Singapore condemns ISIS in 'strongest possible terms'

Republic welcomes US leadership in combating extremists: Shanmugam
By Jeremy Au Yong, US Bureau Chief In Washington, The Straits Times, 1 Oct 2014

FOREIGN Minister K. Shanmugam has reaffirmed Singapore's tough stand on the militant group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) at the United Nations, on a day when the Syrian and Indian leaders also voiced support for the international effort to combat the extremists.

Speaking to the UN General Assembly in New York, Mr Shanmugam said Singapore condemns the actions of the terrorist group in the "strongest possible terms".

"It is brutal, cruel and a travesty of all that religion stands for. Their unspeakable cruelty, including abductions and brutal murders of civilians, constitutes crimes against humanity," he said on Monday.

Mr Shanmugam - whose speech also touched on the move to draft a new global development agenda to replace the Millennium Development Goals - added that ISIS needs to be fought beyond the battlefields.

"We need to combat them at all levels. Critically: Fair economic development, good governance, political and social stability will increase a country's resilience against them."

Over the course of the past week, Singapore has stressed its ISIS position on several platforms. ASEAN released a joint statement condemning terrorism at the weekend and Singapore co-sponsored the UN Security Council resolution on foreign fighters that was passed unanimously.

Mr Shanmugam also said that Singapore welcomes the strong leadership of the United States on the issue as well as the Jeddah declaration by Arab countries pledging to stand united against ISIS.

The Singapore Foreign Minister's comments at the UN came hours after a closely watched speech by Syria's Deputy Prime Minister Walid Al- Moualem.

While Mr Al-Moualem objected to economic sanctions that have been placed on Syria by the US and European nations, he did not explicitly condemn the air strikes - an indication that the Assad government is willing to tolerate the bombardment. If anything, he urged countries to take firmer action against ISIS, especially in implementing measures called for in the UN resolution passed last week cracking down on the flow of foreign fighters to the region.

"Intentions here no longer have a place. Fighting terrorism is achievable through actual implementation of resolutions, and it is certainly possible through military strikes. But most importantly, to do so through stopping states that arm, support, train, fund... those terrorist groups," he said.

The US and five Arab partners began air strikes within Syria's borders last week. Though the Syrian government was notified shortly before the strikes began, the US said it did not ask for permission.

ISIS was also on the mind of visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he spoke at an event organised by the think-tank Council on Foreign Relations in New York. The world needed to unite to fight a draconian wave of terrorism, he said in Hindi.

"Terrorism is an enemy of humanity and anybody who believes in humanity, they all need to come together," he said.

Mr Modi also urged the US to be careful in pulling troops out of Afghanistan, lest it repeats the mistakes of Iraq.

"Because after such a rapid withdrawal in Iraq, and what happened there, the withdrawal process in Afghanistan should be very slow. Let it stand on its own, and only then can you stop the Taleban lifting its head there," he said.

Post by Singapore Islamic Scholars & Religious Teachers Association.

ISIS' violent acts against teachings of Islam, PERGAS tells Muslims
By Walter Sim, The Straits Times, 4 Oct 2014

THE Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association (PERGAS) has condemned the violent acts of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and other extremist groups.

In a statement yesterday, PERGAS urged the Muslim community not to support nor sympathise with ISIS or any other groups with radical beliefs that "cause bloodshed among Muslims and murder innocent lives".

Such violence goes against the teachings of Islam and have no links to the religion, it said.

"The fight by ISIS is not only inconsistent with Islam, but is almost similar to the warning of Prophet Muhammad regarding the rise of extremists... This group will comprise of youth who are passionate, good orators and will call upon others to embrace the rule of Allah. They will speak and present their arguments with verses from the Quran but they themselves do not truly understand the meaning and context of the verses of Quran and the Hadith (Prophetic sayings)."

PERGAS emphasised its rejection of any form of violence and oppression by any party or religion.

"Every party will have to reflect upon and understand the reasons behind the spread of terrorism," it said. "The issue of terrorism and violence in Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Myanmar and any other country will not be solved if tyranny, discrimination, corruption and oppression still exist."

As such, eradicating threats of terrorism or ISIS will not be solved simply by military action: "As long as the fundamental issues of tyranny, oppression and injustice that lead to radicalisation and acts of terror, then groups like ISIS will continue to exist, and will alternate."

The statement came against the backdrop of revulsion against ISIS, which declared a "caliphate" straddling Iraq and Syria.

More than 120 Islamic scholars globally issued an open letter recently denouncing the militants and refuting their religious arguments. PERGAS yesterday called on the Muslim community to deepen and strengthen religious knowledge by learning from qualified religious teachers.

http://lettertobaghdadi.com/
Posted by lettertobaghdadi.com on Tuesday, September 23, 2014

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/24/muslim-scholars-islamic-state_n_5878038.html
Posted by lettertobaghdadi.com on Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Cracking down on terror
The Straits Times, 2 Oct 2014

ANTI-TERRORISM measures taken by key countries:

Britain

- Cancellation of passports and even citizenship for those engaged in terror

- Ban on organisations promoting terrorism or justifying violence

- Faster deportation procedures for terrorism suspects

France

- Powers to refuse issuing passports to terrorism volunteers

- Creation of new offence of terrorist conspiracy even if it involves one person

- Powers to close pro-terror websites without providing initial evidence

Germany

- Prosecutors can order arrest of individuals suspected of having undergone terrorist training

- Proposals to amend criminal code to enable faster prosecution of terrorist suspects

Australia

- Intelligence services given fresh powers to retain and protect larger quantities of personal data

- Federal authorities told to withdraw passports for volunteer terrorists

Sources of foreign fighters

ESTIMATED breakdown of the top sources of foreign volunteers fighting in Iraq or Syria:

- Asia: 1,000

- Russia: 800

- France: 700

- Britain: 500

- Germany: 400

- Turkey: 400

- Belgium: 300

- The Netherlands: 150

Sources: International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation, London, early this year; officially released national intelligence estimates, August this year

Europe grapples with anti-terrorism measures
By Jonathan Eyal, Europe Correspondent In London, The Straits Times, 2 Oct 2014

BRITAIN'S Home Secretary Theresa May has vowed to introduce new laws banning extremist groups and radical Islamist preachers even if they have not been convicted of any specific criminal offence.

Dismissing criticism from civil liberties activists that such steps amount to punishment without due legal process, Mrs May told the annual conference of the Conservative Party this week that Britain needed to be defended from extremists who otherwise "stay just within the law" but still seek to undermine public order, adding that "we must stand up to our values".

The "Extremism Disruption Orders" will be implemented if the government retains power at next year's general election. But many other Western countries have either introduced or are considering similar laws.

Britain is a trailblazer in this area partly because the country has been subjected to various terrorist threats for more than half a century, but also because, in the absence of a written Constitution or criminal code, judges frequently challenge government powers.

Under recent measures, the government may not only cancel the passport of anyone suspected of volunteering for terrorism, but can also annul the citizenship of anyone who took up British nationality and then engaged in hostile activities. Evidence against suspected terrorists can now be heard by judges in secret, to protect intelligence sources.

The protection of spying activities is also the subject of legislation approved yesterday in Australia: It threatens anyone compromising an intelligence operation or disclosing its details with up to 10 years in jail.

And this is just the first step in a package of new measures which Australia plans to introduce; others include the creation of a new criminal offence of travelling to any area of the world which the Australian authorities declare off-limits, a novel approach which, if it works, is likely to be copied by other countries.

France, too, has introduced tough regulations to stem terrorist recruitment among Europe's single-biggest Muslim community. Paris now has the powers to refuse issuing a passport to anyone it suspects of volunteering for terrorism, as well as shutting down any website it believes to be promoting violence.

Early next week, the French Senate is scheduled to approve a new law which will extend the offence of planning for a "terrorist conspiracy" to single individuals; until now, only two people or more could technically be accused of a conspiracy. "The loophole has to be closed, for there is a growing tendency for would-be jihadis to operate on their own," explains Mr Gilles de Kerchove, who is responsible for counter-terrorism coordination in the European Union.

The Germans, who were stunned to discover that at least 400 of their citizens may now be fighting in Syria and Iraq, are also seeking to tighten their anti-terrorism laws. Mrs Eva Hogl, an MP from the centre- left Social Democrats who share power with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, this week said the ruling coalition in Berlin had "agreed on a series of steps in order to better address the Islamist threat".

But Germany's turbulent history is proving to be a hindrance. Because the Nazi dictatorship arbitrarily deprived German Jews of their nationality during the 1930s, the introduction of new regulations withdrawing German citizenship from would-be terrorists is a "delicate matter", a spokesman for the Interior Ministry admitted. Equally difficult is the imposition of restrictions on the right of Germans to travel abroad, or the granting of wider powers to the intelligence services to collect and store private data.

Absent from all these legal efforts, however, are any new ideas on how to prevent the phenomenon of radicalisation in the first place. Previous schemes launched with great fanfare and plenty of cash in Britain and France are acknowledged to have failed and, in the absence of anything better, European politicians are steering clear of such ideas.

Nor is there much consensus on what could be done with European volunteers who return from fighting in the Middle East. Denmark has pioneered a programme of "terrorist rehabilitation", offering treatment for shrapnel and gunshot wounds and psychological trauma to returning fighters, as well as assisting them with finding work. But no other European government is interested in copying this model.

So, Europe's terrorism volunteers are faced with the option of either remaining in the Middle East or returning home to lengthy jail terms.

That is, if Europe's border controls prove up to the task: Three suspected terrorists returned to France last week and sailed through passport control without being apprehended, despite the fact that they had been on the "wanted" list for years.

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