Tribalism sets up Kenyans for radicalisation
What you need to know:
While al Qaeda has receded as a military threat, as a symbol, inspiration and teacher, it is more potent.
Today, it has more affiliates, in more countries, than was the case in 2001 following its infamous attacks on the United States.
Islam as a religion is being exploited and manipulated by extremists to drive young Muslims into suicide and murder.
This past week, on the invitation of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, a group of senior policymakers, security officials, scholars and journalists from 29 countries gathered in Nyeri County to deliberate on the global threat posed by al-Qaeda. They explored what constitutes victory against groups pursuing Islamist (political Islam) militancy, and how to hasten its arrival.
In the last two decades, counter- terrorism has improved vastly. However, while al Qaeda has receded as a military threat, as a symbol, inspiration and teacher, it is more potent. Today, it has more affiliates, in more countries, than was the case in 2001 following its infamous attacks on the United States.
MONSTROUS ACTORS
Its ideology inspires action by individuals, and it has spawned monstrous actors like the so-called Islamic State (also known as Isis) that have managed to forcefully claim, and hold, for a time, major territory. Its affiliates have survived the arrests and deaths of their leaders. They have shown an ability to mutate in response to security services pressure.
The Nyeri conference produced recommendations on the new tools and capabilities required to reverse the global trend. A few stood out, and require greater attention by Kenyans.
Citizen trust in government must grow on the basis of its effective delivery of basic services and fairness. Kenya is well positioned to achieve this through devolution, and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s strong leadership in fighting corruption.
RAPE CULTURE
In addition, every county should develop an action plan to prevent and counter violent extremism. The coastal counties are leading the way in delivering these plans which bring together national and county government, security services and civil society.
We must de-glorify suicide attacks and Jihadism, and get rid of any passive acceptance of Jihadist ideologies. This requires continuous stigmatisation of terrorist attacks, and reminding vulnerable Kenyans of the gap between the claims made by terrorist groups and reality. More must be made of these organisations’ systematic paedophile and rape cultures (ISIS runs a system of raping Yazidi children and, similarly, al-Shabaab’s forced recruitment of children as young as nine is accompanied by sexual violence).
RACIAL SUPERIORITY
Kenyans should be immunised from the appeal of extremist propaganda (we use JM Berger’s definition of extremism as the belief that an in-group’s success or survival can never be separated from the need for hostile action against an out-group). The critical point is that tribalism sets up Kenyans for radicalisation into extremism and violent extremism.
There must be honest efforts within communities that sustain narratives of having racial superiority over other Kenyans or Africans. There must also be concerted condemnation of separatism which plays into the hands of terrorist group propagandists and recruiters. We look to the political leadership at local and national level, elders and youth leaders, to do much more to combat these narratives.
RELIGIOUS SCHOOLING
Islam as a religion is being exploited and manipulated by extremists to drive young Muslims into suicide and murder. Time has come for strong self-regulation of madrassa curriculums. We should require that all religious schooling be brought into harmony with the Kenya constitution and its principles of embracing diversity.
The writer is the Director of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre and Kenya's Special Envoy for Countering Violent Extremism
