Radicalization of youth stems from ignorance

Those taught true Islamic values won’t be vulnerable to manipulators, Ahmed Sahi says.

Who would have thought there would come a time when the proverbial boy next door could end up a radicalized militant, headed for “jihad” overseas?

According to recent news reports, six teenagers, from Montreal and Laval, are feared to have joined militant groups in Syria.

In Montreal, alarm has risen to the point where this week Mayor Denis Coderre initiated a radicalization prevention centre, which, although controversial, does at least seem like a genuine attempt to solve this growing problem. Time will tell how this new centre pans out, but like Coderre and Montreal, all of Canada must now really examine what we are doing domestically to stop radicalization.

First, though, we must understand the problem in all its nuances.

What exactly is it that makes a young Canadian go from normal kid to “jihadi” vigilante? What made Damian Clairmont abandon his Canadian values for radicalized militancy? What about André Poulin or John Maguire?

Well, the common factor tends to be age, impressionability and a feeling of disenfranchisement. Unstable youth, discontented with society and looking for a greater purpose — these are the natural prey for cunning ideological recruiters; this is the recipe for radicalization.

There are many reasons we see this more and more. First, recruiters are becoming ever more adept at exploiting vulnerable youth through savvy use of social media. The second factor is the lack of a widespread, compelling counternarrative, one that communicates to young Muslims what the religion is truly about.

Manipulative recruiters understand that youth who are drawn to Islam are often searching for answers and, in that search, can be sold a perverse and distorted form of the religion. Often, those who become radicalized are good people

In reality, jihad means an ultimate struggle within oneself to purify the mind and soul.

who were just vulnerable and got manipulated.

In a multicultural, multi- faith society, we know better than to consider Islam a monolithic force for evil. In fact, Islam has countless good qualities that endear it to people looking for God and spirituality. The same is true of Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism and every major religion. That’s why so many people enter these faiths every year.

Muslim converts — and Muslim youth — often become increasingly religious in their search for inner peace, and during this process become vulnerable to recruiters’ talk of a glorified, violent jihad that, while alien to Islam, appeals to these youth who long for a greater cause.

But if these young Muslims only knew what a false picture of “jihad” recruiters portray, we could nip radicalization in the bud. Muslims in the West must make it known to their youth that what these radicals teach is not jihad.

In reality, jihad means an ultimate struggle within oneself to purify the mind and soul, to elevate oneself to a higher spiritual status through good deeds, prayer and service to humanity. As the Prophet himself remarked: “The greater of those who carry out jihad is he who strives against himself most.”

As an Ahmadi Muslim who has worked with many Muslim youth for years, I can tell you that to stem the growing tide of radicalization, we must imbue Muslim youth with the correct concept of jihad and with a spirit of serving mankind.

In a world in which the menace of ISIS is reaching out to vulnerable, impressionable Muslim youth everywhere through social media, Muslims in the West need to recognize that they must teach their children the true principles of Islam before someone else gets to them.

As Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam, said: “Surely the heart of the youth is like the uncultivated ground — it will accept whatever you throw upon it.”