SINGAPORE: Two self-radicalised male Singaporeans were dealt with under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in March, including a 19-year-old influenced by what the Internal Security Department (ISD) has called "salad bar" extremism.Both cases of radicalisation were triggered by the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ISD said on Wednesday (Jun 24).Cyrus Dzulqarnain Al-Shahriar, a 19-year-old student, was issued a restriction order under the ISA.He was self-radicalised online by Composite Violent Extremism (CoVE) and subscribed to pro-Hamas, anti-LGBTQ, anti-Western beliefs and violent incel ideologies, said ISD.
In the other case, 30-year-old customer service officer Tarmizi bin Mohd Taha was issued with an order of detention under ISA.ISD said that Tarmizi was a staunch supporter of Hamas and aspired to travel to the Palestinian territories to join the group. He indicated that he would be willing to undertake armed violence against Israel or conduct attacks in Singapore, if instructed by Hamas, said ISD.Both cases are unrelated."SALAD BAR" EXTREMISMCyrus' case highlights CoVE, which ISD has previously referred to as "salad bar" extremism.In 2022, Cyrus joined several online religious discussion groups to learn more about Islam, where he was exposed to anti-Western and anti-LGBTQ content. He later made online posts inciting violence against the LGBTQ community.Following the Hamas attacks against Israel on Oct 7, 2023, Cyrus was exposed to a proliferation of pro-Hamas narratives online."He came to support Hamas and their violent actions, including their killing of civilians, which he viewed as a form of jihad," said ISD.In 2024, Cyrus had considered travelling to Gaza to join the group and take up arms against Israelis on the front lines of the conflict. However, he did not make preparations to do so, as he lacked the resources to travel overseas and was fearful of engaging in physical violence.
