JEDDAH, 15 January 2008 — More than 1,500 young men detained on charges of harboring extremist ideologies that threatened the security in the country have been released after counseling, according to Ali ibn Shayae Al-Nafeesa, member of the Counseling Committee set up three years ago by the Ministry of Interior.
“Provocative fatwas creating misconceptions about loyalty and allegiance to rulers and government; jihad; immunity from punishment for violent crimes such as murder; living in a society with non-Muslims; and driving out non-Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula are some of the distorted views held by some young people aged between 20 and 30,” Al-Jazirah daily quoted Al-Nafeesa as saying.
Al-Nafeesa said an official announcement had been made of the release of 1,500 detainees after the successful completion of a series of counseling sessions to rectify their ideological aberrations.
“The committee exploited the period of their detention to counsel and engage them in dialogues so that they could free themselves from the clutches of perverted ideologies. After a period of successful counseling, each one has been transformed into a socially acceptable and productive personality,” Al-Nafeesa said.
The committee adopted a rational method in discussing contemporary issues. “In the initial stage, they were suspicious and reluctant to talk. They feared that a frank discussion would endanger the prospect of their eventual release from jail. Soon they realized that the committee was working to protect their interests and they began to participate actively in discussions. The dialogues and counseling eventually clarified their distorted visions and broadened their understanding of the correct religious stand on issues such as jihad, violence and other mistaken views spawned by the advocates of evil,” Al-Nafeesa explained.
He added that the most dangerous idea that influenced the young people came from misinterpretations and prejudiced fatwas of some badly educated individuals (calling themselves scholars) who supported extremist organizations. The ideas preached by these false scholars included the declaration that all Muslim rulers were heretics, granting permission to kill with impunity, cleansing the Arabian Peninsula of non-Muslims and a blind exhortation for jihad. In his view, the distorted interpretations gained currency among Muslim youth through websites that were filled with provocative speeches, fabrications and twisted interpretations of religious texts.
“There were also publications that called for the destabilization of this country and its exceptional peace and prosperity,” he said. The youths confessed to their errors and laid them at the feet of “evil people who influenced them while they were in a state of stupidity or semi-intoxication that made them blind to reality.”
Discussing the method of the counseling procedure, he said the sessions were held after the Maghrib prayer and sometimes went on, if required, until late at night.
The stress was more on frank and honest discussions and dialogues in a relaxed atmosphere of trust and transparency rather than on lecturing.
Al-Nafeesa does not believe that the religious curriculum taught in the Kingdom had anything to do with extremist ideologies.
He believed, on the other hand, that some people with evil motives interpreted the religious texts to suit their extremist ideology and attracted naïve youths with their ideas. “The Islamist videos and fiery speeches presented in an emotionally charged style stoked the passions of the young and apparently played a role in inciting them to actions not suitable under Islamic law,” he said.
