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2 S'poreans issued ISA restriction order, including student, 14, who received bomb manual from extremist
The 14 year old also held anti-Semitic beliefs and identified as an incel.Gawain Pek
September 09, 2025, 02:01 PM
Singapore's Internal Security Department (ISD) has issued two Singaporeans with Restriction Orders (ROs) under the Internal Security Act (ISA) after they were found to harbour extremist ideologies and had intentions to act on them.
One was a 14-year-old secondary three student who subscribed to a "salad bar" of extremist ideologies, was sent a bomb manual by an extremist, and thought of carrying out a school shooting.
Another was 30-year-old Muhammad Jihadul Mustaqiim bin Mahmud, an online business owner who wanted to join the rebel fight in Syria and was prepared to take up arms against Greece in the Turkish-Greek territorial dispute.ISD announced the orders in a Sep. 9 press release.
Secondary three student, 14
The 14-year-old was self-radicalised online and preferentially subscribed to beliefs from different strains of extremist ideologies, despite their incompatibility.
Namely, he saw himself as a member of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), held anti-Semitic beliefs espoused by far-right ideologies, and identified as an incel.The youth aspired to become a fighter for ISIS when he was older and harboured violent ideations, including the killing of Jews and carrying out a school shooting.
He was issued the RO in September 2025.
Identified as incel
In late-2013, the youth grew self-conscious about his appearance and came across "looksmaxxing" social media content, an incel subculture that provides solutions on how to enhance one's physical appearance.
Influenced by these, he identified as an incel and harboured hatred towards females, though he had no intention to enact violence against them.Incel, or "involuntary celibate", refers to a subculture of mostly men who identify as unable to find a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one.
They often bear frustration, anger, and resentment towards society, women, and those they perceive as more sexually successful.
Some incel ideologies have been linked to misogyny, violence, and extremism.Algorithms pushed content
The 14-year-old then became exposed to extremist ideologies in mid-2024 when he chanced upon content from foreign extremist personalities through online algorithmic recommendations.These personalities posted far-right extremist and true crime content, and the youth started conversing with them online to learn more.
He was added to online chat groups which circulated far-right extremism content, including manifestos of far-right terrorists, such as Brenton Tarrant.Supported Hitler but rejected anti-Muslim rhetoric
The youth spent several hours a day consuming such content, and eventually started subscribing to violent anti-Semitic beliefs.He developed a strong hatred for Jews and even supported Hitler for killing Jews.
However, as a Muslim, he rejected the anti-Muslim rhetoric espoused by far-right extremists.At the same time, the youth also supported aspects of far-left extremism.
In particular, he was supportive of socialism and communism, and rejected Western norms such as capitalism, which he saw as a Jewish ideology.
Shared ISIS content with friends
In November 2024, the youth came across a video on social media of ISIS in armed combat, and sought out more of such content out of curiosity.
He joined pro-ISIS and jihadist communities online, and became convinced of their cause.Apart from ISIS, the youth also supported other terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and idolised Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda's deceased leader.
In April 2025, the 14-year-old took a pledge of allegiance online to ISIS and saw himself as an ISIS member thereafter.
Seeing it as his duty to garner support for ISIS, he shared voluminous amounts of ISIS-related materials, including videos that glorified ISIS' violence on his social media accounts and with his schoolmates.
However, none of his schoolmates were radicalised by the content.The 14-year-old was also in contact with several foreign extremists, including an alleged Iraq-based ISIS supporter who offered to help him plan an attack in Singapore and had sent him bomb manuals.
To hide his extremism, the youth would delete related content from his digital devices and used tools to mask his digital footprint when accessing radical websites. His family was unaware of his radicalisation.
Muhammad Jihadul Mustaqiim bin Mahmud, 30
Jihadul is a self-employed online business owner who was found to harbour aspirations to engage in armed violence against former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, prior to its collapse in December 2024.He also considered participating in the Greek-Turkish territorial dispute by taking up arms in the name of Turkïye against Greece.
He was issued the RO in July 2025.Faced setbacks in personal life
Jihadul first learnt of the Syrian conflict in 2011 through social media.He grew vested in the conflict, empathised with Syrian civilians, and developed a hatred towards the Assad regime.
In 2019, Jihadul became frustrated after learning that the Assad regime had gained ground against the rebels.
Facing setbacks in his personal life, Jihadul turned to online content on the conflict to distract himself.By late-2019, Jihadul wanted to fight alongside Syrian rebels.
Jihadul wanted to escape reality and die a "meaningful death" by fighting against the regime and alleviate the sufferings of civilians, ISD explained.
Retained interest even after regime collapsed
His interest in the conflict waxed and waned over the years.
In 2022, he learnt about Malhama Tactical, a group of private Syrian military contractors who were training rebels in the fight against the Assad regime.He considered joining their training in Idlib, Syria.
The Assad regime fell in December 2024 but Jihadul retained an interest in the country.
In March 2025, he engaged in online discussions with an alleged Syrian-based extremist about the situation there.
He had hoped to travel to the country in end-2025, although no specific travel preparations were made.Greek-Turkish dispute
Following the collapse of Assad's regime, Jihadul re-directed his attention to the longstanding territorial dispute between Turkïye and Greece, which he had been following since 2022.Jihadul immersed in online content about the dispute, and grew an admiration for Turkïye's historical achievements during the Ottoman Empire.
He felt that Greece had "wronged" Turkïye and considered taking up arms in defence of the latter, should the disputes escalate into armed conflict.Engaged in weapons training overseas
To prepare to fight overseas, Jihadul took steps to enhance his tactical skills.He consumed videos about tactical movement and went overseas to engage in live-firing activities.
He researched firearms which were prevalent among military groups in Syria and Turkïye and searched for civilian firing ranges that offered those models, but was unable to find any.However, he visited a live-firing range in Phuket, Thailand during a vacation in February 2025, where he operated three different conventional firearms.
He hoped to meet former Syrian fighters who had fought against Assad's regime when he visited Syria so they could train him in his combat skills.
Rehabilitation
As part of the 14-year-old's rehabilitation programme, he will undergo religious counselling by a counsellor to counter the ISIS ideology he has imbibed.He will also receive psychological and social rehabilitation to address his propensity for hatred and violence and his subscription to other forms of extremist ideologies and beliefs.
They will also address factors that render him vulnerable to radicalisation, such as a lack of critical thinking skills.
He will also be assigned a mentor from the community, given his age."ISD officers will work closely with the youth's family and school to ensure that he has adequate support throughout his rehabilitation, and that his studies are not disrupted," ISD said.
Restriction orders
Individuals issued with a restriction order are not permitted to change their residence or employment, or travel out of Singapore without approval from the Director of ISD.
They also cannot access the internet or social media, issue public statements, address public meetings or print, distribute or contribute to any publication.They are not allowed to hold office in, or be a member of, any organisation, association or group without approval from the ISD Director.
ISD also announced that the restriction orders for two individuals were allowed to lapse upon their expiry due to good progress in rehabilitation.
They are Kuthubdeen Haja Najumudeen, 42, and Muhammad Anwar Jailani, 59."Anyone who supports, promotes, undertakes, or makes preparations to undertake armed violence, regardless of how they rationalise such violence, or where the violence takes place, is a security threat to our society," ISD said.
"Anyone who knows or suspects that a person has been radicalised, or is in involved in terrorism-related activities, should promptly contact the ISD hotline at 1800-2626-473 (1800-2626-ISD)," ISD added.
