Keynote Speech by Mr Zainul Abidin Rasheed, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Mayor, North East Community Development Council, Singapore on 6 Dec 05 at the 5th General Conference of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific, Jakarta

COUNTERING TERRORISM: SECURITY, IDEOLOGY AND COMMUNITY

Excellencies

Ladies and Gentlemen

Suicide bombings are the norm rather than exception today. This is an unfortunate statement of fact. According to one research, in 1980, there were 3 suicide attacks per year. In the 1990s, there were 10 such attacks annually on average. Since 2000, there have been about 25 attacks per year or if you prefer, almost once every fortnight.

2 Just last Tuesday (29 November 2005), a suicide attack in Dhaka killed 10. This was followed by another attack just forty-eight hours later (1 December 2005). These attacks come on the heels of a massive terrorist operation involving more than 400 bomb explosions across Bangladesh barely four months ago. In October, suicide bombers struck Amman, with a husband and wife team violently ending the wedding celebrations of a Jordanian couple and killing 30 of their guests. On the eve of Deepavali, crowded marketplaces in New Delhi were hit.

3 Terrorism experts are asking the same sort of questions as the average citizen: is there a pattern to this madness and will it ever stop? The short answer to both questions is: no. The modus operandi of the terrorist keeps evolving. From planes crashing into skyscrapers to backpackers walking into crowded subway trains. Terrorists have homed in on different types of soft targets, and have founds ways and means to carry out their deadly operations despite tightened security measures. In some instances, they have revisited old targets. Bali was struck in October 2002 and 2005, as was Jakarta in August 2003 and September 2004.

4 It is virtually impossible to predict where terrorists will strike next, when and how. But the pursuit of the terrorists has not been a futile struggle. While we are constantly bombarded by pictures and media reports of extremist attacks in almost all corners of the world, we must not forget that security forces worldwide are working tirelessly, 24/7 and behind the scenes to prevent the next tragedy. And in many instances, the brave men and women in uniform have succeeded.

5 Within our region, through the efforts of security forces in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore, we have weakened the Al-Qaeda of Southeast Asia. I am referring to Jemaah Islamiyah or JI. Most recently, the death of terrorist leader Dr Azahari Husin in East Java on 9 November 2005 was an important success. I commend the Indonesian authorities who had pursued Azahari untiringly as he criss-crossed the archipelago, attempting to evade capture while at the same time seeking to plot new and more dangerous terrorist attacks.

6 But the capture of a terrorist, the discovery of a terrorist cell, or even the screening of a terrorist's public confession does not sound the death knell for terrorism. Britain had broken up several terrorist cells, but was still unable to prevent the attacks in London on 7/7 (7 July 2005).

7 If suicide attacks are here to stay, what should our response be? I would like to propose that a concerted and holistic approach is needed to fight terrorism in our respective countries, the groupings and organisations that we associate with because of common belief and value systems, and ultimately the communities or neighbourhoods that we live, work and play in.

Security

8 The first aspect is security. The war against terror is a war of attrition. Fortunately for us, terrorists' resources are not infinite, and they are on the run. To prevent future attacks, effective and responsible law enforcement, operated through coordinated security and intelligence mechanisms at the national and international levels, remains key.

9 As I had mentioned earlier, Southeast Asia has scored some successes on the security front. But it would be foolish to believe that we have seen the back of the Jemaah Islamiyah. A video found in Azahari's hideout promised more bomb attacks. It is a chilling glimpse into the underlying aims and motivation of these jihadists, that they would stop at nothing until their lofty ambitions are met - that of creating an Islamic state spanning Indonesia, Malaysia, Southern Thailand, Southern Philippines and eventually, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam.

10 Recent successes must not give us cause to rest on our laurels. The terrorists' determination has to be matched by a similar will and resolve from the governments and peoples of this region who want peace, stability and progress. It is a high stakes game of hide-and-seek. Either we find the terrorists first, or we will suffer the consequences of their indiscriminate and violent actions.

11 Indeed, more can be done on the counter-terrorism front. Regional governments need to step up intelligence sharing and coordination. We are fighting an enemy that knows no borders. Only through the robust exchange of information on terrorist movements, hideouts, communications and plans can we protect ourselves and our populations from the next terrorist attack.

12 We have not adequately addressed other aspects of the terrorist problem, such as terrorist financing. We need to tighten regional controls so that terrorists are starved of the money and resources that they need to buy their weapons, make their bombs and even recruit a new generation of human bombs.

13 We should use the opportunities afforded through ASEAN to pursue the aim of enhanced counter-terrorism cooperation. ASEAN's stance has been made clear through the ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism (Brunei, 2001), Joint Communiqué of the Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Terrorism (Kuala Lumpur, 2002) and the Declaration on Terrorism by the 8th ASEAN Summit (Phnom Penh, 2002). We have also established frameworks for counter-terrorism cooperation with our key partners such as the US, India, Pakistan, Australia, Russia, ROK and EU.

14 A case in point is the recently concluded Multilateral Meeting of Chiefs of ASEAN Police and Heads of Counter Terrorism in Jakarta (16 to 18 November 2005). I understand that the meeting discussed ways to enhance the existing coordination and cooperation of regional countries to fight terrorism, improve the exchange of information and enhance intra-regional counter-terrorism coordination. This is a move in the right direction. Such meetings help to build institutional linkages between our security agencies. It enhances surveillance capabilities, leading to fewer "black holes" in the region where dangerous terrorists can seek refuge and from where they can plan new and deadly attacks.

15 Apart from such operational cooperation, there is one important element in our strategy against the terrorists that we cannot afford to overlook. That is, we cannot allow the terrorists to divide us as a region. We have to be wary that terrorists are not just seeking to wreck havoc, they are also looking to provoke a backlash to serve their cause. Their targets are carefully chosen and monitored. The human traffic in a particular location or building is as important as its symbolic value. Hence, it is not surprising that they have targeted churches and temples, or national assets such as Embassy buildings, to stir up nationalist, ethnic and religious feelings and hatred. The terrorists' aim is to undermine national and social cohesion and use the ensuing chaos, instability and uncertainty to further their agenda and ultimately, overthrow the government of the day. In the process, deliberately or otherwise, they seek to sow discord between nations and accentuate mutual suspicion.

Ideology

16 This leads me to the second aspect of the problem, ideology. Terrorism cannot be defeated solely by special Counter Terrorism squads or elite army units. We have to address the ideology that underpins these terrorist groups. Unless we win the battle of ideas, the supply chain of jihadists would not be disrupted. For every terrorist killed or jailed, there will be many more willing to take the same course, unless the deviant ideology and distorted worldview that motivates them to do so is defeated and snuffed out.

17 The fact is that we have to better understand the threat we face today. Terrorism itself is a generic term. Even before September 11, separatist groups such as the Tamil Tigers, ETA and IRA have employed terrorist methods to pursue their nationalist and political aims.

18 The jihadists we face today are a different breed. They are persuaded by a virulent strain of religion. This is not new in itself. What differentiates them is their ambition. Their vision is global, unlike the national or local separatist movements of the past. In a sense, theirs is a zero-sum game. For these global jihadists to win, all other religions and less "pure" forms of Islam must be vanquished.

19 Coming back to our region, Islamic militancy itself is not a new phenomenon. But what regional terrorist groups like JI have done is to translate Al-Qaeda's global vision into the struggle to create a pan-Islamic state at the regional level. It is as though the JI has taken on the responsibility of providing one of the pieces of Al-Qaeda's global jigsaw. To achieve their ends, these regional terror groups find it useful to reach out to local and disparate groups to fight under a common banner to pursue a broader regional struggle. The terrorists create "alliances of convenience", or their own "coalitions of the willing", with other local separatist and insurgent groups to share tactics, resources and training.

20 In recent weeks, many of us would have seen for ourselves the ideological pull that motivates today's terrorists. The video found at Azahari's hideout showed three Indonesians believed to be the suicide bombers behind the recent Bali attacks asserting their own understanding of Islam and their intent to carry out suicide bombings. The three spoke with conviction. They strongly believed that they would ascend to heaven after their final sacrificial act on earth was done. How many more such individuals share the same mindset is anybody's guess. But it is a frightening prospect.

21 Many of the terrorists today have been taken in by charismatic leaders who espouse a deviant and violent form of the Islamic faith. The masterminds or so called "terrorist ideologues" exploit a very real and human need - the search for meaning in life. They use their distorted and perverted reading of Islam to give these educated young men and women, many of them in the prime of their lives, a window by which to frame their worlds and their identity; that the West, led by the US, was leading a crusade against Islam. It was their responsibility as Muslims to defend their faith from this evil power and their lackeys. It was no matter to them that in the cause of this "jihad", innocent civilians, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, are killed. They do not matter, only jihad does.

22 The key must then be to expose such terrorist ideology for what it is - a corrupted form of Islam, bent on violence and vengeance against innocent civilians to pursue an unacceptable aim. It is not enough for states and groups to merely come out to condemn terrorists and terrorist acts. They must also declare war against extremist ideologies, the very teachings that justify such acts of terror.

23 I would say that this is a battle for the soul of Islam. Muslims must expose the errant teachings of the radical jihadists. Through serious scholarship and frank dialogue and debate within the Muslim world, we have to decide the type of Islam we want to practice for ourselves and pass down to our children in the future. It is incumbent upon Muslims themselves to make sure that the efforts of a small minority are drowned out. The majority of Muslims, who want a faith that is tolerant, progressive and forward looking, must make their voice heard. We cannot afford to allow the statements of Islamic extremists to go uncontested, or we risk having our faith tainted forever. In such a case, over time, alienation between Muslims and non-Muslims will ultimately set in.

24 Let me state that I am not in any way advocating that terrorism is inherent in Islam or that Muslims are predisposed to terrorist acts. It is exactly the opposite. Muslim scholars have established that Islam does not tolerate the type of violent acts that these jihadists carry out in the name of the faith. The task at hand is to ensure that this dominant, tolerant "voice" of Islam is not drowned out by the radicals.

Community

25 While there has been much focus on the security and ideological aspects of terrorism, there has been relatively little discourse on the role of the community. I must confess that my thoughts on this aspect are in their formative stages and based largely on Singapore's own experience in trying to maintain cordial inter-racial and inter-religious relations. But I would like to suggest to this distinguished audience that the local community is probably one of the most effective but under-utilised institutions in countering terrorism. Let me elaborate by relating to you Singapore's own experience in dealing with terrorism.

26 Singapore has been fortunate to enjoy peaceful communal relations within our multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious society. This had not always been the case. In the 1960s, we experienced racial riots which pitted the Chinese against the Malays. Singapore's leaders realised then that we had to put in place a firm foundation to secure peaceful relations between all racial and religious groups within the country. If this did not happen, Singapore did not have a chance at survival. As a small state with precious little resources, our people were our only hope. We could not afford Singaporeans to be pitted one against another.

27 We have implemented a policy of establishing a multi racial and multi religious society which is based not so much on suppressing differences, such as in a melting pot, but on emphasising and promoting common areas and spaces. We support every community's efforts to recognise and celebrate its own history and heritage. We do not discourage communities from espousing their own cultural values, norms and habits.

28 Each ethnic community also functions as a support network. Community self-help groups provide needy Singaporeans with necessary assistance. These groups also run tuition and educational classes for the young and those whose parents cannot afford such classes. This gives each Singaporean a support base and a feeling of having a stake in the country's future, making him less vulnerable to an alternative or deviant world view as advanced by the radicals.

29 While we have taken proactive measures to promote understanding amongst the different communities, we have to guard against sinister elements that seek to undo communal peace in Singapore for their own narrow agenda. Singapore takes a serious view against any individual or group that may through his actions or statements be promoting racial and religious tension in Singapore. We have promulgated a Maintenance of Religious Harmony Act to address such problems. We have also established a Presidential Council for Minority Rights to ensure that the minority communities are not discriminated against.

30 While there are strong individual communities, we also recognise the need to build a wider Singapore community. Education has been an important avenue for creating "common spaces" amongst the different communities. The vast majority of Singaporeans have studied in national schools. Here, Chinese, Malay and Indian kids are all grouped together in the same classes. Through their daily interactions, they learn more about each others' cultures, values and beliefs and begin to appreciate each other's differences. English is the teaching medium in these schools while students are also required to take their mother tongue as a second language.

31 This sense of "community" was vital when Singapore was forced to respond to its own terrorist threat. In December 2001, Singapore uncovered the plans of a local cell of the Jemaah Islamiyah to attack Western and Singapore assets in our country. Foiling the terrorist plan was only half the job done. The other and perhaps more challenging task was how to make sure this episode did not undermine our fragile inter communal links. The fact that all of the JI members were home-grown Muslims meant that this was a very sensitive issue that had to be handled delicately. Not only did we have to convince the Muslim population that this was not a campaign targeted against them, we had to ensure that Islam was not demonised in the eyes of the other communities.

32 The government responded by an active campaign of involving the broader community in our response to the threat. Singapore leaders held dialogue sessions with many of the community and religious leaders to explain why we had to act decisively against the JI cell. We emphasised that the JI cell members represented a very small minority of Singaporean Muslims. At the same time, we stepped up efforts to promote better racial and religious understanding through our schools and community centres as well as at work places. We set up Inter Racial Confidence Circles (IRCCs) in each of our constituencies to give leaders of the various racial and religious groups an opportunity to interact and build links and understanding amongst each other. The IRCCs also tried to address everyday complaints and grievances on the ground before this exploded into full blown racial or religious flashpoints.

33 Generally, Singaporeans reacted positively to the government's handling of the local JI operatives. The majority of Muslims came out to condemn the terrorists' plans and reject their version of Islam. Relations amongst the communities remain good and a majority of Singaporeans do accept that the JI cell in no way represented mainstream Islam in Singapore.

34 In my view, the main reason why we successfully managed the JI episode in Singapore was the trust and confidence that the Muslim community shared with the Government. This trust was the result of the Government's efforts to build a multi religious society through the years. It was only with such trust that the Muslim community accepted our explanation that our actions against the JI cell in Singapore were not targeted at the Muslim community as a whole.

35 We are now looking to take the role of the Muslim community one step further; by working with community leaders to see how we can discredit the extremist ideology of the terrorists. In April 2003, a group of Muslim clerics in Singapore had taken the initiative to start a Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG). The original aim of the RRG was to speak with detained JI members and explain to them the true meaning of concepts such as jihad and fatwa. The purpose was to correct misrepresentations of the faith that these JI members had been exposed to prior to their detention. The RRG also works with the wives of the detainees, to help them convince their husbands that the paths that they had taken were against the beliefs of the faith. The long term goal is that through such counselling, the detainees would be better able to re- integrate into society once they are ready to be released.

36 In this age of global information flows, no Muslim is immune from misinterpretations of Islam and misrepresentations of the central tenets of the faith. We need to correct such misrepresentations and reassert the true message of Islam. To this end, the RRG have spoken at mosques, public forums and other public venues to address current issues in Islam. Most recently, members of the forum took to the floor to speak at a forum on "The Meaning of Jihad in Islam". Over 3,000 Singaporean Muslims attended the forum. We intend to organise more such forums and meetings as it is only through such dialogue and discussion that we can defeat the deviant and extremist strains of the faith.

37 Indonesia has also adopted a similar approach. I read recently that the Department of Religious Affairs had set up a special task force comprising the nation's leading ulama to address misinterpretations of the faith and radical teachings. I understand that the work of this team will include countering literature which expounds radical and extremist versions of Islam. This is a strong and decisive move. It is imperative to involve the community, in this case, religious leaders, in the effort to defeat the ideology of terrorism.

38 Singapore's experience is unique in its own ways. We are a small country with a significant minority Muslim population. Indonesia, on the other hand, is a large country with the largest Muslim population in the world. In no way am I suggesting that Singapore's example can be replicated wholesale in Indonesia or vice versa. However, the two countries' respective efforts demonstrate an increasing recognition that in the ideological battle that makes up an important part of the war on terrorism, the role of the community is essential.

39 Let me then summarise the possible roles of the community in the fight against terrorism. First, the community has to act as a effective support base for the individual so that he or she is not easily led wayward by deviant teachings. If the community can successfully act as a material and emotional support base, individuals would be less vulnerable to such teachings. Second, the community is an effective tool of propagating a moderate voice of the faith. If we accept that the war on terrorism is an ideological challenge as much as a security one, then the community has a vital role to play to transmit the message of moderate Islam.

40 In conclusion, let me say that security, ideology and community are three inter-related and essential elements in any counter-terrorism strategy. Security is our first line of defence against the terrorists. But without addressing the ideology of the terrorists, we will not be able cut the supply of new recruits to their perverted and violent cause. One of the most effective means to fight this war of ideas is through the community. It is also where each of us can play a small but meaningful role, through our words and deeds, to put right what has gone wrong.

41 Thank you.