Can a Daesh (ISIS) terrorist be re-educated?

Are individuals who have been part of such criminal cells reformable?

In recent years there have been a series of terrorist attacks linked to the Islamic State terrorist group or Daesh, as the Arabic acronym for ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) is known. These attacks, mostly perpetrated in the same Muslim countries, are having a special incidence in Europe.

Daesh has militants at the transnational level, especially Western converts to Islam, or second or third class European citizens.or second or third generation European citizens with Muslim roots. Let us remember that Arab is not synonymous with Muslim. So any ethnic type can belong to Daesh.

What is Daesh?

The Daesh or Islamic State is a terrorist group that was formed in 2014. following the Syrian crisis and the unending war in Iraq, where the supreme leader of the formation Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi declared the establishment of the "Islamic Caliphate" in Mosul, Iraq.

For other scholars, the concept of terrorist group is misused, since they are an organization with a social, religious, administrative and territorial identity. Although these extremists are currently being wiped out, they created a corridor between Syria and Iraq to expand throughout the world, controlling important areas of both countries.

Going back to how Daesh is formed, its members share the same profile: inhabitants of Western and Eastern Europe are radicalized through a false interpretation of Islam and by taking up the precepts of "Holy War" that were used in the Crusades. Therefore, can the process of radicalization be interrupted? Are individuals who have been terrorists reformable? In this article we analyze it.

• Recommended article: "Why do some Western people join terrorist groups like Daesh (ISIS)?"

How to detect such cases?

Considering the complexity of the issue, the main problem is how to detect the aforementioned radicalization process, as the authorities and security forces call it.

The Muslim community is integrated into Western societies, and outside their homes most of them appear to be culturally assimilated. The complexity lies in the "behind closed doors" moments. That is, in their most intimate environments and away from any kind of surveillance.

Recent terrorist attacks signed by Daesh link this integration with radicalization, based in some cases on dissimulation and false appearance. This is why, according to sociological experts, it is much easier to according to sociological experts, it is much easier to tackle the problem through education and prevention..

Is it possible to re-educate a Daesh member?

A difficult question to answer: How to know if it is possible to re-educate a Daesh individual? Fortunately, there are some possibilities with long experience but with effective results. We are referring to cultural associations and many other integration organizations, whose mission is to bring back to the path of people who have gone astray.

At present, there are There are several Muslim associations dedicated especially to reintegrating these individuals into society.. To mention a few examples, the Banr Islamic Foundation and the Ibn Battuta Foundation, where the former was formed by two brothers who wanted to join Daesh to fight in Syria.

The second is of a cultural nature, forming part of the socialization process of Muslim youth and families, although the objective of the same is to attend to any community outside the European Community and thus guarantee their adaptation to avoid discriminatory, racist or harassing acts.

The Ibn Battuta Foundation works closely with local security forces, administrations and at the national level has a great recognition, working closely with justice and social services.

Can a Daesh terrorist be re-educated? The tools have recently been put into practice by countries such as Australia or England, where they have arrested several fundamentalists who fought on the side of Daesh, but who for legal purposes are still considered nationals with civil rights.

The latest high-profile case was that of a 16-year-old German teenager who was arrested in Iraq by special anti-terrorist units in a raid against Daesh. She had recently converted to Islam and her name has been withheld for security reasons. The German authorities do not want to write off the victim as lost and psychological processes have already been initiated to return her to normal life.