Abstract
Many studies have shown that the factors and pathways to radicalisation are multivariate, with social media being a key resource that terrorists use to expand their influence. In the context of Malaysia’s Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division revealing that 98% of terrorist supporters and members in the country were recruited online, this chapter examines a case study of two Islamic State Telegram groups which was established by Wanndy, South-East Asia’s most effective terrorist recruiter. Analysing text from the actual Telegram conversations, the chapter outlines how the radicalisation process was carried out in this private, virtual environment, and the crucial role that paramilitary themes played in romanticising jihad and formation of a terrorist’s mind. The findings are outlined in relation to a five-step process towards extremism: trust building, mind formation, consensus building, affirmation of support and actualisation.
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Notes
- 1.
Excerpt of an interview with senior counter-terrorism officer, 25 February 2020, Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur.
- 2.
Jihad means struggling for the sake of Allah. The concept is more comprehensive in scope and refers to jihad against the desire (Jihad Al-Nafs), jihad in the battlefield (Jihad Qital), jihad for a good course and against wrong doings (Amar Ma’ruf Nahi Munkar). However, in popular discourse, jihad is generally referred to as the holy war regardless of whether the cause is “holy” or not. Mujahideen refers to those engaged in jihad, while syahid refers to martyrs.
- 3.
Linguistically, this term refers to those who “cover the truth” but in popular discourse, it is generally referred to a disbeliever/denier of the truth. In the Malaysian context, many use the term to refer to non-Muslims.
- 4.
Paria and keling are common terms to describe Indians in a derogatory manner, referring to Indians of a “lower” caste.
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Wan Mohd Nor, M., El-Muhammady, A. (2021). Radicalisation and Paramilitary Culture: The Case of Wanndy’s Telegram Groups in Malaysia. In: West, B., Crosbie, T. (eds) Militarization and the Global Rise of Paramilitary Culture . Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5588-3_6
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