PUBLISHED ONJune 24, 2026 6:00 AMBYDana LeongA 19-year-old student was given a restriction order under the Internal Security Act (ISA) after being self-radicalised by a myriad of violent extremist ideologies, including anti-LGBTQ and anti-Western beliefs.
In a press release on Wednesday (June 24), the Internal Security Department (ISD) said that Cyrus Dzulqarnain Al-Shahriar was issued the order in March, along with 30-year-old Singaporean, Tarmizi bin Mohd Taha, who was issued an order of detention.
ISD added that Tarmizi and Cyrus are the seventh and eighth Singaporeans dealt with under the ISA, whose radicalisation was triggered or accelerated by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since its re-escalation in 2023.
According to ISD, Cyrus was exposed to anti-Western and anti-LGBTQ content after joining several online groups to learn more about Islam in 2022.
He was further exposed to pro-Hamas narratives online after Hamas' attacks on Israel in 2023, which prompted him to consider joining Hamas to take up arms against Israelis on the frontlines of the conflict in Gaza a year later.
However, he made no preparations to do so, as he lacked resources to travel overseas and "was fearful of engaging in physical violence".
Cyrus later joined a private online Islamist chat group that subscribes to violent accelerationist thinking — the group believed in creating "chaos" through the use of violence if necessary, to establish a future with Islam as the leading global civilisation.
At the request of one of the group's members, Cyrus went to the Esplanade area on two occasions to take photos of an e-publication authored by the group, which he later posted publicly on social media as an act of allegiance to the group.
"He saw it as his duty to participate in the group's 'digital jihad' efforts which involved harassing users online who were deemed to be anti-Islam, to 'combat American and Zionist movements'," ISD said, adding that he would post fake news on social media to defame such users, and incited violence against them.
Cyrus also subscribed to violent incel ideologies after coming across content about school shooter Elliot Rodger in 2025, and began making online posts threatening to kill or rape women.
Rodger, who is widely praised in the incel community, had killed six people and injured 14 others in a shooting spree near the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2014.
Cyrus also grew supportive of Rodger and other school shooters, and fantasised about committing violence against certain groups of people in school, including LGBTQ individuals and couples in relationships, said ISD.
While his thoughts did not progress beyond ideation, his support for extremist groups and his online postings inciting violence against others, are of security concern and warranted the ISD's restriction order.
He was subsequently put through a rehabilitation regime to address the radical beliefs that he has imbibed, ISD said.
Separately, Tarmizi was self-radicalised in 2023 after being exposed to Hamas propaganda in social media channels that discussed the Israel-Palestine conflict.
He viewed Hamas as defenders of the Palestinians, believing that it was legitimate to engage in armed violence against Zionists, Jews and non-Muslims, said ISD.
Tarmizi had also planned to travel to the Palestinian territories to join Hamas in both 2024 and 2025, having contacted a purported Hamas member.
He intended to link up with Hamas officials and take a bai’ah (pledge of allegiance), and even indicated that he would be willing to engage in armed combat against Israel or carry out attacks in Singapore if Hamas asked him to.
He lacked the financial resources to further his plans and travel to the Palestinian territories, but was assessed to pose an "imminent security threat warranting detention under the ISA".
ISD stressed the importance of public vigilance, and that anyone, regardless of demographic profile, is susceptible to radicalisation.
"While Singaporeans remain deeply concerned about the humanitarian cost of the conflict, it is critical that we do not allow extremist narratives capitalising on foreign conflicts to take root in our society," said ISD.
The department also warned that it will take firm action against any individual in Singapore who supports, promotes, undertakes or makes preparations for armed violence, regardless of how they rationalise such violence ideologically or where the violence takes place.
ISD advised members of the public who suspect that a person has been radicalised or is involved in terrorism-related activities to contact ISD at 1800-2626-473 (1800-2626-ISD).
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