Singapore bans book promoting armed jihad published in Malaysia
SINGAPORE — The Singapore government will on Friday (25 June) ban a book promoting armed jihad and extremist views.
The Malay book is titled Menyingkap Rahsia Tentera Elit Briged Izzuddin Al- Qassam: Generasi Muda Perindu Syahid (Uncovering the secrets of the Izz Ad-Din Al Qassam Brigades Elite Force: The Young Generation of Seekers of Martyrdom).
The book is authored by Abdul Aziz Abu Bakar and Adnan M. El Halabi, and was first printed by Malaysian company Hijjaz Records Publishing in 2015.
The Izz Ad-Din Al Qassam Brigades is the military wing of Palestinian organisation Hamas. The latter has been classified as a terrorist group by a number of countries.
In a statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MCI) said the book has been gazetted as a prohibited publication under the Undesirable Publications Act. The prohibition will take effect from Friday and those who are in possession of the book should hand them to the police.
"The publication came to the government’s notice in the course of investigations into 20-year-old Amirull bin Ali, who was detained under the Internal Security Act in March 2021," said the ministry.
"Amirull had purchased the publication overseas in 2015. Investigations determined that reading the publication was one of the factors that led to Amirull’s radicalisation," it added.
According to MCI, the book promotes armed jihad and contains extremist views promoting enmity among different religious communities.
"Such teachings and ideologies are detrimental to Singapore’s racial and religious harmony and relations," the ministry said.
It added that the government has zero tolerance for people or publications which aim to incite hostility or violence among different religious groups.
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