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What makes an Indonesian maid in Singapore turn to Islamic State?

Arrest of group planning to bomb presidential office complex in Jakarta forces security agencies to reassess assumptions of why people become radicalised

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Dian Yulia Novi became radicalised after leaving her home town to work in Taiwan and Singapore as a maid.

The recent arrest of a militant Indonesian maid who had worked in Singapore has forced security agencies and experts to reassess how they counter violent extremism among Muslims in Southeast Asia and to rethink common assumptions of why people become radicalised.

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Poverty and ideology have long been assumed the two main drivers of militancy, particularly in the post-September 11 era, but experts are increasingly coming to a more nuanced view in which these are just two factors among many in a more complex equation.

Indonesia’s Densus 88 counterterrorism police conduct operations in Malang, eastern Java, in a campaign against Islamic State (IS) influences in the country. Photo: AFP
Indonesia’s Densus 88 counterterrorism police conduct operations in Malang, eastern Java, in a campaign against Islamic State (IS) influences in the country. Photo: AFP

Experts at a recent regional forum on violent extremism in Kuala Lumpur said there was increasing evidence that people joining or aligning themselves with the Islamic State (IS) terror group were fuelled by a combustible mix of feelings – including political helplessness, an attraction to extremist ideology, loneliness and a need to belong to a cause bigger than themselves.

“There has to be more focus on the mayor and the mother. Meaning that the local community and family that an individual grows up in plays a very important part in building resilience against extremism,” United States Department of Justice official Travis Smith told the forum, which was organised by Malaysian think tank IMAN Research.

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Indonesian anti-terror and bomb police enter a cathedral with a sniffer dog during a security check ahead of a Christmas mass service in Jakarta. Photo: AFP
Indonesian anti-terror and bomb police enter a cathedral with a sniffer dog during a security check ahead of a Christmas mass service in Jakarta. Photo: AFP
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