Brussels, 30/10/2008 (Agence Europe) - How to combat the radicalisation among young people and the recruitment of terrorists without antagonising the Muslim population? That was largely the issue debated by political leaders and representatives of academia and associations at a conference organised by the European Policy Centre (EPC) on Wednesday 29 October.
“The more we look at radicalisation, the less we know what we are talking about!” That was the stark statement by Rik Coolsaet, a lecturer in International Relations at the University of Ghent. “Radicalisation always begins with a dignified reaction to injustice. At the start, there is frustration. Then feelings become stronger, there is radicalisation and you begin to look for others, a group. Gradually, you find that it is society that is responsible for your feelings of frustration. Then, there is the move to political action”, for example, going off to fight the Americans in Iraq, Coolsaet said. US Ambassadress to the EU Kristen Silveberg said, “Hezbollah, Hamas, Al-Qaeda, all have strategies towards young people. We have to propose a positive alternative”. She said that the starting point must be “countering the ideology of these terrorist groups” by promoting what moderate Muslims were saying. Ending recruitment also means that it is necessary to develop cultural and educational “diversion policies”, she added. The other point developed by the Ambassadress was support for movements opposed to terrorism, and local action (exchange of imams between the United States and Yemen, for example), or programmes promoting dialogue among citizens. “Radicalisation is a sensitive subject as one has to ensure it does not stigmatise any religion in particular”, pointed out Gilles de Kerchove, European Counter-Terrorism Coordinator. “It is very difficult to identify someone who is prey to radicalisation”, he added, saying that there are several key factors that play a part in radicalisation such as the group dynamic and vulnerability. “We focused more on repressive than preventive aspects of radicalisation, such as creating a distance from the imams”, he said, adding that it was now necessary to work on several fronts simultaneously. He announced he would soon be presenting a revised European action plan on radicalisation and recruitment with new elements such as the development of partnerships with specialists (religious specialists, publishing houses, NGOs) in order to demystify the prestige of radical Islam, and also assistance in educational establishments. Ghaffar Hussain, a member of the Quilliam Foundation, a British think-tank specialised in combating extremism, also called for this ideology to be dismantled by working on several fronts, either at the religious level with recourse to scholars who dismantle the complicity theory or by allowing mosques to play an active role. Mr Hussain took the view that the state should also be intolerant towards Islamic preachers, mainly when they are present in schools. He placed emphasis on integration, deploring the reality of certain mono-cultural ghettos in the outskirts of London, and on the fight against racism and Islamophobia. Christophe-Adji Ahoudian, Deputy Mayor in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, told how his area has been affected head-on by youth radicalisation saying some young people have left to fight the US army in Iraq (the youngest being only 14). In his view, several measures have had results: - making parents responsible; - involving young people in associations; - organising debates especially with mothers; - creating a “committee for living together”; - and vocational insertion. “A young person with a job is less inclined to leave”, Mr Ahoudian said. Although this conference has allowed it to be noted that concrete responses do exist to combat radicalisation, Ms Silverberg admitted “there is still a great deal of work to be done”. (B.C./transl.jl)