Egypt’s Al-Azhar condemns plot to attack mosques in Singapore

AhlulBayt News Agency: Egypt’s Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism denounced attempts by a teenager to carry out an act of terrorism targeting a mosque in Singapore.

The attempt to attack mosques in Singapore is a clear result of being influenced by extremist content published on the internet, it said.

The center added that the move was inspired by the 2019 terrorist attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, by Brenton Tarrant.  

Such incidents highlight the extent of the danger posed by the spread of extremist ideology through the internet, which fosters feelings of hatred and violence among young people, the center said.

“Therefore, it is essential to intensify international efforts to combat the extremism and violence promoted by this ideology, while also emphasizing the importance of raising community awareness to address these negative phenomena.”

Additionally, effective mechanisms must be established to monitor online activities that disseminate the toxins of extremism and hatred, the Al-Azhar Observatory for Combating Extremism said.

It went on to emphasize the importance of strengthening cooperation among religious, governmental, and social institutions to combat deviant thoughts and to promote the values of tolerance and coexistence among all groups in society, regardless of religion and race, with the aim of achieving a peaceful and participatory environment.

Singapore used an internal security law against two teenagers separately, one over plans to attack mosques and the other for wanting to fight in Syria alongside Daesh terrorists, authorities said on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old male was detained and subscribed to far-right extremist ideology, seeing himself as an “East Asian supremacist,” authorities said.

He wanted to shoot mosques and had unsuccessfully tried to buy guns, including from the United States, Malaysia and Thailand, the internal security department said.

The teenager wanted to “maximize casualties” and kill at least 100 Muslims, to outdo the 2019 Christchurch attack in which a gunman killed 51 worshippers in a mosque, it said.

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