De-Radicalization Programs Used to Combat Islamist Extremists
Introduction
In all probability the most interesting trend used to combat terrorist organizations are the de-radicalization programs being used by many Islamic nations. These programs have been developed in order to re-educate detainees on the ideological and theological misconceptions being spread by Islamist extremist organizations. Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq and Singapore are currently some of the nations that have developed such programs. In this paper I will discuss the programs developed by Yemeni and Saudi Arabian governments and analyze aspects that could be used in countries developing similar programs or to aid there current programs.
Yemen De-radicalization Program
Yemen was one of the first countries to implement a program to de-radicalize Islamist extremists using religious dialog between detainees and religious clerics. The program was developed in September of 2002 and was identified as the Committee for Religious Dialogue and was headed by Judge Hamoud al-Hitar. This program relied on voluntary participation of detainees suspected of being involved in Islamic extremism. Discussions between committee members and Islamist extremists were based on the Quran and Sunna. The end result of these discussions was to convince Islamist extremists to recognize the Yemeni government’s authority, respect the rights of non-Muslims and refrain from violence within Yemen. During these discussions the clerics challenged the detainee to legitimize their jihad through the use of the Quran. If the detainee was unable to effectively legitimize their views they would be required to renounce their views. Detainees that renounced their views would be released through an amnesty program, although the amnesty program was not provided to detainees who had already killed people in terrorist attacks.
Criticisms identified in the program include that participants had been arrested and imprisoned due to suspicions of their involvement with
In all probability the most interesting trend used to combat terrorist organizations are the de-radicalization programs being used by many Islamic nations. These programs have been developed in order to re-educate detainees on the ideological and theological misconceptions being spread by Islamist extremist organizations. Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq and Singapore are currently some of the nations that have developed such programs. In this paper I will discuss the programs developed by Yemeni and Saudi Arabian governments and analyze aspects that could be used in countries developing similar programs or to aid there current programs.
Yemen De-radicalization Program
Yemen was one of the first countries to implement a program to de-radicalize Islamist extremists using religious dialog between detainees and religious clerics. The program was developed in September of 2002 and was identified as the Committee for Religious Dialogue and was headed by Judge Hamoud al-Hitar. This program relied on voluntary participation of detainees suspected of being involved in Islamic extremism. Discussions between committee members and Islamist extremists were based on the Quran and Sunna. The end result of these discussions was to convince Islamist extremists to recognize the Yemeni government’s authority, respect the rights of non-Muslims and refrain from violence within Yemen. During these discussions the clerics challenged the detainee to legitimize their jihad through the use of the Quran. If the detainee was unable to effectively legitimize their views they would be required to renounce their views. Detainees that renounced their views would be released through an amnesty program, although the amnesty program was not provided to detainees who had already killed people in terrorist attacks.
Criticisms identified in the program include that participants had been arrested and imprisoned due to suspicions of their involvement with
References: Johnston, A. (2009) Assessing the Effectiveness of De-radicalization Programs on Islamist Extremists, Retrieved from: http://edocs.nps.edu/npspubs/scholarly/theses/2009/Dec/09Dec_Johnston.pdf Porges, M. (2010) The Saudi De-radicalization Experiment, Retrieved from: http://www.cfr.org/terrorism/saudi-deradicalization-experiment/p21292#