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Tag: self-radicalised

  • Singapore Detains First Woman For Radicalism Under ISA After She Planned To Join Islamic State

    Singapore Detains First Woman For Radicalism Under ISA After She Planned To Join Islamic State

    The 22-year-old preschool teacher had been posting pro-ISIS material online since 2014 and was also looking for a terror supporter in Syria to marry.

    SINGAPORE: Singapore has detained its first female citizen for radicalism under the Internal Security Act (ISA), said the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday (June 12).

    Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari, a 22-year-old contract infantcare assistant with the PCF (PAP Community Foundation) Sparkletots preschool programme, was detained in June this year.

    Her radicalisation started in 2013 through online propaganda related to the Islamic State terrorist group, said MHA.

    “She began to believe that ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) represented the true spirit of Islam. Her radicalisation deepened over time,” a press release read. “This was exacerbated by a wide network of foreign online contacts which she developed. They included ISIS militants and supporters, some of whom have either been killed in Syria or arrested for terrorism-related activities.”

    Since 2014, Izzah actively posted and shared pro-ISIS material online. Several of her social media platforms were removed by administrators because of such content, but she created new ones.

    MHA said Izzah was also intent on joining ISIS and was actively planning to make her way to Syria, with her young child, to do so.

    “She supported ISIS’s use of violence to establish and defend its self-declared ‘caliphate’, and aspired to live in it,” said the ministry. “To this end, she said that since 2015, she was looking for ‘a Salafi or an ISIS supporter’ to marry and settle down with him and her child in Syria.”

    “She said she would support her husband if he fought for ISIS in Syria as she believed she would reap ‘heavenly rewards’ if he died in battle. With her ‘elevated status’ as a ‘martyr’s widow’, she felt she could (then) easily marry another ISIS fighter in Syria.”

    Izzah also said she was prepared to undergo military training and engage in armed combat to defend ISIS if called upon by the terrorist group to do so, MHA added.

    Her sister and parents – who are both freelance Quranic teachers – came to know of her radical postings in 2015 and her intention to join ISIS in Syria. They did not alert the authorities and tried on their own to dissuade her, but were unsuccessful.

    Izzah continued down the path of radicalism, said MHA, and in April this year, “boasted” to a contact that the Singapore authorities had not detected her.

    In its press release, the MHA reiterated that importance of family members and friends to let the authorities know of anyone they suspect is being radicalised or planning terror attacks.

     

    Source: http://www.channelnewsasia.com

  • 2 Self-Radicalised Singaporeans Detained Under Internal Security Act

    2 Self-Radicalised Singaporeans Detained Under Internal Security Act

    Two self-radicalised Singaporeans have been detained under the Internal Security Act for involvement in terrorism-related activities, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced on Wednesday (Sep 30).

    Muhammad Shamin Mohamed Sidek, 29, and Muhammad Harith Jailani, 18, were detained in August this year. Investigations showed that they had harboured the intention to make their way to Syria to join the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and engage in violence there, MHA said.

    Shamin was influenced by ISIS’s online radical propaganda and was earlier convicted and sentenced to three months’ jail under Section 267C of the Penal Code for inciting religious violence through his pro-ISIS postings on social media. MHA said he continued to express support for ISIS throughout his three-month imprisonment and was thus arrested under the ISA in July this year to assess if he posed a threat to Singapore’s security.

    Subsequent investigations by the Internal Security Department showed that Shamin planned to travel to Syria to join ISIS once he had raised enough money to fund the trip.

    Shamin had also decided that if he was unable to join ISIS, he would consider fighting alongside a regional militant group that he considered to be aligned with ISIS. “He was undeterred by his arrest under the ISA and said he would pursue his plans to join ISIS after his release from detention. Shamin said he was prepared to die in the course of defending the ‘caliphate’ that was declared by ISIS,” MHA added.

    Like Shamin, 18-year-old Harith was radicalised by online propaganda put up by ISIS. He harboured the intention to carry out armed attacks for the terrorist group, MHA said. “He was prepared to be trained by ISIS to fight and kill the group’s enemies, and to die in the process so that he would receive divine rewards for dying as a martyr.”

    Harith had collected information on how he could travel to Syria and also tried to radicalise those around him to support ISIS’ cause in an attempt to recruit them to join ISIS together with him.

    The detentions of Shamin and Harith underline the “persistent ISIS threat” and the threat posed by self-radicalised Singaporeans, MHA said. The ministry noted that a few of the
    Singaporeans who have been detained had even been prepared to carry out terrorist attacks in Singapore.

    “The Government takes a very serious view of any form of support for terrorism, including but not limited to the use of violence, and will take firm and decisive action against any person who engages in such activities,” the ministry said.

    It encourages those who are aware that someone is involved in terrorism-related activities, or who see suspicious activities to promptly inform the Internal Security Department (1800-2626-473) or call the Police (999).

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com