ABU DHABI // The UAE’s Islamic authority has been holding its own initiatives to fight extremism by lecturing prisoners on nationalism and deradicalisation.
Inmates are also taught about Islamic ethics, good conduct and moderate Islam, said Taleb Al Shehhi, head of preaching at the Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments (Awqaf).
“We have many programmes all year long,” he said, adding that preventative measures are also important, with a unified preaching plan across mosques already in place.
“We are also spreading our messages across media channels through fatwas and programmes, to protect society from destructive notions,” Mr Al Shehhi said.
The authority cooperates with the Ministry of Interior for the programmes in prisons, and with the Ministries of Education and Health, the Marriage Fund and other institutions for prevention and awareness efforts.
The goal, Mr Al Shehhi said, was “to spread moderate thought and the message of peace across society”.
A number of global, joint initiatives that focus on establishing programmes to fight extremism are also based in the UAE.
In Abu Dhabi, the Hedayah centre runs the Rehabilitation of Returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters (RFTF) Programme.
The centre was built after recommendations from the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum in New York in September 2011, with the UAE offering to host it.
Since it opened in December 2012, Hedayah has been acting as a global platform for experts to share ideas and launch programmes to detect and prevent extremism, as well as develop national strategies for countering violent extremism.
Another Abu Dhabi-based counter-terrorism centre is Sawab, which was launched as a joint initiative by the UAE and US governments to fight Isis’s propaganda through online channels and social media.
Dr Hessa Lootah, a politics professor at UAE University, said there are many initiatives to combat extremism in the UAE but questioned if it was enough.
“Events are moving fast but programmes take a long time to prepare,” she said. “We need long-term policies because there is no way to change a person’s thoughts in one day.”
Generally, she said there are not many radicalised people in the UAE.
“We are a society where tolerance is widespread, acceptance of the other,” she said, adding that prevention plans should be pragmatic and not follow a direct disciplinary approach, “because the youth are rebellious and are looking for their independent personalities, so we should not deprive them of their pride”.
hdajani@thenational.ae
