TIME :
The Islamic State has published a local language publication to increase its appeal to jihadists in Southeast Asia, according to a report in the Malaysian newspaper Berita Harian cited by the Malay Mail.
The publication al-Fatihin – the name is Arabic and means the Conquerors – was launched on June 20, in the holy fasting month of Ramadan, with the tagline: “The newspaper for Malay-speaking migrants in the Islamic State.” The articles,
bringing updates from Iraq and Syria, were mainly written in the Indonesian language, which is comprehensible for many Malay speakers in Southeast Asia.
According to a report in CNN Indonesia, ISIS has a brigade called Katibah Nusantara, which is based in Syria and comprises Malay-speaking militants from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Apart from serving these jihadists, al-Fatihin also seeks to target its supporters in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, southern Thailand and southern Philippines – areas that overlap with the territory of a Southeast Asian caliphate envisioned by terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.
The Islamic State has published a local language publication to increase its appeal to jihadists in Southeast Asia, according to a report in the Malaysian newspaper Berita Harian cited by the Malay Mail.
The publication al-Fatihin – the name is Arabic and means the Conquerors – was launched on June 20, in the holy fasting month of Ramadan, with the tagline: “The newspaper for Malay-speaking migrants in the Islamic State.” The articles,
bringing updates from Iraq and Syria, were mainly written in the Indonesian language, which is comprehensible for many Malay speakers in Southeast Asia.
According to a report in CNN Indonesia, ISIS has a brigade called Katibah Nusantara, which is based in Syria and comprises Malay-speaking militants from Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Apart from serving these jihadists, al-Fatihin also seeks to target its supporters in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore, southern Thailand and southern Philippines – areas that overlap with the territory of a Southeast Asian caliphate envisioned by terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.
