Twenty-seven male Bangladeshis working in Singapore have been
arrested for supporting the armed jihad ideology of terrorist groups
such as Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda.
Some of them had considered waging armed jihad overseas, but they
were not planning any terrorist attacks in Singapore, the country's
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said today.
The men, who were working in the construction industry here, were
arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) between November 16 and
December 1 last year.
Of the 27, 26 were members of a closed religious study group that
subscribed to extremist beliefs and teachings of radical figures like
Anwar al-Awlaki, an American and Yemeni Islamic lecturer alleged to have
ties with militant group al-Qaeda. Awlaki was killed in a drone strike
in Yemen in September 2011.
The remaining man was not a member of the study group, but was
discovered to have been undergoing radicalisation. He supported
extremist preachers and possessed jihadi-related material.
All 27 have had their work passes cancelled, and 26 of them have
since been repatriated to Bangladesh, where the authorities were
informed of the circumstances of their repatriation.
The last person is now in prison for attempting to leave Singapore
illegally after learning of his fellow members' arrests. He will also be
repatriated once he completes his sentence.
In the course of their arrests, the Internal Security Department
recovered a "significant amount" of radical and jihadi-related material,
such as books and videos containing footage of children undergoing
training in what appeared to be terrorist military camps.
Several members also possessed a shared document with graphic images
and instruction details on how to conduct "silent killings" using
different methods and weapons.
The group
members took measures to avoid detection by the authorities, sharing
jihadi-related materials discreetly and holding weekly gatherings to
discuss armed conflicts involving Muslims, said Singapore MHA.
"They also carefully targeted the recruitment of other Bangladeshi nationals to grow their membership," said the MHA.
A number of members admitted that they believed they should
participate in and wage armed jihad on behalf of their religion. Several
contemplated travelling to the Middle East to take part in the ongoing
conflict.
Some of them were in support of terrorist groups that killed Shias as they considered Shias to be "deviant".
They also bore grievances against the Bangladeshi government over its actions against some Islamic groups and leaders.
"Members were encouraged to return to Bangladesh and wage armed jihad
against the Bangladeshi government. They had also sent monetary
donations to entities believed to be linked to extremist groups in
Bangladesh," Singapore MHA said.
The Singapore government takes a serious view of any form of support for terrorism.
Any person - foreigner or otherwise - who engages in any activity
that threatens to harm Singapore's national security and racial and
religious harmony will be firmly dealt with under the law.
"Foreigners are guests of our country and they should not abuse this
privilege and use Singapore as a base to import their own domestic
political agenda and carry out activities in pursuit of such an agenda,"
Singapore MHA said.
"In the same way, foreign religious speakers who propagate divisive
doctrines which could lead to mistrust, enmity and hatred among local
religious groups and undermine Singapore's social cohesion are not
welcomed and will not be allowed to operate in Singapore."
Anyone who knows or suspects that a person has been radicalised, or
is engaging in extremist activities or propagating extremist teachings,
should promptly inform the Internal Security Department (1800-2626-473)
or the Police (999).
