remarks.”

In any case, Ms Dapat might wish to know that Edz Ello has confessed that he made the 3 offending posts. As TTSH said on 9 January 2015:

Source: www.tremeritus.com

May 27, 2015