a database of more than 450 fighters currently in Syria and Iraq.
motivations for travelling to Syria are diverse
tougher laws and blanket punishment shouldn’t be the only approach.
one in nine former fighters subsequently became involved in terrorist activity
In many cases they are disillusioned, psychologically disturbed, or just tired.
ideological, vicious and bloodthirsty fighters who attract the headlines,
many have found the reality to be far different from what they were led to believe.
When he first travelled out there, he said “it was all focused on Assad,” he said. “But now it’s just Muslims fighting Muslims. We didn’t come here for this.”
The blanket approach taken by the government — to threaten all returnees with draconian prison sentences — Abu Mohammed says, makes him feel trapped. “We’re forced to stay and fight, what choice do we have? It’s sad,” he told us.
Following the defeat of the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Arab-Afghan fighters could not return to their home countries. They were stripped of their citizenship
regrouped in Sudan and formed a Jihadist Internationale, from which al-Qaeda emerged.
men were offered no opportunity to disengage from the path they had chosen.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other countries
deradicalisation programmes to convince jihadists to disengage
deradicalisation along with monitoring and surveillance.
would be willing to submit to such a scheme, were it available, in order to return to the UK.
the Channel Project.
More than 1000 people
successfully engaged through this programme.
Treating all foreign fighters as terrorists, however, risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
This is not about being soft: it’s about being smart.
In prison, by contrast, they are likely to be further radicalised while potentially exposing others to a hardened ideology and worldview.
another friend who recently quit the fight after he couldn’t accept what he saw out there.
experience — they need to be heard, not locked away.
This was an article (originally published by the Independent, however, I found it on their website via my first article from the BBC) by the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence of London. The article suggests, allowing fighters to return home safely and enroll in a De-radicalization program would be more beneficial than current policies of severe punishment (prison, stripping of citizenship, etc.). The authors contend current repercussions for fighters returning to their home countries leave them trapped and isolated and prison sentences often lead to further radicalization. Overall this article really captured my attention in its non-conventional proposal for governments to handle these situations.