Deradicalization refers to a process of encouraging a person with extreme political,

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

views to adopt more moderate positions on the issues.

Measures and projects

Google's think tank Jigsaw has been developing a new program − called the Redirect Method − in which Google's search advertising algorithms and YouTube's video platform are used to target aspiring

ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

recruits and ultimately dissuade them from joining the group.

Machine learning Machine learning (ML) is a field of study in artificial intelligence concerned with the development and study of Computational statistics, statistical algorithms that can learn from data and generalise to unseen data, and thus perform Task ( ...

and

scientific inquiry Models of scientific inquiry have two functions: first, to provide a descriptive account of ''how'' scientific inquiry is carried out in practice, and second, to provide an explanatory account of ''why'' scientific inquiry succeeds as well as it ap ...

can be used to find the most effective contents (such as videos) for deradicalization, to learn why people leave terrorist movements and to identify aspiring violent radicals. Humera Khan, executive director of the Islamic deradicalization group Muflehu, states that deradicalization also needs human interaction and a supportive community backing up the person's decision to turn away from extremism. Renee Garfinkel also notes that personal relationships play a major role in the transformation of involvement in violence to non-violent activity, saying "change often hinges on a relationship with a mentor or friend who supports and affirms peaceful behavior". Many nations and universities are engaging in deradicalization efforts.

Programmes in Western Europe

Multiple Western Europe countries have implemented deradicalization programs in a variety of forms, specifically after September 11, 2001. In more recent years, some countries saw a drastic increases in the number of jihadists attacks, especially France. In September 2016, France opened its first deradicalization centre in Pontourny. The original plan was to have the Pontourny center the first of multiple in the country, however, the Pontourny centre turned out to be a failure. Less than a year after it opened, the deradicalization centre in Pontourny had no residents. Spain launched its prison deradicalization program for jihadists in 2016, and suspended it in 2022, as only four inmates had signed up for it.

Criticism

Sociologist Gérald Bronner calls the notion of "deradicalization" flawed, saying "It means that you can take an idea or a belief out of the brain, and I think that’s just impossible" and instead suggests "not a kind of mental manipulation but the opposite — mind liberation, a strengthening of their intellectual immune systems". One study found that

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

supporters responded to counter-radicalization efforts by censoring expression of pro-IS views and moving their activity from public social media to

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

, a non publicly viewable medium.

Bibliography

* Ramakrishna, Kumar. Extremist Islam: Recognition and Response in Southeast Asia. United States, Oxford University Press, 2022.

References

{{Authority control Counterterrorism Propaganda Prevention Radicalization

Measures and projects

Programmes in Western Europe

Criticism

See also

Bibliography

References