Arabs against terrorism...another example

John Burgess notes another encouraging piece of the puzzle as Saudi Arabia seeks to reeducate its younger generation. We can pray that it is not a case of too little, too late.

This is part of the all-out effort by the Saudi government to make terrorism less appealing to Saudi youths and should be commended as that.

Arab News has the story of a former Mujahed (I think that word has the same connotation to that readership as "freedom fighter" might have in Europe or the US).

“There is no Muslim who points his weapon at his brother Muslim. It is so sad to see terrorists calling for jihad in the Arabian Peninsula. How could they start jihad in the land of Islam? All that I can say is that these young men have been mentally assassinated. In the past, the cause was clear: We were fighting an enemy that took the land of our brothers. The enemy was stunned when it saw males as young as 11 and 12 fighting them. Terrorist groups these days are brainwashing young minds and sending them to countries in order to commit terrorist activities.”

Shehri added that the Internet has made it easier to target susceptible youth, but also expressed optimism in the current backlash against the so-called global jihad.

“I am very optimistic that many men who went astray are coming back. Even some sheikhs are regretting their issuing violent fatwa’s and have since corrected their position,” said Shehri. “Many of them came to the right path after the royal pardon was issued.”

The Mujahedeen veteran ended his interview by re-emphasizing the need for parents to play an increasingly active role in controlling their children’s exposure to deviant propaganda.