Mahmoud Ahmad

 

I have been watching closely the developments of events in Iraq and Syria and am just horrified by the blatant extremism and growing violence by a group of militants whose aim is to establish an Islamic caliphate in these areas and would go to any levels to fulfill their aims.



The sudden spread of the so-called Islamic State (Da'ish) in Iraq and Syria, which is claiming to have huge swaths of lands, in both countries, under their control, has been explosive, catching many unawares. In addition, the IS, under the leadership of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, expounds and practices extreme ideologies in the name of Islam.



The Da’ish murders people brutally without any trial and on mere suspicions. And it eliminates all who do not conform to their thoughts or ways. The IS is doing more damage to Islam not only with their ideology but with their crass deeds.



The best way I can describe the events occurring in these two countries is that the man who is killed does not know why he is killed and the man who fired the gun to kill does not know why he did it. It is a mess. A horrible mess entangled in a mesh of conspiracies that have lured a large number of misguided youth into believing that this is jihad.



It is even more painful to see a good number of young Saudis joining the fight, a fight that they have nothing to do with. I remember when the Syrian revolution against Bashar Al-Assad’s regime started, freedom fighters were asking for financial support and weapons and they explicitly stated that they did not want fighters from outside Syria to join them because there are more than enough men in Syria.



What is happening now is that Saudis, who regardless of all cautionary advise had gone to Syria and Iraq to join in a war that was not theirs, are being used by foreign leaders from northern African countries and some Iraqi leaders from Saddam’s regime as cannon fodder. These Saudi youth are being sent to the front lines to die first. They are being selected to carry out suicide missions and being used to fuel this war.



It is a sad picture to see a Saudi engineer full of life and with a bright future ahead of him joining the group that is contributing to the hundreds of murders happening in Syria every day. It is sad to see a picture of a Saudi doctor — who has donned the white coat of a hospital in order to help and cure people in a noble mission — joining the fight in Iraq and then being selected to carry out a suicide mission, thereby killing himself and other people.



It is even sadder to see Saudis tearing their passport in front of cameras and threatening to invade their own country and kill its people. What is really happening? From where do these people get these extreme ideologies?

The answer is the Internet and the social media, which, in my opinion, is the factor No. 1 because of the easy access and the direct contact with the receiver. In the past, media was limited to TV, radio, and newspapers, which was easily monitored by the government. We need a national strategy against the growing scourge to protect our children and youth from extreme ideologies.



Many of our youth are brainwashed by what they have been seeing on social media and by preachers on Internet who encourage Saudi youth to join the fighters in Syria and Iraq. Many of those who returned from the fighting have confessed that they had been brainwashed and influenced by what they saw and heard in social media, a platform that is dominated by these extremists, and from suspicious fatwas (religious edicts) that encourages them to fight in Syria and Iraq.



Once they have been influenced enough to join the group in fighting a war that is of no concern to them, they discover that they have been duped and what’s asked of them is something wrong and that there are different targets in this war than just fighting the regime.



A Saudi who returned from the battleground confessed in a TV interview that there were Saudis in one group fighting and killing other Saudis in another group. And infighting between the Jihadi groups became more the norm than fighting the regime. Also, he said, we started seeing video clips of Saudis executed and we started seeing Saudis captured by other Syrian forces and tortured and beaten. I ask, is this what we want for our youth?



Saudi Arabia through the Prince Mohammad Bin Naif Center for counseling and care has exerted the utmost efforts in rehabilitating Saudis who have been brainwashed by terrorist groups. Many of the fighters, who had returned from these areas, were released after they dealt with their terrorist ideologies through counseling while a small percentage after release went back to fighting. The center provides these people with jobs, housing and financial support.



The government never gives up on its people even if they erred in their choice or judgments. The Saudi government believes in rehabilitation before punishment. Just like a mother to her child, the government will not give up on its people.



What is needed is a strategy to combat hate messages on social media, especially Twitter. Saudi Arabia has discovered that most of the Twitter accounts spouting hate are being managed and run from Iraq, Iran and Syria and other countries outside the Kingdom. They use Saudi tribal names to catch the attention of our people. We should know that Internet and social media has become a weapon that is being used against us. And we should use this platform to counter this hate mongering.



Finally, as with every case, the role of the family is paramount. Each family should care for their children and watch over them closely and be aware of any suspicious behavior to be ready to stop the family member from straying.



— Mahmoud Ahmad can be reached at mahmad@saudigazette.com.sa