First Islamist woman arrested, her dream was to become a “widow’s martyr
The infant care assistant had been trying to marry a Jihadi and move to Syria since 2015. Her family was aware of her radicalisation but did not warn the authorities. Muslim leaders slam extremist propaganda. "One life lost to exclusivism and extremism is one life too many,” said Singapore’s mufti.
Singapore (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari is the first Singaporean woman arrested for radicalism. She was detained earlier this month under the country’s Internal Security Act, said Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam Tuesday.
The 22-year-old wanted to be an Islamic State (IS) “martyr’s widow”. Minister Shanmugam noted hat the infant care assistant began to be radicalised in 2013 by online propaganda from the Islamic State terror group.
Her parents, both freelance Quranic teachers, and sister had known of her radicalism in 2015, but did not alert the authorities.
After her exposure to IS material, she "began to believe that ISIS represented the true spirit of Islam. Her radicalisation deepened over time. This was exacerbated by a wide network of foreign online contacts which she developed", said the ministry.
This network included IS militants and supporters, some of whom had since been killed in Syria or arrested for terrorism activities.
The ministry added that Izzah intended to join the group in Syria, and supported its use of violence to establish and defend its self-declared "caliphate", which in the past threatened actions against Singapore.
She was "actively planning" to travel to Syria with her young child, said the ministry, adding that since 2015, Izzah had been looking for an IS supporter to marry and settle down with in Syria.
She believed that she would reap "heavenly rewards" if her husband died fighting, and her resulting status as a "martyr's widow" would help her marry another ISIS fighter easily.
News of her arrest has triggered a lot of soul-searching in the island-nation, especially among the country’s most important Islamic leaders.
"I am deeply troubled by the news of the latest arrest - that someone so young could have been swayed by these nefarious beliefs, and would want to throw her life away,” said Singapore's highest Islamic authority, Mufti Dr Mohamed Fatris Bakaram. "One life lost to exclusivism and extremism is one life too many,” he added.
The mufti concluded by encouraging the local community to remain united and work with the authorities in order to save their loved ones.
The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) also reminded the community to be "very wary" of IS’s "carefully-crafted messages" on social media, adding that a radicalised individual's support structure may not be able to counter them.
Muis added that "This incident is a reminder that there should not be any let-up in our fight against extremist and radicalised teachings."
Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim said that Izzah's case is a reminder of the serious threat of terrorism. He reminded Muslims to alert the authorities of any kind of suspicious behaviour or signs of radicalisation among their family and friends.
"This is the best way for us to help the individual, our loved ones from harming themselves and others," he said. "We are not here to condemn the individual. We condemn the act, but we want to save the individual. We want to help him or her, who has gone astray."
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