SINGAPORE — The Israel-Hamas war raises concerns that it could potentially trigger the radicalisation of some youths in Singapore, said experts, but they warned against stereotyping any one group as being potential extremists.
Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepts rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, as seen from Ashkelon, in southern Israel, October 19, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
They noted that both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia have been on the rise globally, indicating a broad need to be vigilant against all forms of extremism However, not only Muslims are susceptible to the risk of radicalisation, said the experts, noting incidents of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia being reported globally. Stereotyping only one particular group may only hinder efforts to build trust between communities, they said.
“Such radical groups have hijacked the conflict and painted it simply as a religious conflict between Muslims and Jews,” said Dr Mohamed Feisal, who is also the secretary and a counselor at the Religious Rehabilitation Group . While some of these may be fake or taken from different conflicts, even real images need to be put in the proper context as they can be rhetorically framed to manipulate and radicalise, he said.Like Dr Mohamed Feisal, Mr Mohamed Imran said the “grand narrative” positioning the Israel-Hamas conflict as one between Jews and Muslims was most concerning to him.
"Within RRG, in such cases among those who we have counselled, the conflict is discussed in its real political context, and such discussion leads to providing a larger understanding of the reality of the different players who are involved in this geo-political conflict."Mr Raffaello Pantucci, senior fellow at RSIS, said that one worry following the conflict is the rise of anti-Semitism.
"In fact, Muslims themselves have been victims of Islamophobic violence, and vigilance against radicalisation should be a broad concern for all communities," he said. Mr Manfred Tham, a sociology student, found that a fair amount of content is about “rage-baiting people into reading or clicking”. For Ms Sarah Al-Attas, she has long kept herself informed about the conflict in the Middle East by watching documentaries and following international news from multiple sources.
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