EXTREMISMEducation and Awareness Are Key to Stopping Online Radicalization
The current battlefield for terrorism is not a faraway country but the computers and phones right next to us. Terrorists have taken advantage of this technology to allow conflict to transcend its geographic borders. They know that reaching one sympathetic viewer can create catastrophic consequences in support of their agenda. The social network is now an environment where everyone is vulnerable to encountering propaganda or misinformation online, making everyone susceptible to radicalization.
The current battlefield for terrorism is not a faraway country but the computers and phones right next to us. Terrorists have taken advantage of this technology to allow conflict to transcend its geographic borders. Using emotionally charged propaganda to draw people to their cause, terrorists hope to modify human behavior through self-radicalization. They know that reaching one sympathetic viewer can create catastrophic consequences in support of their agenda. The social network is now an environment where everyone is vulnerable to encountering propaganda or misinformation online, making everyone susceptible to radicalization.
The threat of self-radicalization remains constant even in as ordered a society as Singapore. According to the Singapore terrorism threat assessment report 2022, over the past seven years, 45 individuals arrested under the Internal Security Act were self-radicalised. The number continues to grow each month as terrorists increase their online footprint.
In January, Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs released an update on terrorism cases associated with the security act. Notably included was the first public servant arrested for terror-related offences in Singapore, Mohamed Khairul Riduan bin Mohamed Sarip, a 38-year-old teacher. Khairul’s self-radicalization began in 2007 after he viewed Facebook videos showing Israeli aggression against Palestinians. He continued searching for materials relating to the tactics and operations of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Khairul hoped to travel to Gaza under the guise of providing humanitarian aid but intended to perform jihad and achieve martyrdom. Khairul continued to view videos of the conflict, including those by radical preachers Ahmed Deedat and Zakir Naik.
In a February update on cases, Singapore announced that it had detained 18-year-old Muhammad Irfan Danyal bin Mohamad Nor. He was the third youth since 2020 detained for terrorism-related offences under the security act. Irfan’s self-radicalization process began with videos by Naik. He then became involved with discussion tables exposing him to Islamic State propaganda. Irfan investigated travelling to Nigeria, Iraq, Syria and Marawi to join IS on the battlefield. His interest in IS grew into a desire to establish a caliphate in Singapore. He created videos to spread IS ideology in the hope of recruiting more than 100 fighters and formulated three plans for them to carry out attacks in Singapore.
