In a chilling reminder of the dangers posed by radical ideologies, two teenagers in Singapore were recently detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for their self-radicalisation, according to reports.
One of the detainees is a 15-year-old girl, the second-youngest individual to be subjected to an ISA restriction order, and the other is a 17-year-old male who was identified as an online contact of 18-year-old Nick Lee Xing Qiu — a far-right extremist who was detained in December.
The 15-year-old girl started encountering ISIS propaganda online in 2023 and was quickly drawn into its messaging, which portrayed the group as a legitimate religious army defending Muslims in Iraq and Syria. By July 2023, she had taken a virtual pledge of allegiance to ISIS and began considering herself a member of the group.
Her radicalisation progressed rapidly, and within just a few months, she had become so absorbed by ISIS ideology that she aspired to marry an ISIS fighter in Syria, start a pro-ISIS family, and raise sons who would one day fight for the cause. The girl was in at least eight short-term romantic relationships with ISIS supporters online, including one individual allegedly based in Syria, who likely contributed to furthering her beliefs, as per reports.
Influenced by online footage of female ISIS fighters, the 15-year-old even considered traveling to Syria to receive weapons training and become a fighter. She even searched for flights to Syria, though she had not yet followed through with any plans to travel.
Despite the warnings of her mother, who was aware of her daughter’s exposure to extremist material, the girl continued to consume ISIS propaganda. She also attempted to radicalise her friends by sharing extremist content with them, though her schoolmates did not take it seriously, and none reported the materials to their teachers.
In a stark contrast to the case of the 15-year-old girl, the 17-year-old male detainee was radicalised by far-right extremist ideologies. This individual, who was influenced by Islamophobic materials and the “Great Replacement Theory”, had developed an intense dislike towards Muslims and other ethnic minorities.
By 2024, he had started to idolise Brenton Tarrant, the Australian far-right terrorist who carried out the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings, and sought to replicate his actions in Singapore.
The 17-year-old meticulously planned his attack on local mosques, including Masjid Maarof in Jurong West, which he frequented. His intention was to carry out a mass shooting during Friday prayers, hoping to cause a high number of casualties.
As per reports, his goal was to kill at least 100 Muslims, an aspiration inspired by Tarrant’s attack in Christchurch. The youth also intended to livestream his actions, similar to how Tarrant had broadcasted his massacre.
The teenager’s radicalisation started after he encountered far-right content online in 2022. Over the next few years, his hatred towards Muslims and other minorities deepened, culminating in his decision to target local mosques.
He also considered purchasing firearms through various means, including smuggling them into Singapore from neighbouring countries like Malaysia and Thailand. However, his attempts to acquire a weapon failed, and he was eventually caught before he could execute his plans.
Meanwhile, reacting to the developments, Minister for Home Affairs and Law K Shanmugam urged Singaporeans to remain vigilant.
“Those who are either on the far-right, or with tendencies towards extremism on the Islamic side, have to only get it right once and they will kill some people. So, we need to be very careful,” the minister was quoted as saying by CNA.
“We have to ask friends, families of people to alert us when you see someone consuming material, which is radical, going online, talking to you in very radical terms, it’s good to tell the Ministry of Home Affairs,” Shanmugam said.
“We will investigate. We can guide them, and really, we are here to help them in many ways. We stop them from harming themselves and others,” he added.
