The seminar attempted to address the following questions – How do IS elements infiltrate and develop in Malaysia? What propaganda and narratives do they use? Why are some Malaysians attracted to IS narratives? And how is Malaysia dealing with the increasing from IS? Click on to find out the answers to these burning questions.
Malaysia Studies Programme
The Nature of the IS Threat to Malaysia
ISEAS Deputy Director, Dr Ooi Kee Beng, introducing Mr Ahmad El-Muhammady to the audience (Source: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute)
Tuesday, 26 July 2016 – Mr Ahmad El-Muhammady, a lecturer in political science and Islamic studies at the Department of Human Sciences, International Islamic University Malaysia, has conducted extensive research on extremist ideology and terrorism in Malaysia. At the institute, he delivered a presentation entitled ‘The Nature of the IS Threats to Malaysia’.
Mr El-Muhammady disclosing the details of Muslim militant groups that have emerged in Malaysia (Source: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute)
Mr El-Muhammady began his seminar talk with a brief history of the various forms of security threats, emanating from local, regional and international sources, Malaysia has confronted since independence. In particular, he singled out a number of Muslim militant groups that have emerged in the country with the latest being the “Islamic State” (IS) group and its affiliates.
Mr El-Muhammady explaining to the audience that the IS militant group is more savvy than similar militant groups in the past, in terms of disseminating information via the various social media platforms (Source: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute)
The IS militant group differs from past such groups in its use of social media to disseminate information, propagate its ideology and recruit followers. Its use of the social media (facebook and youtube being the most effective) is particularly worrying in that it enabled IS to reach a bigger and wider audience especially the younger generation who are more gullible and easily influenced.
Mr El-Muhammady responding to questions from the audience during the Q&A session (Source: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute)
According to him, the Malaysian police have been effective in preventing the individuals influenced by IS from carrying out violent acts until the recent grenade attack of a night club in Puchong, Selangor. In total, 197 individuals suspected of having ties with IS elements locally and abroad have been arrested by the police. The suspects come from a variety of background; middle and working-class families, some holding good jobs and some are unemployed, and from the highly educated or have religious knowledge to those who have little to zero understanding of Islam.
Participants at the seminar (Source: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute)
Close to 60 participants attended the 1.5-hour morning seminar.
Following the seminar, Mr El-Muhammady was interviewed by media (Broadcast – News and Current Affairs Programmes) at ISEAS Library.
1st Media Interview with Channel NewsAsia, Mediacorp. The interview will be part of a documentary on terrorism and counter-terrorism in Singapore and the region slated to be broadcast later this year. (Source: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute)
2nd Media Interview with BERITA, Mediacorp (Malay News). For more details on the news coverage, please refer to the Related News section below. (Source: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute)
3rd Media Interview with Channel NewsAsia’s “Conversation With” , an English Current Affairs Programme, Mediacorp (Source: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute)
Related News
1. BERITA Mediacorp (By Emillia Amin, Senior Producer) – ‘Jihad media’ ISIS paling berbahaya di rantau ini? – 27 July 2016 – To read the news article and view the news clip, click here.