Indonesia, Malaysia and the Fight Against Islamic State Influence

The Diplomat (Japan)

11 September 2014

Stefanie Kam and Robi Sugara

The Indonesian government recently banned the Islamic State (IS), formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) also released a statement that it was “haram” or forbidden, for Muslims to participate in IS activities. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak also recently issued a strongly worded statement condemning the IS for its actions, which run counter to Islamic faith, culture and to common humanity.

These are all positive steps. But they have been inadequate, given the spread of the ideological beliefs of IS via social media tools to preach and recruit others to join the extremist group.

… Stefanie Kam Li Yee is an Associate Research Fellow at S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Robi Sugara is a graduate student pursuing an MSc in Strategic Studies at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.

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