Dr. Mohamed Bin Ali is Assistant Professor in the Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. His areas of research include Islamic Jurisprudence, Islamist ideology, religious extremism, inter-religious relations and rehabilitation of Muslim extremists.Dr Mohamed obtained his Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Islamic Jurisprudence from Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt in 2002, Master of Science (MSc) in International Relations at RSIS, NTU in 2007 and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Arab and Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter, United Kingdom in 2013. Prior to that, he studied Islam and Arabic language at Aljunied Islamic School in Singapore from 1990-1995. Dr Mohamed also graduated with a Specialist Diploma in Counselling Psychology from Academy of Certified Counsellors, Singapore in 2006. Since 2003, Dr Mohamed has been involved in the rehabilitation programme of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) detainees in Singapore. He is the Co-Chairman and counsellor of the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG), a group of voluntary Muslim clerics who provide religious counselling to detainees arrested for terrorism-related activities. Dr Mohamed has lectured and made numerous presentations locally and abroad; conducted courses and published widely on Islamic issues and issues of religious extremism and terrorist rehabilitation. He has also conducted field trips in many countries including Iraq, Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines. Dr Mohamed is also active in the community. He is currently the Chairman of Khadijah Mosque Management Board, Vice-Chairman, Geylang Serai Racial and Religious Harmony Circle, member of the Syariah Appeal Board of the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), associate member of MUIS Fatwa Committee, and member of MUIS Wakaf (Endowment) Dispute Resolution Committee. Dr Mohamed was a former President of the Singaporean Students Welfare Assembly in Cairo, former member of Council for Asian Terrorism Research and former counsellor at the Singapore Prison Department. He has also delivered lectures and sermons in many mosques in Singapore. Dr Mohamed was conferred the National Day Award 2022 – Public Service Medal (Pingat Bakti Masyarakat or PBM) by the President of Singapore in August 2022.

• Islamic Studies – Shariah Law, Theology
• Islam and Politics – Islamist Ideology, Salafism and Jihadism
• Religious Violence and Extremism
• Inter-religious Relations – Islam and the Religious Other
• De-Radicalisation and Rehabilitation of Violent Extremist Offenders

• Chairman, Khadijah Mosque Management Board
• Co-Chairman, Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG)
• Vice-Chairman, Geylang Serai Racial and Religious Harmony Circle
• Advisor, Nanyang Technological University Muslim Society (NTUMS)
• Member, Editorial Board of Interreligious Relations (IRR) Occasional Papers Series, RSIS, NTU
• Member, RSIS PhD Admission Committee
• Member, Syariah Appeal Board, Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS)
• Associate Member, MUIS Fatwa (Religious Ruling) Committee
• Member, MUIS Wakaf (Endowment) Dispute Resolution Committee
• Member, Academic Board, Religious Leadership, Singapore Islamic Scholars and Teachers Association (PERGAS)

Commentaries

• Deterring Online Radicalisation: Strengthening the Family Institution

  14 February, 2023

• 20 Years of JI: Role of Govt-Community Partnership

  16 December, 2021

• Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict: A Religious Strife?

  22 October, 2020

• Global Health Security - Temporary Closure of Mosques: Sharia Flexibility in Singapore

  13 April, 2020

• CO18063 | Labelling IS Fighters: Khawarij, Not Jihadi-Salafis

  04 April, 2018

• CO18039 | Inclusivism and Religious Plurality: A Quranic Perspective

  09 March, 2018

• CO17193 | “Enemies” of God: Extremists’ Perception of the Religious Other

  16 October, 2017

• CO17179 | Countering Violent Extremism: Role of Women and Family

  28 September, 2017

• CO17170 | IS Ideology: Debunking its Pseudo-Religious Character

  19 September, 2017

• CO17115 | IS Ramadan Attacks: Perverted Interpretation of Fasting Month

  09 June, 2017

• CO16297 | From Kharijites to IS: Muhammad’s Prophecy of Extremist Thought

  08 December, 2016

• CO16254 | Salafis and Wahhabis: Two Sides of the Same Coin?

  11 October, 2016

• CO16238 | From Legitimacy to Social Change: Understanding the Appeal of Salafism

  28 September, 2016

• CO16203 | IS Terrorism: How to Win the Ideological Battle

  11 August, 2016

• CO16191 | Banning of ISIS’ Al-Fatihin: Is this Enough?

  26 July, 2016

• CO16035 | Religious Pluralism and Peace: Lessons from the Medina Charter

  16 February, 2016

• CO16016 | Countering ISIS Ideological Threat: Reclaim Islam’s Intellectual Traditions

  25 January, 2016

• CO15251 | Forging Muslim and Non-Muslim Relationship: Contesting the Doctrine of Al-Wala’ wal Bara’

  19 November, 2015

• CO15057 | Salafis, Salafism and Modern Salafism: What Lies Behind a Term?

  18 March, 2015

• CO14149 | ‘Jihad’ in Syria: Fallacies of ISIS’ End-Time Prophecies

  30 July, 2014

• CO13204 | Shariah Law and Hudud: Understanding Its Objectives and Spirit

  01 November, 2013

• CO08100 | De-Radicalisation Programmes: Changing Minds?

  23 September, 2008

Interreligious Relations

• Interreligious Relations (IRR) Issue 29 – Emotional Intelligence in Interfaith Relations: Lessons from Prophet Muhammad’s Interaction with the Christians of Najran by Mohamed Bin Ali

  04 April, 2022

Authored Books

• The Roots of Religious Extremism: Understanding the Salafi Doctrine of Al-Wala’ wal Bara’ (Insurgency and Terrorism). : Imperial College Press , 2015

Journal Articles

• “Delineating the Concept of Human Dignity in the Quran, Karamah al-insan as Antidote to Religious Conflicts and Violence” in Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, Vol 9, No 1, 2022, pp. 220-235
• “Muslims Living in Non-Muslim Lands: Contesting Muhammad Saeed Al-Qahtani’s Argument on Hijrah- Al-Walā’ wal Barā’ Nexus” (with Muhammad Saiful Alam Shah Bin Sudiman) in Journal of Islamic Studies and Culture, Vol 7, No 2, 2019. 97-106
• Gunaratna, Rohan, and Mohamed Bin Ali. “De-radicalization Initiatives in Egypt: A Preliminary Insight.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 32 (2009): 277-291. doi: 10.1080/10576100902750562.

Edited Books / Special Issues

• Terrorist Rehabilitation: A New Frontier in Counter-terrorism (with Rohan Gunaratna), Eds. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing , 2015

Op-Eds

• ““The Continuing Threat of Self-Radicalization in Singapore””, The Diplomat, 23 January 2023
• ““Individu Radikal Kekal Sebagai Ancaman Utama SG” (Self-Radicalisation Remains a Key Threat to Singapore)”, Komentar Berita Mediacorp, 23 January 2023
• “The Enduring Ideological Threat Of Al-Qaeda After Ayman Al-Zawahiri” (with Ahmad Saiful Rijal Bin Hassan), Eurasia Review, 20 September 2022
• “Countering Violent Extremism: The Singapore Experience”, The Karyawan, 15 April 2022
• “Pengalaman Muslim Singapura Hidup Dalam Negara Sekular (The Experience of Singaporean Muslims Living in a Secular State)” (with Ahmad Saiful Rijal Bin Hassan), Komentar Berita Mediacorp, 14 April 2022
• “Pengalaman Muslim Singapura Hidup Dalam Negara Sekular” (with Ahmad Saiful Rijal Bin Hassan), Berita Mediacorp, 14 April 2022
• “Islam, Muslims and the Secular State of Singapore”, The Diplomat , 24 March 2022
• “Evaluating Strategies to Address Online Radicalization in Singapore”, The Diplomat, 18 January 2022
• “Inisiatif kemasyarakatan silang agama: Paparan semangat #SGUnited dalam meniti krisis COVID-19” (with Remy Mahzam, and Amalina Abdul Nasir), Berita Harian, 26 April 2020