Channel NewsAsia
06 January 2018
- RSIS
- Media Mentions
- Commentary: Radicalisation Not a Threat That Can Be Flushed Out
Commentary: Radicalisation Not a Threat That Can Be Flushed Out
Like what Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam said a week ago: “Islamophobia … increases the risk of violence both from terrorists who kill in the name of Islam, and from those who want to attack Muslims.”
The key to avoiding this perception is to encourage engagements within the Muslim community in understanding Islam especially as young Muslims deal with issues of purpose and identity in navigating the events of today.
The wider public must see these engagements as efforts to leverage our Muslim community as a source of strength and inoculation against radicalisation, rather than as a community at risk.
Given the changing global terrorism landscape, Singapore has to double down on its counter-radicalisation efforts. We must also anticipate how extremist groups may seek new opportunities in uncertainties born by these developments to perpetuate their ideology and justify acts of terror.
… Remy Mahzam is an associate research fellow at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research. Faizal A Rahman is a research fellow at the Centre of Excellence for National Security at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
CENS / ICPVTR / Online
Last updated on 24/01/2018
