Local Muslims told to spurn radicalism

Moderate Muslims across Southeast Asia must work to discredit radical interpretations of Islam, a Bangkok seminar has been told.

Ehud Ya’ari, an Israel-based fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said Islamic organisations in Indonesia and the rest of the region should help diffuse the spread of terrorism by debating issues around extremism.

Mr Ya’ari was speaking at an Institute of Security and International Studies seminar exploring how Southeast Asia can learn from turmoil in the Middle East.

“If you do not come to the Middle East, it will come to you,” he said, warning that Muslim populations everywhere must be one step ahead of radicalisation threats or risk domestic problems like those seen in the Arab world.

David Menashri, an academic from Tel Aviv University’s Centre for Islam Studies, said the form of “political Islam” preached by militants including Islamic State misrepresents the religion. He said such interpretations twist radical versions of teachings and claim to be a “highway to salvation” and the “true Islam”.

These extremists believe Islamic militancy is the answer to their problems, he said. They are ready to spread their views throughout European and Southeast Asian cities, so countries must work together to solve the “global issue”, Mr Menashri said.

“Today, we are already seeing how radical Islam is causing a problem,” he said. “The Western world must unite and the silent majority will hopefully wake up. We should learn from Southeast Asia that there are different ways of interpreting Islam.”

Mr Ya’ari called for a stronger military presence on the ground in Syria to crush pockets of 20,000-30,000 IS terrorists.

He said IS is unlikely to move the geographical location of its activities for the foreseeable future, since the Middle East remains the grand theatre for its operations. But he warned that people in southern Thailand might start becoming interested in the IS interpretation of doctrine unless preventative measures are taken.

Edy Bayuni, senior editor at the Jakarta Post, said IS recruiters are known to target everywhere from universities to prisons. Mr Bayuni said the previous administration was slow to grasp the issue, but the current government has responded by banning militant groups.

“I’m confident that the Indonesian government is able to deal with the second wave of radical Islam ideology effectively,” the journalist said.

Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, chairman of the New Straits Times Press, argued that referring to whole religions as “militant” is wrong. “There’s no such thing as militant Islam or militant Buddhism, but we have Muslims or Buddhists who are militants,” he said.

Mr Hassan said referring to militants as jihadists is also misleading, since it describes those involved in a holy struggle, not thugs and terrorists.

“The last thing we want is a Syria-like situation in Southeast Asia. We need to avoid divisions within countries, be it tribes against tribes, or race against race. Society must be inclusive and minority rights must be protected,” he said.