Is it possible to deradicalize terrorists and their potential recruits?

Saudi Arabia, a pioneer in terrorism prevention and rehabilitation, claims that it is. According to the Saudi government, since 2004, more than 4,000 militants have gone through its rehabilitation programs, and the graduates have been reintegrated into mainstream society much more successfully than ordinary criminals. The U.S. government has even implemented deradicalization programs at U.S. detention facilities in Iraq -- modeled, in large measure, on the Saudi program -- and is also trying to arrange for Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo to be "rehabilitated" in Saudi Arabia. And yet so far, the Saudis have shared very little information about their program's successes and failures.

Terrorism spreads, in part, through bad ideas

The most dangerous and seductive bad idea spreading around the globe today is a distorted interpretation of Islam, which asserts that killing innocents is a way to worship God. Part of the solution must come from within Islam and from Islamic scholars, who can refute this interpretation with arguments based in theology. The Saudi government and Saudi NGOs are also beginning to play an important role in the effort to counter terrorist ideology, but bad ideas only take root in fertile soil. Terrorists prey on vulnerable populations. Failed states, such as Yemen and Somalia, are ideal recruiting grounds.

Any rehabilitation or terrorism prevention effort must be based on a clear understanding of what drives individuals to terrorism in the first place.

When scholars ask terrorists how they came into their line of work, their reasons are as varied as those for which others choose more traditional professions. Terrorist movements arise in reaction to an injustice, real or imagined, that they feel must be corrected. But ideology is not the only -- or even the central -- reason that individuals choose a career of terrorism. Market conditions, social networks, group dynamics, and individual preferences are equally as important. And a terrorist's motivations for remaining in, or leaving, his "job" change over time. Deradicalization programs need to take account -- and advantage -- of these variations and shifts in motivations.

Young people are sometimes attracted to terrorist movements through social connections, music, fashion, or lifestyle and only later come to understand the groups' violent ideologies and goals.

Then there is economics. For some, jihad is just a job. Poorer people in countries with high levels of unemployment are more vulnerable to recruitment. For such individuals, job training and career counseling may be the best deradicalization strategy -- or at least a strategy as important as religious reeducation. For example, job training and education became an important part of the effort to "rehabilitate" insurgents who were picked up in the surge in Iraq.

Psychology also matters

One element worth examining in particular is the potential impact of sexual abuse on radicalization. Much has been written about the role of radical madrasahs in creating terrorists. Outside of the Pakistani press, however, little note is made of the routine rape of boys at such schools. Also troubling is the rape of boys by warlords, the Afghan National Army, or the police in Afghanistan. Such abuses are commonplace on Thursdays, also known as "man-loving day," because Friday prayers are considered to absolve sinners of all wrongdoing. To be successful, deradicalization and terrorism prevention programs must take into account the impact of humiliation, not because terrorists deserve our sympathy -- they do not -- but because humiliation appears to be a major risk factor for radicalism.

Some of the Saudi program's main features, and thus its results, may be difficult to replicate elsewhere

The project is extremely expensive; it is constantly being updated, based on input from the staff and participants. Its prevention program includes dialogue on the Internet with individuals known to visit terrorist websites. The rehabilitation program includes psychological counseling, vocational training, art therapy, sports, and religious reeducation. It also includes helping the "rehabilitated" terrorists find jobs and even wives. There is a post-release program as well, which holds family members responsible for the activities of the former terrorist, and involves intensive surveillance.

(C) 2009 Council On Foreign Relations, Publisher Of Foreign Affairs