The answer to that question may be a yes.
ISIS stands for Islamic State, a terrorist group waging war in Iraq and Syria to establish a caliphate in the region. Its actions – beheadings, summary and mass executions, enslavement of women – have been condemned by the international community, including Muslim countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
Albenyahya Enterprise, which is a business registered in both Singapore and Malaysia in 2013, has allegedly been selling ISIS flags online.
From their website, their main intention is to serve “the Muslim community wherever they may be, especially here in the region.”
It says its “products are specially imported from Yemen, Malaysia, and other countries.”
“To keep our customers satisfied, we aim to do our best to ensure all our products are not only of good quality but also priced affordably, Insha Allah.” It said.
According to their Instagram post, they are selling the ISIS flags for $17.
We understand that Albenyahya Enterprise is a regular feature at flea markets, but we can’t confirm if they are selling the flags only online or both online and at their stalls in flea markets.
The two people behind the Enterprise, Fateha and Faisal are from Singapore too.
TOC has sent an enquiry to the police to ask if:
- They are aware of the sale of IS flags here
- If it is even allowed to be sold in Singapore
Many Muslims, both in Singapore and around the world, have condemned the actions of ISIS and said that it and its actions do not represent their faith.
The Minister for Muslim Affairs, Yaacob Ibrahim, has called the beheading of US Journalist, James Foley, by IS militants ‘barbaric.’
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Update:
A Facebook posting by the business owners have called these “baseless accusations”.
A report by The Straits Times also confirms that “Albenyahya Enterprise ordered about 20 flags in July, during the month of Ramadan, and sold them online.”