KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 — The threat of Islamic State will continue to grow if the spread of the “Salafi Jihadi” ideology is not curbed, said the chief of Bukit Aman’s Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division.
DCP Datuk Ayob Khan said all parties must play their part, especially government departments, institutions of higher learning, mosques and NGOs, by vetting those invited to speak on issues relating to terrorism, especially Salafi Jihadi ideology issues.
“In my opinion, as long as the spread of the Salafi Jihadi ideology is not stopped decisively by all parties, then the threat of IS and other terror groups with the same ideology will not dissipate. In fact it will grow further,” he told The Sunday Star in an interview.
He also warned of so-called “religious experts” who depicted the terrorist group’s actions as justified.
“For example, when members of the audience such as college and university students ask whether it is warranted for Muslims to join IS, these experts will often say that if Muslims are being oppressed then it is a must for other Muslims to give assistance.
“Such answers clearly shows that this person promoted and encouraged Malaysians to follow the false ideology of the IS and fight in Syria despite that there being a fatwa (by the National Fatwa Council and international religious scholars) that clearly prohibits Muslim Malaysians from joining IS in Syria,” he said.
He added that these individuals have thousands of followers on social media and are often invited to speak at events hosted by NGOs, private and public institutions of higher learning as well as government departments.
He said background checks on these individuals could be done via various methods, including analysing their talks through YouTube, Facebook, speeches and their writings, as well as double checking the false Jihad promoted by IS with the various state Religious Departments, who have issued relevant fatwa on beliefs that are not in line with Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah beliefs practised in Malaysia.
“Organisers of talks on religious issues must also abide by the fatwa and decree by the sultans as well as the respective state religious departments, which prohibit certain individuals from giving talks at any given state.
“So far, eight states have prohibited some individuals, who are popular on social media and supposedly championing Al-Quran and Sunnah,” he said.
