ACCORDING to the United States, there are in excess of 10,000 foreigners fighting with the Islamic State, a group branded as terrorists by the United Nations at its general assembly recently. Among those who hail from elsewhere than the Middle East, are Malaysians, including a female doctor. She is, according to the police, on Facebook, and like several others of a similar ilk, is not short of a following, with sympathisers waiting to join her friends list. With queries like œhow do I get there? and whether the fighters needed financial help, the tone is definitely one of support for a cause they empathise with. Given that the message being spread is an Islamic one, which includes the liberation of Palestine, the seduction is obvious. For Malaysia, a country with a Muslim majority, the fear of re-entry of those who had joined IS, in the war zones of Iraq and Syria, bringing home with them the struggle for a global caliphate is, therefore, justifiable.
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