By: O. Safitrie *)
A video showing Malay-speaking children living in ISIS territory was posted online over the weekend by the Malay- language media division of ISIS as the latest ISIS’ propaganda video.
Singapore local media, The Straits Times, on Tuesday (17/3) reported on the video, titled Education In The Caliphate, showing around 20 children speaking Malay doing their daily activities including undergoing defence and weapons lessons in territory held by the terrorist group. This video drew concern from Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia as it might motivate more of their people to support this radical group.
“Videos in Malay are going to do much more damage to the youngsters here. They now see our people in Syria and would like to go there and find out themselves. They have been taught since (they were) young about the caliphate and are curious about what an Islamic state looks like,” said Mr Ahmad El-Muhammady, a lecturer at the International Islamic University Malaysia who is also a panel member of the Royal Malaysia Police Rehabilitation Programme for terrorist detainees, cited from The Straits Times.
In Malaysia, more than 20 people have been arrested over alleged ISIS links since 2014, yet the number of Malaysians joining ISIS is still raising. Last month, a 14-year- old girl intending to go to Syria via Egypt was detained by Malaysian authorities at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Similar concern arises in Singapore and Indonesia. Many analysts suggested that this video signals that families can join ISIS. It may further radicalise the existing fundamentalists in the countries. The idea to attract moslem family to move to the new islamic state, building families, and teaching Jihadist doctrine to the next generations from young will pose a more dangerous threat in the future. The returning fighters will likely be more radical than those who are now existing. The children may also be more radical than their parents once they grew up.
In addition to the threat that more people will manage to go to Syria or other ISIS’ territory, such video is feared to also motivate ‘lone-wolf’ terrorists to commit some attack at their home countries.
ISIS has become a real threat for many countries especially those with many moslem population. South East Asia has been expected as current target of ISIS to spread its influences.
“There has been a surge in Indonesian- and Malay-language material posted by ISIS online,” Mr Jasminder Singh, a research analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore.
*) Author Is Singapore Contributor