Most of the young men who are exposed to deviant thoughts are groomed in schools, according to 67.57 percent of respondents

The findings were revealed by a survey carried out by the Sakinah Campaign, which specializes in fighting deviant thoughts.

Experts said the role of the Ministry of Education is to instill moderate thinking and behavior in the minds of students with the collaborate efforts of the home and mosque in protecting the minds of children from such evil and extreme thinking. Experts confirmed that the Ministry of Education should concentrate on teaching students concepts of moderation and tolerance.

The survey showed that 15.58 percent of Saudi citizens believe that intellectual influences stem from home, while 16.68 percent said that such influences come from mosques.

Dr. Mohamed Nassar, from the Saudi Center for Studies and Research on Drug Prevention, said the greatest proportion of intellectual influences the Kingdom faces concerns terrorism and extremism, which in turn has implications on its security.

He stressed the importance of efforts exerted by the Ministry of Education, in addition to teachers and educators, to instill moderate thinking in their minds to protect them from deviant thoughts.

"Protecting our children from such evil and deviant thoughts should be done by increasing the subject matters that help in building positive and loyal personalities in youths; improving the study environment to reflect a vivid and active one; and allowing students to discuss national loyalty ideas and thoughts with their teachers," he added.

Dr. Mohammed Al-Dowayan a former participant in the development of educational curricula, said the Ministry of Education should consider developing the education environment as a whole, not only the buildings and premises.

"The development process should involve the teacher himself, the curricula and the thinking among students. Qualifying and rehabilitating teachers and the students' activities will help protect the minds of our children from aberrant intellectual influences," he added.