Drop Word 'Islam' From IS - Academicians

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 (Bernama) - The world should stop attaching militants or radical groups, including the so-called Islamic State (IS) with any religion particularly Islam as it did not portray the true model of the religion nor its followers, said two academicians. Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) fellow Dr Farish A Noor called on the media and academicians to drop the word of 'Islam' from IS because religion did not influence the movement, but it was contributed by frustration, anger and anxiety faced by certain societies today. "Numerous of Islamic preachers have again and again stressed that there is nothing Islamic about the IS. But somehow the approach by some people puts the blame on religion as a quick and convenient solution," he said during a panel discussion on The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria at the IDFR here Thursday. Farish, who is also an associate professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, stressed that militant or radical groups were the result of failure in socio-political and economic aspects, which left this 'frustrated and angry group of people with no choice' but to seek a sense of belongings with militant groups. Thus, he rebutted ideas that linked militant or radical groups to Islam, as this problem was not unique to Muslims nor Arab countries. "To prevent more youngsters from getting involved, there is a need for governments to understand the mechanisms used by this group and the underlying factors such as socio-political and economic that could influence them," Farish added. He also touched on the almost non-existence of laws or tribunals to oversee people who crossed borders to join militant groups, where they participated in crimes such as killing that is punishable if it was done in their country. "Not many nations have jurisdiction beyond their borders. That is why you can commit things that are illegal at home, abroad. The legal community has kept silent on this," he said. However, he added that some countries had developed such laws, for example the Philippines constitution which stated that it was illegal for its citizens to start a war with other country. Meanwhile, International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) lecturer Ahmad El-Muhammady described IS as a group that manipulated religious texts for its own agenda. Ahmad added the alleged brutality of war in Syria was said to have raised sympathy among Muslims across the world which resulted in them become so-called jihadists due to appealing jihadi narratives, such as 'syahid' (matrydom) and 'daulah Islamiyah' (Islamic caliphate). The use of social media such as YouTube, Facebook and blogs also 'aid' the militant groups in recruiting new members, he said, adding that one of the militant's Facebook page had reached 5,000 friends. "Imagine, if they posted something on their Facebook wall. It could be seen by 5,000 people across the world and the shared number of this posting could be more than that, and this is a worrying trend," he said. Ahmad added both the ideas and images or videos, such as the clip 40 minutes Flames of War, believed to be pro-IS, is also believed to have helped this group to come out with perfect packaging that could possibly attract more people to join their cause. He called for proper action to be taken to neutralise the pro-IS elements in Malaysia as Malaysians who joined such groups might pose serious national security threats when they returned. "Malaysian jihadists will be exposed to three basic 'ingredients' which are war experience, ideology and skills, and expertise in war," he said. -- BERNAMA