SINGAPORE - From early next month, members of the public seeking
answers to questions on extremism and advice on religious matters
can turn to a new helpline set up by a group of Islamic religious
scholars and teachers.
The Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG), formed in 2003 to
counsel terror detainees and counter the Jemaah Islamiah threat, is
hard at work extending its outreach efforts to derail radical
propaganda spread by terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and
Syria (ISIS) as it continues to lure foreign fighters into its
war.
The hotline, 1800-7747747, will be manned by RRG members and
plans to operate round the clock.
The group is also going down to the ground, working with the
Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) to conduct outreach
talks at mosques before Friday sermons. Its co-chair Hasbi Hassan
and vice-chair Mohamed Ali started these sessions last Friday at
the Al-Muttaqin Mosque in Ang Mo Kio and Darussalam Mosque in
Clementi.
Meanwhile, RRG counsellors will have clear guidelines to refer
to with the launch of a third counsellor's manual. This manual,
produced by the RRG, focuses on refuting ISIS' extremist narrative
and making clear how they are not relevant to Singapore Muslims in
particular.
These measures taken by the RRG to tackle the growing terrorism
threat were lauded by Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating
Minister for National Security Teo Chee Hean at the group's annual
retreat on Tuesday.
News broke last month of a self-radicalised Singaporean student
detained in April under the Internal Security Act. He had made
plans to join ISIS, and had also planned to carry out terrorist
attacks in Singapore - including the assassination of President
Tony Tan Keng Yam and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Another 17-year-old was arrested in May for further
investigations.
These two cases highlight the urgent need to deal with the ISIS
threat, said Mr Teo, who is also Home Affairs Minister. Speaking in
Malay, he urged the community to work together to protect youths
from radical ideology, and suggested three ways they could better
tackle concerns of terrorism.
First, religious teachers must work with MUIS and groups like
the RRG and Pergas to develop an ideology that counters ISIS'
radical take on the religion. This should be attuned to Singapore's
context - a multiracial, multireligious society - he added.
Second, the RRG and other community groups should work with
young people to reach out to youths - who are most vulnerable to
the spread of extremist propaganda online - through social media
and the Internet.
Mr Teo said: "Just as ISIS has used social media to provide
religious justifications for its various actions, our responses
have to be equally, if not more, dynamic."
And third, he said, Singapore needs to go beyond countering
distorted and radical ideology, and put out a positive agenda that
allows the different communities to live together peacefully.
"This is a precious legacy built by our founding leaders and
Pioneers. We want our youths to also appreciate the racial and
religious harmony that we enjoy today," said Mr Teo.
"This peace and stability serves as the foundation for our
social and economic development - allowing Singaporeans of all
races and religions to receive good education, take up good jobs,
and bring up children in a safe and secure environment."
ST