BUT TO PAS, SOME ARE MARTYRS: Youths joining IS due to poor knowledge of Islam - Anwar

The violent wave of jihadism as espoused by militant religious movements will grow unless the authorities first deal with Muslim youths with an idealised but “flawed” understanding of Islam, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.

The opposition leader attributed the rise of militant Islam to a growing number of Muslim youngsters who were disappointed with the lack of action by their governments to defend their religion,

"The central issue here is the lack knowledge and education. The difference of opinion is allowed in Islam and not to be punished if you disagree," he told a 100-strong student audience attending a forum on fighting extremism at Universiti Selangor here.

Anwar said the spread of violent jihad as promoted by groups such as the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq was founded on the ideological conflict between Islam’s two biggest schools, Sunni and Shiah.

He also said that Muslims fascinated by IS might replicate the spread of violence religious revolution here, echoing similar warnings by police officials and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“We better acknowledge that there is a serious flaw in the understanding of Islam among Muslims.

“They condone killings, abuse, massive annihilation of our own people in the name of jihad,” he said, referring to the militant jihadist movements that appear to be gaining traction among impressionable Muslims worldwide, including Malaysian Muslims.

Putrajaya has condemned the IS as a terrorist group but some Malaysians have been making their way to Syria to join in the fighting to create a religious caliphate there.

Earlier today, the Bloomberg news service reported that as many as 40 Malaysians are currently fighting for the IS in Syria, with some saying that the jihad was mandated by the Prophet Muhammad.

The violence and brutality committed by terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria poses a threat to the Middle East and, if left unchecked, the world, the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations said in a statement on September 27.

On August 11 this year, Hong Kong daily South China Morning Post reported that Malaysian police have revealed local jihadists who joined IS are now training their sights on Putrajaya.

A senior Malaysian police official was reported as saying that suspected jihadists had planned attacks on entertainment venues in Kuala Lumpur and a Carlsberg factory in Petaling Jaya. - The Malay Mail