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Tag: Islamic State

  • Bahas: Masyarakat Islam Tidak Proaktif Tentang Radikalisme

    Bahas: Masyarakat Islam Tidak Proaktif Tentang Radikalisme

    Masyarakat Islam di Singapura tidak proaktif dalam menentang radikalisme.

    Inilah mauduk peringkat akhir satu pertandingan bahas yang dianjurkan siang tadi (15 Okt).

    Pertandingan tahunan itu dianjurkan oleh cabang belia Persatuan Darul Arqam.

    Ia bertujuan untuk menyediakan satu wadah bagi perbincangan secara mendalam di kalangan belia.

    Para mahasiswa dari Universiti Nasional Singapura (NUS) membentuk pasukan pencadang.

    Mereka membentangkan hujah bahawa masyarakat Islam bersikap reaktif dan bukan proaktif dalam menangani radikalisme.

    Satu sebab utama adalah, masyarakat tidak melibatkan diri dalam perbincangan secara mendalam tentang isu tersebut.

    Oleh itu, mereka tidak mempunyai pemahaman yang baik mengenainya.

    Namun pasukan pembangkang dari Politeknik Ngee Ann menyangkal hujah-hujah tersebut.

    Menurut mereka, masyarakat Islam sudah melaksanakan pelbagai inisiatif untuk menangani radikalisme.

    Satu contoh adalah semakan ke atas Skim Pengiktirafan Asatizah, untuk memastikan masyarakat Islam menerima pendidikan Islam yang betul.

    Di akhir pertandingan, pasukan NUS muncul sebagai juara.

    “Saya rasa kami mungkin akan berbincang tentang topik ini dalam kumpulan masing-masing, di setiap institusi masing-masing tetapi tidak ada satu wadah yang kami boleh gunakan untuk berbincang di antara kumpulan-kumpulan dan institusi masing-masing,” pembahas NUS, Aaeshah Ng memberitahu BERITAMediacorp.

    Sejajar dengan itu, tetamu terhormat Setiausaha Parlimen Kementerian Dalam Negeri Amrin Amin berkata meskipun bahas sudah berakhir, para belia patut terus membincangkan tentang isu radikalisme.

    “Saya menjemput anak-anak muda kita untuk menyahut cabaran ini dan sama-sama berbual dan memikirkan apakah langkah-langkah yang boleh diambil, apakah kegiatan yang boleh dianjurkan untuk kita sama-sama menangani masalah ini,” kata Encik Amrin.

    Beliau juga menekankan bukan setakat perbahasan idea, masyarakat Islam juga katanya perlu menunjukkan apa yang mereka maksudkan melalui perbuatan dan tindakan.

    Source: http://berita.mediacorp.sg

  • A Chinese-Muslim Convert’s Experience With Ignorance In Singapore

    A Chinese-Muslim Convert’s Experience With Ignorance In Singapore

    I need to get this off my chest.

    I was seeing a new doctor yesterday (4th time this month, don’t ask) and she expressed surprise that my name sounded ‘Chinese’ when I’m wearing a hijab (and therefore look like a Muslim aka. Malay in Singapore). So I said I’m Chinese Muslim, yes, my family is Chinese, yes, I’m the only Muslim in my family, yes, I’m a convert to Islam, yes.

    Then she asked me why I converted. Usual question.
    Me: “I researched.” (Shortest answer, I’ve figured, that prevents unnecessary questions and only engages those who really want to know more, because, what bores people more than research?! hahaa)

    And then she says this.
    “Huh. You researched? Don’t research until become ISIS ah!”

    WELL.
    I’m not offended, no don’t get me wrong. I’ve had this said to me a few times before. But today I feel so strongly about it and am just appalled to know that it has come to the stage whereby learning and gaining knowledge in Islam can be viewed as a route to becoming ‘brainwashed to terrorism’.

    Ever since my reversion close to 3 years ago (I turn 3 in 10 days time, yay!), I’ve met countless Muslims and Muslim converts in Singapore week after week, class after class. Muslims who are so knowledgeable in their field of work, AND in Islamic knowledge. Scientists, mathematicians, historians- and what they all have in common is the knowledge in Islam which sets the strongest foundation in whatever they do. And I’m learning from an ustaz who has no professional certification to his name, yet embodies the humility and disposition of people who have spent years of their lives gaining more and more knowledge. Such people are overflowing with wisdom, but they don’t ever stop learning. As my ustaz would say, “The more you know, the more you realise you don’t know.”

    To all my friends out there, you’ve got nothing to be afraid of, because the epitome of a Muslim lies in gaining knowledge. And the more knowledge we gain, the less we ‘become ISIS’ (I cringe even writing this sentence). What they do/ claim to do in the name of Islam, they are no more than a bunch of terrorists. Got that? Just Terrorists. No “Islamic extremists” or “fundamentalists” or “Islamists”- just terms that the media has coined to make you believe that we Muslims have got anything to do with that bunch- when in fact we are as much related to them as you are.

    Now let me go back to my jihad of trying to be as patient as I can and not have a sarcastic comeback everytime someone tries to link me to ISIS. Ugh.

    —
    The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ- peace be upon him) said: “A servant of God will remain standing on the Day of Judgment until he is questioned about his time on earth and how he used it; about his knowledge and how he utilized it; about his wealth and from where he acquired it and in what activities he spent it; and about his body and how he used it.” (Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 148)

     

    Source: Maryem Chin

  • Singaporean Asrul Alias Issued Restriction Order For Terrorism-Related

    Singaporean Asrul Alias Issued Restriction Order For Terrorism-Related

    A Singaporean, Asrul Alias, was issued with a two-year Restriction Order in August after he was found engaging in terrorism-related activities, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Thursday (Oct 6).

    The 33-year-old was arrested in August under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for investigation into his involvement in terrorism-related activities. He is a supporter of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), MHA said.

    Starting in 2014, Asrul watched online religious sermons by radical preachers, as well as videos that featured ISIS fighters in combat. MHA said he had actively looked up pro-ISIS materials and shared them on social media with the intention of spreading the group’s radical ideology.

    Asrul also showed his support for ISIS by countering criticisms of the group he came across online, the ministry added.

    However, after warnings from a family member and a close friend to stop posting pro-ISIS and pro-militant materials, the technician stopped doing so from late 2015/early 2016. He remained supportive of ISIS though, and continued to consume ISIS-related materials online.

    MHA said that while its investigation showed that he had become radicalised, he was given a Restriction Order instead of being detained as he was “not an imminent security threat”.

    He will undergo religious counselling while on the Restriction Order, the Ministry added.

    In August, MHA announced that four other Singaporeans had been dealt with under the ISA for supporting ISIS. Two were detained under the ISA after they made plans to travel to Syria to fight for the terrorist group, while the other two were issued Restriction Orders.

    In their comments to the media on Thursday, the authorities also stressed the role of the community in countering terrorism. “It is a challenge to detect self-radicalised individuals who have not previously attracted security attention and who are not part of a structured organisation, such as Asrul,” they said in the statement.

    “This is why it is those who are close to the individual – family, friends and colleagues – who are usually better placed to detect signs that the individual has become radicalised. It is critical that they alert the authorities early of such individuals to save them from getting involved in violent activities that could harm themselves and others.”

    SINGAPOREAN WHO FOUGHT IN YEMEN RELEASED FROM DETENTION

    MHA added that Singaporean Mohammad Razif Yahya, who was detained in August 2015 for voluntarily taking up arms in the sectarian conflict in Yemen, has been released from detention this month, and issued with a Suspension Direction (SD).

    Razif’s Order of Detention was suspended after it was assessed that he no longer posed a security threat that required him to be placed in preventive detention, MHA said. Among the conditions of the SD include being prohibited from associating with any militant or terrorist groups or individuals, and he is not allowed to leave the country without the prior written approval of the ISD Director.

    MHA also announced on Thursday that the eight Bangladeshi nationals who were detained for their involvement in the group called the Islamic State in Bangladesh have had their Orders of Detention cancelled.

    Six of them had contributed funds towards the purchase of firearms for the group’s plans in Bangladesh, and were convicted of terrorism financing. They have been sentenced to between two and five years’ jail, and as such, their Orders of Detention have been cancelled, the ministry said.

    The remaining two members, Sohag Ibrahim and Islam Shariful, were repatriated to Bangladesh last month after investigations were completed, it said, adding that Bangladeshi security authorities were apprised of their repatriation.

    MORE THAN 80 DETAINED FOR TERROR-RELATED ACTIVITIES SINCE 2002

    Since 2002, over 80 people have been detained for terrorism-related activities, with 17 currently placed on Orders of Detention, two on Suspension Directions and 25 on Restriction Orders under the ISA, said MHA.

    The Home Affairs Ministry said that it bases what action to take against individuals investigated by the Internal Security Department (ISD) on evidence obtained through investigations and an assessment of the level of the threat.

    “Detention is a last resort to be used only when the threat is imminent,” it said.

    Once an individual is detained, however, he or she will have to go through a “thorough and stringent” process before being released. This factors in progress in the rehabilitation programme as well as the assessments of psychologists, ISD case officers, detention centre wardens and religious counsellors from the Religious Rehabilitation Group, MHA said, adding that those who “no longer pose an imminent threat” will be released.

    “The Government takes a very serious view of any form of support for terrorism and will take firm and decisive action against any person who engages in any activity in support of terrorism,” it said in the statement.

    “Every member of the public has a responsibility not to engage in such activity, and not support others who do so.”

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • Three Indonesians Freed By Militant Abu Sayyaf Group: Philippine Military Spokesman

    Three Indonesians Freed By Militant Abu Sayyaf Group: Philippine Military Spokesman

    Three Indonesian fishermen held by Islamic State-linked rebels in the Philippines have been released, the Philippine military said on Sunday, just hours after the militias freed a Norwegian man after a year-long ordeal.

    The victims – identified as Lorens Koten, Teodurus Kofung and Emmanuel – were released by the Abu Sayyaf on Saturday night at an undisclosed place in Sulu, said Major Filemon Tan, spokesman in the military’s Western Mindanao Command. They were taken on July 9 this year from Malaysian state of Sabah, he said.

    The Indonesians were set free just hours after the same group notorious for kidnappings, beheadings and extortion released Norwegian captive Kjartan Sekkingstad, who was set to meet President Rodrigo Duterte in Davao City on Sunday evening.

    Sekkingstad was taken from an upscale resort on Samal island in Davao del Norte along with a Filipina, who has already been freed, and two Canadians, whom the militants later executed.

    While it is widely believed that no captives are released by the Abu Sayyaf without the payment of ransom, the Philippine government said it did not pay the group and was unaware of any payment made by other parties for the release of the victims.

    “I would like to reiterate that the government maintains the no-ransom policy,” Communications Minister Martin Andanar said. Now if there was a third party who made the payment, if it’s the family (of the victim), we are not aware of that.”

    Tan said Sekkingstad and the three Indonesians were flown separately on Sunday afternoon from Jolo, Sulu. The Indonesians have been turned over to Indonesian authorities, he said without giving further details.

    Tan insists the release of the kidnap victims was a result of the ongoing intensified military operations against the Abu Sayyaf, with the assistance of the Moro National Liberation Front, one of the two major Muslim rebel groups based in the south of the mainly Catholic nation.

     

    Source: TODAY Online

  • Indonesia Arrests Another Suspect In Batam Attack Plot: Report

    Indonesia Arrests Another Suspect In Batam Attack Plot: Report

    Indonesia has arrested another terror suspect in Batam for allegedly plotting to attack Marina Bay in Singapore, the Antara News Agency reported on Sunday (Sep 4).

    The suspect, a 24-year-old unemployed man identified only by the initials LH, was arrested by counter-terrorist personnel at a cyber cafe in Batu Aji, Batam, on Saturday, police spokesman Agus Rianto was quoted as saying.

    The man is believed to be part of the KGR@Katibah GR, a group headed by Gigih Rahmat Dewa, who is alleged to be behind the plot to attack Marina Bay from Batam, which is just a short distance across the Singapore Strait. The group is said to have links to Syria-based Islamic State (IS) militant Bahrun Naim, who has encouraged attacks on Singapore.

    “LH was part of the group that was plotting an attack on Marina Bay,” said Mr Agus, the Antara News Agency reported. “He also underwent training using airsoft guns as preparations to go to Syria.”

    In August, Indonesian anti-terror forces arrested six men on suspicion of planning a rocket attack on Singapore. The six arrested were also allegedly from terrorist group KGR@Katibah GR.

    Police also seized bomb-making materials, guns, and arrows from suspects’ homes in the raid on Aug 5. But police said there were no signs that the rocket attack was anything more than a plan.

    The suspects are currently being investigated at special counter-terrorism squad Densus 88’s headquarters for their involvement in Islamic State’s Indonesian terror network.

     

    Source: ChannelNewsAsia