Lure of caliphate drives support for Islamic State in South-East Asia

"Jihad with the sword for Malaysians inside Syria is not a priority ... The priority for Malaysians is to help Syrian people and refugees by providing humanitarian aid," said Jufitri bin Joha, the vice president of the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (ABIM).

Support for Islamic State in Asia is not restricted to Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, however.

There have been pledges of allegiance from Singapore, "and some IS followers were monitored in southern Thailand," Banlaoi said.

Recent raids in Australia thwarting a possible plot to carry out public beheadings there, and the arrest in Indonesia of four people from China's Uighur minority thought to be linked to Islamic State, hint at the wider appeal of the group's ideology.

Read more: http://www.dpa-international.com/news/asia/lure-of-caliphate-drives-support-for-islamic-state-in-south-east-asia-a-39704371.html