Youth embracing ideologies that preach extreme violence

For some reason, Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho believes the war against radicalisation through religion is almost won in the coast, and he has been instrumental in doing the job through persuasion. However, experts in terrorism and its genesis are not so easily persuaded. This is why it was found necessary to launch Mombasa county's action plan for preventing and countering violent extremism on Monday.

The fact is radicalisation in schools, mosques, madrassas and even universities may have waned in the coast, but this is not the case in the rest of the country where the youth are increasingly embracing ideologies that preach extreme violence as the only way to bring about change.

The youth in general are susceptible to influences that run counter to the ones held dear by their parents and other adults. They are at an age when they are most impressionable and if not guided in the right direction, they become confused about their own identity and their place in society. This is why rebellion to parental and societal authority seems to occur naturally to them.

The growing pains engender in them a sense of inadequacy, a gap between the ideals they aspire for and the reality which can only be bridged by those canny enough to give them a new sense of belonging, a new identity, so to speak. This is the root cause of the rising phenomenon of radicalisation in schools and other institutions.

Recruitment to radical causes is not new in Kenya. It has been going on for a long time. What is new is that with the incursion of the Kenya Defence Forces into Somalia to fight al-Shabaab in 2011, more Kenyan terrorists became active in their own country than foreigners, and the methods of their recruitment changed from the direct to the more technologically nuanced.

A MYSTERY

A great deal has been written on the subject of radicalisation, but why some Kenyans succumb to ideologies that turn them into deadly enemies of their compatriots remains a mystery. Some researchers opine that one of the prime drivers of radicalisation is pretty humdrum – boredom with the status quo and a quest for personal glory. To such people, to join is to belong and the more violence planned, the more they become exhilarated.

And then there are those who cringe at the injustice they see all around them. In situations where they observe political corruption and where there is unequal application of the law so that those who steal billions of shillings from the public are never punished while pickpockets are jailed for years, they see a need for rectification. The only problem is that they can’t confront the guilty directly, so they resort to extreme violence against the innocent.

Specialists have identified some of the overt warning signals that students are on the verge of being lured into radical militancy. For instance, if a teacher notices that his or her ward suddenly withdraws from his peers, it is a pointer to a psychological conflict. Such a student may become unnecessarily argumentative and unwilling to listen to views that run counter to his.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES

These youth may also embrace conspiracy theories and suddenly convert to new religions, and become secretive to the extent that they do not want to discuss what they are doing or with whom they socialise. If they spend excessive time online or chatting on the phone, or they express admiration for the activities of fringe groups, they may be ready to join extremist organisations. It is the role of teachers to find out the reasons for such abrupt behaviour change.

Teachers and parents, therefore, have a duty to counter radicalisation. But while doing so, they must ensure they do not infringe on the right of children to hold unconventional views, or stifle curiosity which is part and parcel of learning. Unfortunately, in our circumstances, it is difficult for teachers to devote enough attention to individual students, for class sizes are way too large and the teachers too few.

This calls for action by scholars, education authorities, non-governmental organisations and government bodies to come up with a domesticated manual of guidelines on the danger signals to look out for so that teachers, religious leaders, and parents can intervene on time. Such guidelines must be based on empirical research and simplified for easy reading. This is where organisations like the National Counter-Terrorism Centre come in.

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