Can Terrorists Be Rehabilitated?
By Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi
24 December 2014
One of the perpetrators involved in the Abqaiq oil refinery attack in the Eastern Province in 2006 was recently quoted as saying in the media that he felt guilty, but not for the reason one what might think. He believes that his role was not “heroic” enough and wants to take part in other suicide attacks in the Kingdom.
This story hit the headlines here just a few days after the Taleban massacred 150 people, mostly children, at a school in Pakistan, and a self-styled cleric held people hostage in a coffee shop in Australia.
The acts perpetrated by these people, which includes the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), show that they have a distorted understanding of Islam. What else can one say about people killing other human beings in cold blood?
When these incidents occur, Muslims are forced onto the defensive, and feel they must explain that Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, and that these terrorists are not representative of it. In many ways, Muslims are made to feel as if they are accessories to these crimes.
We also can’t continue to blame the Western media for anti-Muslim sentiments when the perpetrators of these acts are from our communities, and have been allowed to propagate hate speech because we have been lax and lenient.
So when a convicted terrorist says that he wants to continue his evil ways, eight years after his involvement in an event such as the Abqaiq attack, we must ask ourselves some serious questions about the manner in which we have been dealing with them.
We need to understand why they show no remorse, despite seeing the carnage and suffering they have caused others. Why are other criminals remorseful and seek to live better lives, while these terrorists want to remain stonehearted killers. We clearly have to conduct in-depth psychological studies on this issue.
In this context, the experience of the Prince Mohammed bin Naif Counselling and Care Center is important. The center seeks to rehabilitate detainees through religious and psychological counselling, so that they can become productive members of society. After all, the government is duty-bound to provide its citizens the best care possible.
Prince Mohammed was himself a victim of a failed assassination attempt. The suicide bomber, an extremist wanted by the authorities, blew himself up in the prince’s house. The man had gained entry on false pretenses, claiming that he needed help.
The centre has overseen the graduation of 3,000 citizens, helped them to pay their debts, marry and find places to stay. But some relapsed and continued to take part in terror attacks.
Saudis are still reeling from the treachery of Marwan Al-Thafar, who was supposedly rehabilitated after leaving the Prince Mohammed centre and appeared on MBC’s Al-Thamina ma Dawood (8 o’clock with Dawood), television show.
Al-Thafar convinced viewers that he would not rejoin the Takfiri groups (those who declare others non-believers), especially after spending 10 years in an Iraqi jail where he was tortured. Saudis were shocked when Al-Thafar’s name was linked to last month’s attack in Dalwah in Al-Hasa, which was planned by ISIS.
The bigger shock to come was when it was discovered that 32 people arrested after the Dalwah attack had documented links with the terrorist group and were ex-convicts. This is clearly an indication that while we may have won the physical battle to maintain the country’s security, the ideological war is far from over.
This is the challenge facing all elements of Saudi society including religious leaders, sociologists, criminologists and psychologists. We need a real and transparent debate about the behaviour of some of our youth. We need them to build and develop our nation, not destroy it.
Source: http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/679016
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-terrorism-jihad/terrorists-be-rehabilitated/d/100662