SINGAPORE: A 29-year-old Singaporean man has been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) after he became self-radicalised and made plans to travel to overseas conflict zones to undertake armed violence.
Radjev Lal Madan Lal, a mover at a logistics company, was detained in April, the Internal Security Department (ISD) said in a press release on Tuesday (May 10).
Radjev’s path to radicalisation began in 2013 when he was introduced to the online sermons of Imran Hosein, a foreign radical preacher who originated from Trinidad and Tobago.
“Imran’s preaching on Islamic eschatological prophecies such as the imminent End of Times and the rise of the Black Flag Army (BFA) resonated with Radjev, who had a keen interest in conspiracy theories,” ISD said.
“Over time, Radjev became deeply radicalised by the online teachings of Imran and other foreign radical preachers such as Anwar Al-Awlaki and Musa Cerantonio.”
In 2007, Imran was banned from entering Singapore due to his radical preaching.
Al-Awlaki was an American of Yemeni descent who led the terrorist group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He was killed in a United States drone strike in September 2011.
Cerantonio is an Australian who incited and recruited Muslims to travel to Syria to undertake armed violence. In May 2019, he was jailed in Australia for seven years for terrorism-related offences.
According to ISD, “the BFA is prophesied to be a Muslim army carrying black flags led by Mahdi, the saviour of Muslims, which will emerge from Khorasan (historical region covering parts of modern day Afghanistan and north-east Iran) to engage in a final battle with the non-believers during the End of Times”.
“Terror groups, including the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, have appropriated the imagery of the black flags to garner support for their struggle for power,” ISD said.
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Radjev became convinced that it was his “religious obligation” to participate in armed violence with the BFA to "kill the enemies of Islam", ISD added.
“In his view, these ‘enemies’ included non-Muslims who meddled in Islamic affairs, as well as Western countries like the US and Israel,” ISD said.
“He believed that dying as a martyr on the battlefield alongside the BFA would earn him rewards in the afterlife.”
Radjev tried to influence his family and friends with his radical views, and attempted to recruit them to join him in his plans to undertake armed violence.
He created a social media group to spread his radical ideology with his online contacts. None of his family members or friends in Singapore responded positively to him, said ISD.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/isd-isa-man-detained-black-flag-army-2674876
