Parents, religious school principals to monitor students from misunderstanding jihad

Parents and religious school heads must monitor the development of students to ensure they are not easily-influenced by the call of 'jihad' in Syria and the Islamic State.

Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha said this target group was normally influenced and recruited through the social media such as Facebook and blogs.

"As a precautionary measure, parents should not let their children be engrossed with the new media. Early monitoring can prevent them from being trapped and used.

"This is because the information and discussions on FB, websites and others could be beyond the scope of what is taught in schools and influence the students to supposedly 'jihad' in the name of religion," he said.

He was speaking to reporters after officiating a conference of heads of the Sekolah Menengah Agama Negeri (SMAN), Sekolah Menengah Agama Rakyat (SMAR) and Sekolah Agama Bantuan Kerajaan (SABK) at the national level here.

Also present was Jakim division director Ramlah Yong and manager of Muassasah Al-Bayam Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Mahamod Abdull.