Family vital in preventing youth from joining Isis, say groups, experts

Families play a key role in preventing youths from being lured to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) by teaching them the meaning of jihad and detecting changes in their behaviour, Muslim groups and academics said.

After reports that police arrested a 14-year-old as she was about to join the group, experts said the onus should not be on the police alone to nab the young suspects as the family was the closest entity to them.

Ahmad El-Muhammady, a lecturer from the International Islamic University Malaysia, and one of the panellists in the ongoing White House summit on countering violent extremism, said the family institution plays a key role in preventing youngsters from being exploited as family is the closest entity to them.

"They can detect changes in their thinking and behaviour. Parents also need to monitor their children’s Internet activities,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

“Second, their peers also can play a role in detecting changes in behavioural orientation. They have to report this matter to the relevant authorities, especially police for further investigation.”

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the 14-year-old girl who was arrested on Tuesday was influenced to join Isis through propaganda on social network site Facebook.

Intelligence sources told The Malaysian Insider last year that the Isis militants have mastered social media as their main channel to recruit fighters from around the world, including Malaysians, unlike the early 2000s where recruitment was done through religious schools.

Some, like former Kedah PAS Youth information chief Lotfi Ariffin who was killed in Syria, had not only posted his activities with Isis on Facebook, but had posted call-to-action messages too.

One blog that gained attention was that of an Isis member called “Shams”, who claimed to be a 26-year-old woman doctor from Malaysia, and was in Syria using her medical skills to help fighters and had married an Isis fighter.

Terror cells could be created virtually, as jihadists shared and spread ideological beliefs, raised funds, justified and created motives for violence online, said an intelligence source.

The source said some youths in Malaysia were being targeted for recruitment via skewed religious interpretations.

Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) president Amidi Abdul Manan said that parents and teachers had to ensure children understood that jihad, or holy struggle, did not mean taking up arms and using force against others.

“They must explain that jihad means to strive, and should be practised in all aspects of our lives. If we strive to become better people, and understand Islam, that is already jihad.

“So the parents and teachers must teach this, but they must also understand the teenager’s spirit and deal with it wisely. Teenagers tend to be idealistic and stubborn, and are still considered children.”

Zaid Kamaruddin, vice-president of non-governmental organization Ikram, said the government should form a specific agency for the public to refer to if they suspected anyone of being interested in joining Isis.

The agency should comprise counsellors equipped with religious knowledge who could engage with those at risk of joining Isis, he said.

“If we just arrest the people suspected of joining Isis and punish them, the Isis members in Malaysia may end up attacking our own country.

“So we should take pre-emptive measures instead. Get the professionals to rescue those at risk of joining Isis, and engage with them. Right now everything is rather ad hoc,” he said.

Meanwhile, Perlis mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin (pic, right) proposed that the government provide alternative activities for those who wished to join Isis.

“In this day and age, if we prevent someone from doing something, they will just find their way around it. So we have to give them alternatives,” he said.

He suggested that Putrajaya allow more volunteers to provide relief to Muslims in need abroad, on the condition that they remain monitored by the government.

“There are many international non-governmental organisations who visit war-torn countries to provide aid. They do not go to war, but they help and provide welfare.”

He also suspected that many of those interested in joining Isis were simply motivated by the thrill of a challenge, rather than any spiritual calling.

“It’s possible that some of them are going simply because they are looking for a challenge, I think, because it would be inaccurate to link Isis to Islam, as what Isis is doing is not in line with the meaning of jihad,” Asri told The Malaysian Insider.

“Jihad in Islam means to elevate Allah and Islam, but what Isis is doing is giving a negative perception of Islam. We don’t know what Isis is trying to defend or what its agenda really is.”

Police arrested the 14-year-old as she was about to board a Cairo-bound flight at the KL International Airport on Tuesday evening.

Khalid said the girl planned marry a 22-year-old Malaysian student in Cairo and would go to Istanbul before securing passage to Syria.

Bukit Aman’s Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division principal assistant director Senior Asst Comm Datuk Ayob Khan said investigations revealed that the Muar-born girl’s trip was funded by a man in the city, according to a report in The Star.

He said she received RM2,000 and the plane tickets and was about to leave the country on the pretext of furthering her studies in Egypt.

He said that police were in the midst of identifying the so-called benefactor and trying to ascertain if she had other sponsors or if the man had funded other would-be militants.

A counter-terrorism expert, meanwhile, said the girl should be enrolled in a rehabilitation programme as she was underage.

“This would be the best solution to make sure that her future is not marred by the ‘mistake’ she made for trusting those who tried to lure her into joining Isis,” said the expert.

He said although she is currently detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, charging her and putting her behind bar would be too ‘brutal’ and could affect her future.

“Rehabilitation programme would be best. Make sure that she is in a good environment and monitored throughout the programme,” said the expert.

He said the girl was too naive to process and to understand the consequences of her action.

“She needs guidance. A study needs to be done on her background and see how the authorities can help guide her onto the right path,” said the expert.

Since early last year, police have arrested more than 20 people in various parts of Malaysia over alleged links to the terror group.

Thirty-nine Malaysians have been officially identified as being involved with Isis in Syria, whose aim is to set up an Islamic caliphate in the region.

A few Malaysian women reportedly went last year to Syria and Iraq to engage in "jihad al-nikah" or "conjugal jihad" for fighters there. – February 21, 2015.

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