Muslim Southeast Asia and the Islamist challenge

This file picture shows police detaining a Rela paramilitary member in Perak’s Kuala Kangsar for his suspected involvement in a militant group linked to terrorist network Islamic State In Iraq and Syria (ISIS). New Straits Times reported on June 30, 2014 that Malaysian security authorities have identified four new terror groups bent on creating a "super" Islamic caliphate to rule parts of South-east Asia. -- PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

The weekly paper noted that Muslim-majority Malaysia has a history of “Muslim-dominated parties and pro-Muslim policies influencing politics”, although it noted that the multi-religious country has succeeded in keeping peace by “appeasing” the local Muslim conservatives. 

But, it cautioned that growing calls for the implementation of hudud — a strict Islamic penal code — and increased debate on Islam’s role in Malaysia, has been turning the Southeast Asian nation more vulnerable to Syria-based terror group IS. 

“The growing chorus for a stricter Sharia law and more Muslim dominated politics and policies in Malaysia is giving room for the growing radical Islamic influence through mosques and other organisations which in turn is having an adverse impact on the youth of the nation in Malaysia,” the New Delhi paper wrote in an opinion piece titled “The Politics of ISIS in Malaysia” on its website yesterday. 

It claimed that IS has succeeded in inspiring home grown militancy in Malaysia, with groups formed to send locals to join the fight in Syria with an eye on forming an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia — spanning Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, southern Philippines and southern Thailand.

(Malay Online)

The problem lies with the political vulnerability of Malaysia towards extremist as many of the political parties in Malaysia themselves have radical leanings. Organizations like Jamaah Islamiah and Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia and several others like ADI, BKAW etc. have been rigorously and aggressively recruiting fighters for ISIS. Fighters are also being sent to Syria but the endgame for the South East Asian fighters is different, it is to establish a caliphate called Daulah Islamiah Nusantara, comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, southern Thailand and southern Philippines. Ahmad Tarmimi was a member of such a party, the Malaysian Islamic Party. The number of fighters
from Malaysia is unknown, some say 50 and above but the real number could be substantially higher. 

Almost 40% of Malaysian citizens are non-Muslim, despite diverse cultures and different religions the country has fared better than their more volatile neighbours like Thailand and Indonesia. This has been done by appeasing the Muslims conservatives. Malaysia has a history of Muslim-dominated parties and pro-Muslim policies influencing politics in the country. Parties like The United Malay National Organization have been governing for Muslim majority and pushes for business interest for Muslims in the country. With organizations like ISIS looking for vulnerable spots in the world, Malaysia could have a problem, especially since the debate on the role of Islam in society has increased along with an increased lobbying for following the Sharia law and Hudud in the country. 

Besides the home-grown terror problems and ISIS’s influence on Malaysia, the country has another issue that need to be addressed. Malaysia had a security crisis when self declared Filipino Sultan, Jamalul Kiram and about 200 followers, dozens of them armed, barged into Sabah’s coastal village of Lahad Datu in February claiming possession over that land. Malaysia responded by launching air strikes and sending in troops and the standoff lasted for three weeks and dozens were killed before the standoff eased. 

Malaysia faced criticism for their response. Cracks in Malaysia’s security should not be taken lightly and the ease with which the sultan got into the country without raising too many flags, should worry Malaysia as these security cracks in the infrastructure maybe responsible for illegal weapons reaching terrorists in Asia.

(New Dehli Times)

Singapore has no home-grown terrorist groups, unlike Indonesia and the Philippines, and is blessed with an island geography demarcated by clear, policeable borders. Strict border control to prevent the flow of both radicalised individuals and a broad list of controlled items - even fertilisers, which contain the bomb-making material ammonium nitrate - is the strategy's foundation. 

Intelligence-sharing with South-east Asian neighbours of the sort that decimated the Jemaah Islamiah (JI) network is a major prong, as is what Muslim scholars have termed "the Singapore approach" of a sustained ideological campaign to root out and counter extremist teachings that may influence some in the Muslim community, with respected clerics leading the charge. 

But the strongest of foundations have hairline cracks.

Social-media networks have effectively spread the transnational ideology of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to all corners of the world, Singapore included. Last year, the Government confirmed that a few Singaporeans had travelled to Syria to take part in the conflict there; hundreds of Malaysians and Indonesians have done the same. 

ISIS has also perfected what experts call "crowd-sourced terrorism": inspiring individuals to unleash violence in their societies with crude, basic weapons. 

"The terrorist group provides the overall extremist narrative through social-media channels that legitimises violence. Vulnerable, disaffected individuals do not need any training or specialised skills and can just engage in acts like knifing incidents or driving cars into crowded bus stops," says Dr Kumar Ramakrishna, head of RSIS' Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS).

(AsiaOne)

Then there’s Indonesia. In all the racket from the Middle East it’s easy to forget that this giant archipelago is the world’s most populous Muslim country. Here’s the news from Indonesia: there isn’t much. 

The local terrorist groups are crushed. Fundamentalist parties have never won more than about 17 per cent of the vote. A long-running insurgency in Aceh ended with a peace agreement after the tsunami of 2004. Nowadays Aceh has autonomy and its own nasty version of religious law but there are no executions. 

Here’s the key to the three “Muslim” insurgencies in Thailand, The Philippines and Indonesia. They weren’t about Islam at all. The Thai revolt is about borders, banditry and smuggling. In The Philippines, they are about warlords and plunder. The Indonesian separatists claimed a lost kingdom and loathed Jakarta. In these struggles Islam was a cloak, not a flag. 

There are two red lines that the nations of Southeast Asia have, more or less successfully, upheld. One is that there should be no compulsion in religion. The other is that killing people for doctrinal transgressions is wrong. Nobody here sees these as mere “Western” values. 

Does it always work? No. Extremists are forever testing the boundaries. In Malaysia they used the courts to ban Christians from using the word “Allah”. Moral vigilantes in Indonesia go after girls in skimpy clothes, entertainers and writers. Buddhism, which emphasises compassion, has spawned an ugly subset of monks in Myanmar who lead massacres of Muslims. None of this is about souls. It’s about power.

(The Australian)