How could modern, moderate Muslims from modern, moderate Malaysia get mixed in something so backward and extremist as a jihad mass murder plot? How did they come to misunderstand Islam after being taught its true, moderate form in modern, moderate Malaysia?
“Six men charged over terror plot in Malaysia,” Agence France-Presse, April 30 2015:
Six men, including an Indonesian suspected to be an arms expert, were charged on Thursday for allegedly conspiring to plot terror attacks in Malaysia.
The men, aged between 25 and 48, were charged with being “party to a conspiracy to promote terror in Malaysia”, according to court documents obtained by AFP….
The six included the group’s alleged mastermind 48-year-old Murad Halimmuddin Hassan and his 25-year-old son Abu Daud.
The Indonesian, Ali Saifuddin, is alleged to be an arms expert formerly with the Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
They were among a group of 17 detained in early April for a suspected plot to kidnap high-profile figures and launch terrorist attacks.
National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar had previously said the plotters were believed to have been inspired by the extremist Islamic State (IS) group and its bloody jihad in Syria and Iraq.
The group was said to have been planning attacks in the capital Kuala Lumpur and in nearby Putrajaya, which houses Malaysia’s federal government apparatus.
They had also been planning to rob banks to raise funds, and raid armed forces installations and police stations to obtain weapons, according to Khalid.
In February, Home Minister Zahid Hamidi warned that IS members in Malaysia had planned to kidnap tycoons and rob banks to finance terrorist activities.
Just last weekend, officials arrested 12 suspected Islamic militants who were plotting attacks in the country just as it was preparing to host a prominent Southeast Asian summit with regional leaders and ministers.
According to officials, so far about a hundred people have been arrested for suspected involvement in the IS jihad in Syria.