Singapore + Net

Today, Giving platform to radical foreign preachers not in Singapore’s national interest: Shanmugam", 8 Jan 2018 Responding to Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Zaqy Mohamad’s question on the effectiveness of banning such preachers given that their teachings could be accessed through the Internet, Mr Shanmugam acknowledged that there are “limits” to which the Government can prevent access."

Youth vulnerable to online radical ideology: Teo Chee Hean

Straits Times, Youth vulnerable to online radical ideology: Teo Chee Hean

Singapore’s Malay-Muslims

channelnewsasia.com, Singapore’s Malay-Muslims can be modern, vibrant community that the world looks up to: Shanmugam "The minister cited a Pew Research Centre study which showed that 10 per cent of Malaysian Malays had a favourable opinion of Islamic State (IS) and nearly one quarter were not prepared to come out and say that IS is wrong.

“We have to make sure that we do not get there. And a key part of that depends on you, the leaders of the Malay community - whether you can make sure that the right religious values are put forth. We have to work hard at this because the influences are on the Internet,” said Mr Shanmugam."

‘Regulating’ the net

ChannelNewsAsia, What’s the best way to regulate cyber world?, 10 Mar 2012

“An Internet code of conduct may not be the best way to regulate the cyber world, according to panelists at a seminar on the role of social media and its impact on a multi-cultural society like Singapore.

“Organised by the Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs, seminar participants heard the panelists share their thoughts on issues ranging from the limitations of the law to youths in the digital age”

Singapore

Hetty Musfirah, channelnewsasia.com, Need to protect Muslim youths from radical ideologies: Islamic Religious Council, 16 Jul 2010 "The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, MUIS, in its Friday sermon, has reminded the Muslim community to protect the young from being influenced by radical ideologies.

"It said one way of doing so is to ensure that they are being taught by qualified and recognised religious teachers. Accredited teachers are listed on the MUIS website."

For more see MUIS

Anwar al-Awlaki and Singapore

Kumar Ramakrishna, eurasiareview.com, Self-Radicalisation And The Awlaki Connection, 13 Jul 2010 "Thanks to the Internet, jihadist ideologues such as the charismatic Al Qaeda leader Anwar Al-Awlaki, enjoy a global reach. That this reach extends even into Singapore’s homes has been underlined by the news that a full-time national serviceman has been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), while two other Singaporeans have been issued with Restriction Orders, for being radicalised by Awlaki. The episode underscores the importance of two factors: first, recognising the early warning indicators of religious extremism; and second, the ability of Singaporeans to recognise distorted religious teaching when they encounter it online or elsewhere."

Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura

asiaone.com, Muis sounds alert on DIY radicals, 8 Jul 2010, "The Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (Muis) - the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore - has called on the Muslim community to be on the alert for individuals who develop radical religious views, especially those who may be swayed by online or video materials."

I did research on MUIS some years back, as part of my PhD.

Also see: Teo Xuanwei, TodayOnline, The virus that is Al Awlaki, 8 Jul 2010 "He was just a teenager pursuing a diploma at a local polytechnic, when he started listening to lectures of radical ideologues online. Soon, Muhammad Fadil Abdul Hamid was avidly surfing the Internet in search of jihadist propaganda and videos."

Singapore detention

AFP/mysinchew.com, Singapore detains 'radicalised' army trainee, 6 Jul 2010 "The MHA said Muhammad Fadil had "initiated online communication" with the radical cleric and "expressed his desire to fight alongside Anwar" in places like the Palestinian territories, Iraq and Afghanistan.

"He then "made online contact with a suspected Al-Qaeda recruiter who encouraged him to fight in Afghanistan," researched information on bomb-making and posted a video justifying suicide bombing, MHA said."

Web 2.0

TodayOnline, Extremists on Web 2.0, 24 Apr 09 "Extremists are fast mastering Web 2.0 and learning new ways to reach out to a wider audience, especially the young. And this is a worry for South-east Asian countries, where radical websites in Bahasa Indonesia and Malay are proliferating."

Prison Break

AFP/Inquirer.net, Singaporeans question escape of alleged militant leader, 2 Mar 08 "Letters to the editor and Internet blogs by Singaporeans took officials to task for the escape on Wednesday of Mas Selamat bin Kastari, alleged leader of the Singapore wing of the militant Islamic group Jemaah Islamiyah."

Singapore

Straits Times, Two men detained under ISA for terror activities, 24 Jan 08 "Two men have been detained under the Internal Security Act for planning terror activities, after being influenced by radical propaganda they found in publications and on video and the Internet."

This blog is back after a brief pause, so here's a summary of what you may have missed:

Sunday Times, Virtual jihad hits Second Life website, 5 Aug 07, "Police and the intelligence services are concerned that it may have been infiltrated by extremists to proselytise, communicate and transfer money to one another. Radicals may also be responsible for “virtual” terrorist attacks in which buildings depicted on the website are blown up." I'm waiting for a Facebook story...

Terror goes digital. With Canadian help, 18 Aug 07

ctvNews, CD-ROM tracks hatred and terrorism websites, 11 Aug 07

Fox News, Saudi Youth Enter Rehab to Overcome Their Terrorist Ways, 22 Aug 07 No connection with Amy Winehouse. "A new program in Saudi Arabia is offering young terrorists rehabilitation from a life of violence in the name of jihad. A Saudi government-sanctioned program to try to reverse the terrorist way of thinking has already begun to help some participants who have survived their own crimes."

Reuters, Saudis block liberal Internet forum, says activist, 9 Aug 07 "A Saudi political reform activist said on Thursday the authorities had blocked his Internet forum as part of a wider crackdown on freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia."

Mail & Guardian, Turkey bans Wordpress blogs over alleged libel, 20 Aug 07 "Turkish internet users have been blocked from accessing sites on the Wordpress.com hosting service. A court in Istanbul ordered the website be blocked after lawyers complained that a number of blogs hosted by Wordpress were libellous of Islamic creationist author Adnan Oktar."

WSJ, A Plight in Tunisia, 23 Aug 07 re lawyer Mohammed Abbou and his recent release.

israelinsider.com, A simcha to be celebrated -- Russian girl weds Hamas militant in Gaza, 2 Aug 07, "The young Hamas member, then 24, found his current wife with the help of a Russian sheik he met on an Islamic Internet forum. The girl, who had converted to Islam, was disillusioned with her country's secularism, Ynet reported."

AFP, New Singapore website aims to counter Islamic extremism , 8 Aug 07, "Islamic scholars and teachers in Singapore said Wednesday they had launched a website aimed at countering extremist ideology used to recruit militants and justify attacks like suicide bombings.

"The website, http://www.rrg.sg, was launched Tuesday by the Religious Rehabilitation Group, a volunteer organization comprised of about 30 Islamic scholars and teachers from the city-state's Muslim community."

Albawaba, Internet addiction and familial issues to be discussed at watani mind’s pleasure seminars, "Kalawi will show that while the internet is a practical tool, it can be easily misused as more and more internet users in the region show symptoms of internet addiction."

thestar.com, Anarchy on the Bosporus? Punk rock lyrics draw Turkey's ire, 16 July 2007 "The song is several years old and may have gone unnoticed were this not the Internet age. It came to prosecutors' notice only after a teen lip-synched the song and posted it on youtube.com last year."

Wired, There's No Such Thing as the Homeland, 17 July 2007 "An advanced class of 7th graders with access to the internet could have collectively written a more incisive report relying simply on open source documents." Discussion piece by Ryan Singel. Refers to a declassified version of the US National Intelligence Estimate. Also see AFP, US intelligence frets over Islamist cyber-threat, 17 July 2007 ""The spread of radical - especially Salafi - Internet sites, increasingly aggressive anti-US rhetoric and actions, and the growing number of radical, self-generating cells in Western countries indicate that the radical and violent segment of the West's Muslim population is expanding, including in the US," the report said." It seems to have take a long time for some agencies to work this out ... PBS, Iraqi Insurgents Spread Message Via Internet, 16 July 2007 just in case you hadn't noticed...

channelnewsasia.com, Net-savvy need enlightened Islamic teachers, 18 July 2007, "But choosing between the unregulated Web and Singapore asatizah (Islamic religious teachers) for advice may not be a simple thing. A divide appears to have emerged within the Muslim community on the role of religious teachers."

LA Times, Iran tightens screws on internal dissent, 10 June 07, "Iranian leaders cite Washington's backing for opposition groups as a justification. "Currently, some factions in the government view all dissidents and critics as parts of America's secret plan for a nonviolent 'velvet revolution,' " Ahmad Zeidabadi, a leading Iranian dissident, wrote in a May 30 article that appeared in Roozonline, an Internet journal. "Unfortunately, a significant part of the security and intelligence apparatus shares this view.""

statesman.com, Muslims look online for spiritual guidance, 9 June 07 "Islamicity now has two Islamic scholars answering questions: one in California and one in India. The site started with just one imam, but the number of daily questions has ballooned during the last decade. Aleem said that the imams were chosen in part to connect with Muslims who do not live in an Islamic country."

gulfnews.com, Iraqi group claims journalist's murder, 10 June 07

New Straits Times, What’s that flickering red light? : Students’ hidden camera nightmare, 11 June 07 "The girl, a student of the International Islamic University Malaysia, was preparing to take a shower at her home in Sentul about 2.45pm on Saturday when she noticed a red flickering light coming from a black oval object near the overhead fluorescent light."

Electric New Paper Singapore, Is he driven by GUILT OR LOSER complex?, 10 June 07 relates to the high profile case of Abdul Basheer Abdul Kader:

"Ustaz Mohamed said: 'Religion can never be understood over the Internet. You need a guide.'

"Some in Singapore, like his fellow research analyst, Ustaz Mohammed Haniff Hassan, 38, started their own counter-terrorist blogs and website (http://counterideology.multiply.com) to rebut these extremist ideologies.

"Muis, or the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore, has also set up a website (www.iask.com.sg) for this."

For background on this case, see TodayOnline.com, one abdul basheer is one too many, 11 June 2007 "Abdul Basheer was self-radicalised. Many in the community are still grappling with the new phenomenon of "self" in this episode. Abdul Basheer was not part of a larger terrorist group or cell. He acted in isolation."

AKI, Al-Qaeda on Mediterranean Beach, 8 June 07, "Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - the new name for the old Salafite Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) - has launched its first website since the new terror alliance was formed several months ago. The organisation, which claimed responsibility for the 11 April bomb attacks that killed 30 people in Algiers, is taking an increasingly high profile both in its jihadi activities and in its use of the internet for propaganda. Much prominence is given to photos of mujahadeen on what the site says is a Mediterranean beach, giving the impression that the terror formation is seeking to widen its range of action."