Six days a week three Indonesian women work as maids in Singapore, but when they are free, they propagate for IS on-line.

They also raised money for foreign fighters and became so extreme that at least one person was willing to go to Syria to kill himself. The women were arrested in September under Singapore's Homeland Security Act on suspicion of participating in terrorist financing activities and face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to S $ 500,000 (US $ 362,000). ).

Terrorist experts say they are not the only ones who are extremist when working in major Asian cities like Singapore and Hong Kong. Having lost its territory in the Middle East, IS shifted its focus to Asia and increasingly targeted these people.

"They become the 'prey' of militant groups who see them as the" golden goose that lays eggs. "They have a stable income, speak English and often know many people that should become a reasonable target. ", said Nava Nuraniyah, a researcher at the Conflict Policy Analysis Institute (IPAC), an Indonesian research group.

About 250,000 migrant workers work as maids in Singapore and 385,000 in Hong Kong. "The vast majority of foreign workers obey the law and make a positive contribution to society," said the Interior Ministry spokesman. "However, there are still individuals who continue to be radicalized by the violent ideology of IS."

Terrorist experts say most of the radicalized girls are Indonesian citizens, the nation with the largest Muslim population in the world. In 2015-2017, IPAC found that a network of at least 50 Indonesian women who served as nannies, maids, or care for the elderly abroad, was radicalized. Of these, 43 people in Hong Kong, 4 people in Singapore and three people in Taiwan. According to an anonymous source in Indonesia, at least 20 maids were deported to their home countries.

Women seduced by ISIS often experience traumatic events or events. The process of radicalization can happen very quickly. An Indonesian maid in Hong Kong has been a devoted supporter for IS in less than a year.

"They have experienced divorce, debt or a culture shock when moving to a place very different from their home country, which is a common problem that migrant workers have," Nuraniyah said.

Living away from home in an unfamiliar environment, sometimes subjected to mistreatment by their employers, they are vulnerable to being exposed to online preaching. "They are lonely so they feel the need to join communities with other Indonesians, online or in real life," Diovio Alfath, working at the Civil Society Alliance Against Violent Extremism (C) -Save), the Indonesian organization helping to reform victims of radicalization, said. "They are looking for people who can give them advice and are more vulnerable to IS messages trying to infect."

They can reach out to IS via Facebook friends or search the pages of famous warriors themselves. Some maids also entice other girls when they join prayer groups or gossip on the day off.

"I started listening to the Salafi recording program (a branch of the Sunni Muslim) while cleaning the house," said an Indonesian maid from Semarang working in Singapore. "On Facebook, I follow people who seem to be Muslims because I need friends who can guide me."

She was sympathetic when watching an Instagram account posting images of Muslim victims in Syria. She later met a 29-year-old Indonesian butcher living in Batam online. He instigated her to go to Syria to join IS. But the Singapore government discovered her plan and deported her in 2017.

After the militants established a close relationship with the maids and became their "boyfriends," the girls were invited to the secret chat room on the encrypted application.

"That's where important things like bomb design and action coordination are discussed," said Zachary Abuza, an expert on IS operations in Southeast Asia at the National War College in Washington. There are hundreds of groups on Telegram - the most commonly used IS encryption - for supporters of the Islamic movement. Many of them have content specifically for women, like advice on women's issues and parenting.

After the radicalization process is completed, a handful of maids marry jihad boyfriends. An Indonesian woman working in Hong Kong returned to Banten, West Java, in 2015 to become Adi Jihadi's second wife, a warrior who was arrested in 2017 for buying weapons and training in Mindanao. He is related to Isnilon Hapilon, who is considered the IS leader in Southeast Asia. Jihadi later admitted supplying weapons used in the 2016 attack in Jakarta that left eight people dead.

Others take on a bigger role, becoming sponsors, recruiting and coordinators. "Some maids provide financial support or logistics for IS, such as harboring militants on their way to Syria," Alfath said.

A 36-year-old woman from Central Java living in Hong Kong raised money from friends and sent it to the jihad organization in Indonesia. She also provides air tickets for Indonesian fighters to Syria, usually via Hong Kong.

On days off, she sometimes attends Islamic Service Group classes, founded by Egyptian pop singer Wael Ibrahim who became a Muslim scholar. "She often goes with a friend and rarely speaks," he said. "But after that, she asked aloud why we didn't support IS." In the end, Ibrahim had to remove her from class. In July 2017, she was deported back to Indonesia.

Some maids even went to war zones. Of the 50 IPAC identified, at least 12 have tried to enter Syria via Hong Kong since June 2017. 4 people were blocked and deported to Indonesia, according to the IPAC report.

Two of the Indonesian women arrested in Singapore have set their sights on going to Syria, one of them even claiming to be a suicide bomber for IS in Syria.

The two girls were also prompted to emigrate to southern Philippines. Experts say IS is consolidating its territory in Southeast Asia and IS supporters have recently started flocking to the Philippines. "After 2017, when IS began to lose territory in the Middle East, their message changed," Abuza said. "They encourage militants to come to Mindanao, Philippines and establish an 'Islamic state' there."

A number of Islamic organizations in the Philippines and Indonesia, including Abu Sayyaf, the Maute group and Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), have sworn allegiance to IS.

IS also trains maids in carrying out suicide attacks, according to the IPAC. Dian Yuli Novi, 27, has worked in Taiwan and Singapore as a maid, plotting a bomb attack outside the presidential palace in Jakarta. In August 2017, she was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison.

Ika Puspitasari, 34, a maid in Hong Kong, returned to Indonesia to marry the man she met online in 2015. In December 2016, she volunteered to bomb her suicide in Bali on New Year's Eve. She was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in 2017 after the plot was attacked.

Officials paid attention to IS targeting labor in Hong Kong and Singapore. "The host government is increasingly monitoring social media posts and groups for terrorist-related content," C-Save's Alfath said. "If they find out that migrant workers posted extremist messages, they will deport this person."

Singapore has deported 16 people to Indonesia since 2015. A government spokesman said Singapore has worked closely with local religious organizations and a reform group to reach out to the foreign labor community through meetings at mosques or embassies.

Hong Kong refused to provide data on the number of deportees, but a police spokesman said it "closely monitors international terrorism trends and continually assesses the terrorist threat to Hong Kong." ", by exchanging intelligence with other law enforcement agencies. In 2018, an interdisciplinary counter-terrorism unit was established.

Three Indonesian women arrested may be held for up to two years before the trial process begins. The Singapore government spokesman said it "poses a security threat for its support" and "ongoing terrorist financing investigations".