Al Fatihin — the Islamic State’s new publication aiming to reach Malay-speaking Muslims in Southeast Asia — has been hit by the ban hammer of the Singapore government.
In a country that’s ranked tragically low in the Press Freedom Index, the gazetting of Al Fatihin is one decision that’s unequivocally the right thing to do. The terrorist group’s newspaper is their attempt at spreading their extremist ideology abroad with a clear intention to influence and recruit Southeast Asians to join their twisted fold.
“The Singapore Government has zero tolerance for terrorist propaganda and has therefore decided to prohibit Al Fatihin in Singapore,” wrote the Ministry of Communications and Information in a statement (MCI).
With the prohibition, it will officially be an offence to distribute or possess a copy of Al Fatihin. Heck, it’s even an offence to come into the possession of the newspaper but fail to deliver it to the police. Those convicted will face fines and/or imprisonment.
“The contents of Al Fatihin and the fact that it is published in Bahasa Indonesia, which is used by many in this region, confirm the objectives behind the publication to influence the people in this region and to cause disharmony,” said Minister of Communications and Information Dr Yaacob Ibrahim.
“Extremism has no place in Singapore – it cannot and must not take root here.”
