Terrorist suspects Bayu Setyono (foreground) and Firman
Firmansyah were arrested April 3rd in Solo, Central Java. With extremist groups
becoming more fragmented and shadowy in nature, worries have increased over the
dangers of "self-radicalisation" via the internet.
With extremist groups proving adept at harnessing digital
technologies and the internet for their violent purposes, calls are mounting
for governments, NGOs and Islamic organisations to be more active in countering
such messages.
Internet and social media sites are providing extremists
with a potent vehicle for spreading their ideologies and
drawing in recruits, officials and counterterrorism experts say, warning that
greater awareness of digital-era threats is urgently needed.
In March, interior ministers from Arab countries – meeting
at the 30th session of the Arab Interior Ministers Council in Riyadh -- agreed
on a set of recommendations on monitoring extremist websites and online
communications among terrorist groups.
The same month, at the International Conference on Terrorist
Rehabilitation and Community Resilience in Singapore, combatting cyber-based
threats was high on the agenda.
"In many ways, the terrorists are very successful in
cyberspace," Rohan Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for
Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR), told participants at the
Singapore event, according to the Straits Times.
"It is very important for us to build in the next 10
years the capacities and capabilities to counter the increasing presence and
the operation of these groups in cyberspace," he said.
More than 10,000 extremist websites are known to be active
in Southeast Asia, but only 100 sites have been launched to combat them, Rohan said.
The challenge of fighting digital
extremism
In Indonesia, the national counterterrorism agency is
working together with Muslim community leaders and non-government organisations
(NGOs) to prevent radicalisation of young people.
"We take precautions to gather a variety of information
sources related to the growth of terrorism, including internet content, and
informed the Ministry of Communication to block them," agency deputy head Agus Surya
Bakti explained at a recent meeting in East Java on preventing terrorism.
However, efforts to track jihadist activity on the web
remain in their infancy, and the challenges are significant.
"There are many local NGOs working on deradicalisation
efforts. However, they are not yet optimal. Combating terrorism through the
internet, for example, is relatively new for those kinds of organisations. It
is also expensive because it requires specific skills in technology," said
Dhyah Madya Sri Ningrum, who heads Lazuadi Birru, an organisation that promotes
deradicalisation.
Although countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia have been
largely successful in breaking up key terrorist networks, shadowy cells continue to operate underground,
often requiring little formal organisation. Citizens told Khabar they are
concerned that anyone with a computer or mobile phone can use the web to seek
out potential recruits.
"We are living in a virtual era. The internet not only
satisfies the curiosity but also triggers a wrong ideology. We need to be
really careful," said Aisya Hamid, a Malaysian visiting Jakarta.
"Cyberterrorism is not only an enemy of any government. This is the common
enemy of the world – the world's threat."
Brainwashing via the internet
Jakarta resident Lois Hariyanto told Khabar Southeast Asia
that the internet provides opportunities for "self-radicalisation",
in which lone individuals can become ensnared in a violent ideology as a result
of their digital interactions.
Fadil Abdul Hamid, a 20-year-old Singaporean, is a recent
example, Lois said. A part-time employee of the Singaporean Armed Forces (SAF),
he was arrested in July 2012 for alleged terrorist activities.
Authorities say he used the web to read jihadist propaganda
and acquire information on bomb-making, while engaged in a dialogue with Muslim
preacher Sheik Feiz Muhammad and Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaeda leader and
recruiter killed in September 2011.
Observers say communities and governments can counter the
threat by making more use of the web for counter-radicalisation efforts.
Islamic groups, meanwhile, can seek to properly explain the tenets of Islam, as
opposed to the distorted versions promulgated by terror groups.
"It is important to remember that material on the
internet can win youths' hearts and minds and, therefore, can prevent them from
becoming involved in any radicalisation through the internet," Lois told
Khabar. By Okky Feliantiar for Khabar
Southeast Asia in Jakarta
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