Singapore detains first extremist woman citizen
Singapore said yesterday it has detained an assistant child-care worker suspected of trying to join Islamic State and to find a militant husband in Syria, and was holding her under a tough security law that allows for detention without trial. The detention of the first Singaporean woman for suspected Islamist radicalism comes as concern is growing about the spread of Islamic State in the region. Singapore and its neighbors recently began intelligence cooperation aimed at stemming the movement of militants across their borders.
Singapore has reiterated over the past year that it is a target of Islamist groups and has urged the public to be alert. The suspect, Syaikhah Izzah Zahrah Al Ansari, 22, was detained this month for intending to make her way to Syria to join Islamic State of Iraq and Syria with her child, the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement. “She supported ISIS’ use of violence to establish and defend its self-declared ‘caliphate’, and aspired to live in it,” the ministry said, referring to Islamic State.
Izzah, a contract assistant at an infant care center, was radicalized as early as 2013 by online propaganda with links to Islamic State and she shared pro-Islamic State material on social media. She had also sought a militant husband in Syria, the ministry said, adding that her family had tried to talk her out of her plans but had not handed her in, and had even destroyed evidence against her. “She said that since 2015, she was looking for ‘a Salafi or an ISIS supporter’ to marry and settle down with him and her child in Syria,” the ministry said.
“She said she would support her husband if he fought for ISIS in Syria as she believed she would reap ‘heavenly rewards’ if he died in battle. With her ‘elevated status’ as a ‘martyr’s widow’, she felt she could easily marry another ISIS fighter in Syria.” Her parents, both Quranic teachers, and sister came to know of her radical postings in 2015. After she was placed under investigation, important evidence was destroyed by a family member relating to her plans to join Islamic State, in order to try to cover up her acts, it said.
“They tried on their own to dissuade her but they were unsuccessful. Izzah continued down the path of radicalism. In April 2017, she boasted to a contact that the Singapore authorities had not detected her,” the ministry said. It made no mention of any legal action against any of her relatives. — Reuters