Expansion urged for programs that combat radicalization

CALGARY After RCMP thwarted a major terror threat in Ontario last week, Mohamed El-Rafih knew that his community anti-radicalization initiatives were more urgently needed than ever.

El-Rafih is best known in Calgary’s Muslim community as the creator of an anti-radicalization program that he calls Fostering Youth Inclusiveness (or FYI). The program is a day camp for children aged five to 12 that aims to fight radicalization by tackling the feeling of isolation that some Muslim children experience while trying to integrate into Western society.

Now, El-Rafih is gathering a group of local politicians, police, religious leaders and Muslim community members on Thursday to see how his programs can be expanded and brought to high schoolage youth.

“The purpose behind this meeting is to look at the messaging (we’ve come up with), and to get everybody’s opinion on ... whether it is going to help us against radicalization,” said El-Rafih. “There’s messaging for Muslims and there’s a message for non-Muslims. The message for Muslims is on how there could be misinterpretations on misguided imams and misguided leaders that could make youth vulnerable to radicalization.”

El-Rafih’s summer day camp reached hundreds of children this year. With the program being held at the Genesis Centre recreation facility in Calgary’s northeast, ElRafih primarily aimed to tackle radicalization at its roots by focusing on making Muslim children feel like they are a part of Canadian society. A large part of the program centred around spending time with children from other backgrounds in the community centre, as well as by focusing on sports and arts.