Issuance of Restriction Orders under the Internal Security Act (ISA) against two Singaporeans

Two male Singaporeans, 30-year-old Muhammad Jihadul Mustaqiim bin Mahmud (Jihadul) and a 14-year-old Secondary Three student, were issued with Restriction Orders (RO)¹ under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in July and September 2025 respectively.

2. Jihadul, a self-employed online business owner, harboured aspirations to engage in armed violence against former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (Assad)’s regime in Syria prior to its collapse in December 2024. He also considered taking up arms against Greece in defence of Turkїye, in relation to the territorial disputes between the two countries.²

3. The 14-year-old was self-radicalised online by a ‘salad bar’ of extremist ideologies.³ He was a staunch supporter of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), but concurrently subscribed to anti-Semitic beliefs espoused in far-right extremist ideologies, and identified as an incel.⁴ This is the first case of self-radicalisation based on a mix of different extremist ideologies, to be dealt with under the ISA.

Muhammad Jihadul Mustaqiim bin Mahmud

Aspirations to Engage in Armed Conflicts Overseas

4. Jihadul learnt of the Syrian conflict in 2011 through social media. He became vested in the conflict as he empathised with the suffering of the Syrian civilians, and developed a hatred towards the Assad regime, which he viewed as oppressive. In 2019, Jihadul became frustrated upon learning that Assad’s regime had recaptured rebel-held territory. As he was also facing setbacks in his personal life, he avidly consumed online content about the conflict to distract himself. By late-2019, Jihadul wanted to fight alongside Syrian rebel groups to overthrow the Assad regime. He wanted to escape his reality and die a “meaningful death” by fighting against the regime and alleviating the sufferings of the civilians.

5. Jihadul’s desire to fight in Syria waxed and waned over the years (until the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024). In 2022, Jihadul learnt about Malhama Tactical, a group of private Syrian military contractors who were training rebels to fight against the Assad regime, and considered joining their training in Idlib, Syria. Even after the fall of the Assad regime, Jihadul retained an interest in the situation in Syria. For instance, since March 2025, he engaged in online discussions with an alleged Syrian-based extremist about the situation there, and hoped to travel to Syria in end-2025 to meet the latter, although he did not make specific travel preparations.

6. After the collapse of the Assad regime, Jihadul re-directed his attention to the longstanding territorial disputes between Turkїye and Greece, as he had been following its developments since 2022. He immersed himself in consuming information online about the disputes. He considered taking up arms in defence of Turkїye, should the disputes escalate into an armed conflict. He felt that Greece had “wronged” Turkїye in the course of their disputes, and admired the latter for its historical achievements during the Ottoman Empire. Jihadul’s family members were unaware of his aspirations to take up arms overseas.

Interest in Weapons and Combat Training

7. Jihadul took steps to enhance his tactical skills, in preparation for fighting overseas. This included watching tactical movement videos to hone his skills, and engaging in live-firing activities overseas. To this end, he searched for firing ranges that offered specific models of assault rifles, as his research indicated that these firearms were prevalent among military groups in Syria and Turkїye. While he was unable to find any firing ranges for civilians to practise with such weapons, he visited a live-firing range in Phuket, Thailand, during his vacation in February 2025, where he operated three different conventional firearms. Further, Jihadul had hoped to meet former Syrian fighters who had fought against the Assad regime when he visited Syria, so they could train him in tactical manoeuvring and live-firing.

8. Jihadul’s case highlights the impact that overseas conflicts can have on Singapore’s domestic security. Several Singaporeans have been motivated to take up arms for a variety of foreign conflicts, ranging from the Syrian conflict, Israeli-Palestinian conflict,⁵ to other territorial disputes. The grievance-fuelled narratives surrounding such conflicts, often framed as part of a religious, political or ideological cause, serve as trigger points. In Jihadul’s case, he saw armed violence as a legitimate means to correct political injustices (whether protecting civilians in Syria, or defending Turkїye from Greece). At the same time, his desire to escape from his personal setbacks steered him towards seeking meaning and purpose in life through fighting for those whom he perceived to have been “wronged” or “oppressed” in these conflicts.

14-year-old Self-Radicalised Youth

Self-Radicalisation Process

9. The 14-year-old youth was exposed to extremist ideologies online in mid-2024, when he chanced upon foreign extremist personalities through online algorithm recommendations. They posted far-right extremist and true crime⁶ content, and the youth started conversing online with them, to learn more. He was added to online chat groups which shared content supportive of far-right extremism, including links to the manifestos of far-right terrorists Brenton Tarrant and Anders Breivik.⁷ After spending several hours a day consuming such content, he started subscribing to the violent anti-Semitic beliefs espoused in far-right extremism. He developed a strong hatred for Jews, and supported Nazi figures such as Hitler for killing Jews. However, being a Muslim, he rejected the anti-Muslim rhetoric of far-right extremism. The youth also supported aspects of far-left extremism,⁸ which he viewed as anti-Zionist and “anti-imperialist”. In particular, he was supportive of socialism and communism, and rejected Western norms such as capitalism, which he saw as a Jewish ideology.⁹

10. In November 2024, the youth came across a video of ISIS engaging in armed combat on social media. He started searching for more ISIS content out of curiosity, and joined pro-ISIS and jihadist communities online. He soon became convinced of ISIS’s cause of establishing an Islamic caliphate through the use of violence. In April 2025, the youth took a bai’ah (pledge of allegiance) to ISIS online. He saw himself as an ISIS member thereafter, and perceived it as his duty to garner support for the group and its cause. Apart from ISIS, the youth supported other Islamist terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda (AQ). He idolised deceased AQ leader Osama bin Laden, whom he saw as the “founding father of modern jihad”, and enjoyed listening to the sermons of deceased AQ ideologue, Anwar al-Awlaki.

11. Influenced by incel-related content he had come across online, the youth also identified as an incel and harboured a hatred towards females, though he had no intention to enact violence against them.¹⁰

Sharing of ISIS-Related Material and Willingness to Engage in Violence

12. The youth shared voluminous amounts of ISIS-related materials, including videos that he had created glorifying ISIS’s violent actions, on his social media accounts. He also shared ISIS-related content with some of his schoolmates, but none were radicalised by the content. Further, the youth aspired to become a mujahid (fighter) for ISIS in Syria when he was older, but had no concrete plans or timeline.

13. The youth was in online contact with several foreign extremists, including an alleged Iraq-based ISIS supporter who had offered to help him plan an attack in Singapore and even sent him bomb manuals. The youth, fortunately, did not take any steps in furtherance of an attack in Singapore. The youth also harboured other violent ideations – which included killing Jews due to his strong hatred for them, and carrying out a school shooting as he believed that the attacks by school shooters such as Elliot Rodger¹¹ were justified as they were “standing up against their oppressors”. However, he did not develop his violent ideations further.

14. The youth intentionally hid his extremist activities to evade detection, such as deleting extremist content on his digital devices, and using data obfuscation tools to mask his digital footprint when accessing radical websites. His family was unaware of his radicalisation.

Rehabilitation Programme

15. As part of the youth’s holistic rehabilitation programme, he will undergo religious counselling by a Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) counsellor, to counter the ISIS ideology he has imbibed. This will be complemented by psychological and social rehabilitation to address the youth’s propensity for hatred and violence, his subscription to other forms of extremist ideologies and beliefs, and factors that render him vulnerable to radicalisation, such as his lack of critical thinking skills. Given his young age, he will also be assigned with a mentor from the community. ISD officers will work closely with the youth’s family and school to ensure that he has adequate support throughout his rehabilitation, and that his studies are not disrupted.

16. The 14-year-old’s case mirrors a global trend of radicalisation by ‘salad bar’ ideologies, especially amongst youths. Youths, as digital natives, are more susceptible to being exposed to, and engaging with, extremist materials online. At the same time, their less developed cognitive skills may make them more susceptible to cherry-picking different elements of various extremist ideologies, even if those elements may seemingly contradict each other. However, the lack of a clear and coherent ideology does not diminish the severity of the ‘salad bar’ threat, when it motivates an individual to engage in violence.

17. Anyone who supports, promotes, undertakes, or makes preparations to undertake armed violence, regardless of how they rationalise such violence, or where the violence takes place, is a security threat to our society. ISD encourages the public to remain vigilant against such individuals.

18. The possible signs of radicalisation include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Frequently surfing radical websites;

• Posting/sharing extremist views on social media platforms, such as expressing support/admiration for terrorists/terrorist groups as well as the use of violence;

• Sharing extremist views with friends and relatives;

• Making remarks that promote ill-will or hatred towards people of other races, religions or communities;

• Expressing intent to participate in acts of violence overseas or in Singapore; and/or

• Inciting others to participate in acts of violence.

19. Anyone who knows or suspects that a person has been radicalised, or is involved in terrorism-related activities, should promptly contact the ISD hotline at 1800-2626-473 (1800-2626-ISD).

Update on Cases under the Internal Security Act

20. The ROs issued against two Singaporeans were allowed to lapse upon their expiry, as they had made good progress in their rehabilitation, and no longer require close supervision under the RO regime:

a. Kuthubdeen Haja Najumudeen (aged 42), a self-radicalised individual who had intended to travel to Syria to join ISIS. He was detained in May 2019, and released from detention in May 2021. His RO was allowed to lapse in May 2025.

b. Muhammad Anwar Jailani (aged 59), a former unaccredited religious teacher who had propagated pro-violence and segregationist views detrimental to the cohesion of Singapore’s multi-racial and multi-religious society. He was issued with a RO in June 2010, and his RO was allowed to lapse in July 2025.

INTERNAL SECURITY DEPARTMENTS
9 SEPTEMBER 2025

¹ A person issued with a RO must abide by several conditions and restrictions. For example, the individual is not permitted to change his or her residence or employment, or travel out of Singapore, without the approval of the Director ISD. The individual also cannot access the Internet or social media, issue public statements, address public meetings or print, distribute, contribute to any publication, hold office in, or be a member of any organisation, association or group, without the approval of Director ISD.

² The two countries have long-standing and multi-faceted territorial disputes, centered around sovereignty and rights in the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean.

³ ‘Salad bar’ ideologies in the context of violent extremism, are belief systems where individuals pick and choose elements based on personal preference from various extremist ideologies, which can be conflicting or incompatible with each other, rather than adhering to a coherent or unified view.

⁴ Incel, short for “involuntary celibate”, refers to a subculture of individuals, mostly men, who identify as unable to find a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one. The incel community often expresses frustration, anger, and resentment towards society, women, and those they perceive as more sexually successful. Some incel ideologies have been linked to misogyny, violence, and extremism.

⁵ Since the re-escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in October 2023, ISD has dealt with six Singaporeans under the ISA, whose radicalisation was either triggered or accelerated by the ongoing conflict. This includes:

• A then-14-year-old youth who was a HAMAS supporter and aspired to fight for the prophesised Black Flag Army. He was issued with a RO in June 2024;

• Then-21-year-old Muhammad Indra Aqmal bin Effendy, then-41-year-old Mohamad Latiff bin Rahim, and then-44-year-old Nurisham bin Yusoff, who had made preparations to travel to Gaza or the Middle East to partake in armed violence as part of the conflict. They were detained in November 2024; and

• Then-33-year-old An’nadya binte An’nahari and 56-year-old Hamizah binte Hamzah, who supported the Axis of Resistance and advocated violence against Israelis and Jews. They were issued with ROs in July 2024 and January 2025 respectively.

⁶ True crime refers to a genre of media that focuses on real-life criminal cases, often involving violent or sensational offences like murder, assault or serial killings.

⁷ Brenton Tarrant is an Australian far-right terrorist who carried out two consecutive mass shootings at Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15 March 2019, which killed 51 people and injured 40 others. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. He published an online manifesto prior to his attacks, titled “The Great Replacement”, which espoused that the indigenous white population in Western countries were in danger of being replaced by non-white immigrants.

Anders Breivik is a Norwegian far-right terrorist who detonated a car bomb in Oslo, Norway on 22 July 2011, killing eight people and injuring over 200 others. He then shot and killed 69 people at a summer camp organised by the Workers' Youth League, the youth organisation of the Norwegian Labour Party, on the island of Utøya. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison. He published an online manifesto prior to his attacks, titled “2083: A European Declaration of Independence”, which advocated violence and espoused radical nationalist, xenophobic and Islamophobic rhetoric.

⁸ Far-left extremist ideologies reject democratic processes and advocate for the use of violence to overthrow existing political, social, or economic systems in favour of a radically socialist, communist, or anarchist order.

⁹ The youth’s understanding of far-right extremist and far-left extremist concepts is shallow, and he supported seemingly conflicting aspects of these ideologies. For instance, he claimed to be supportive of Kim Jung-Il for establishing a socialist/communist government that rejected Western liberal influence, while simultaneously supporting Nazism for being against communism, which he perceived as a Jewish ideology.

¹⁰ In late-2023, the youth became more self-conscious about his appearance and came across incel “looksmaxxing” content (an incel subculture which provides solutions on how to enhance one’s physical appearance) on social media. His interest in the incel community grew in 2024, and he often shared or posted incel content online.

¹¹ Elliot Rodger was the perpetrator of the 23 May 2014 Isla Vista killings in California, U.S. which killed six and injured 14 others. His attacks, which are widely praised in the incel community, were said to stem from resentment over his bullying, social isolation and rejection by women.