CROSS-BORDER TERRORISM


The Abdullah X cartoon, made by a former


extremist, is an example of a peer-led project playing a positive role


xxxxxx


radicalisation. Learning from these shocking events will be a significant challenge for our security services.


Preventing individuals from being lured by extremism in the first place is the greatest and most important of those challenges. Stopping the spread of extremist and insular ideologies and people being attracted to fight for groups in the Middle East, are concerns both home and abroad.


Engaging communities As the Home Affairs Select Committee has consistently been told, unless you get communities on your side, counter-terrorism efforts will be extremely challenging. Quite simply, no amount of money spent on counter- terrorism can replace the significant impact that engaging with groups, individuals, religious organisations and other community sources can


have. To underestimate this is to ignore the importance of peer pressure in matters related to extremism, both as a positive or negative force.


To only look at authority figures is a blinkered view of engagement, though they will obviously have some influence. Examples of peer-led groups playing a positive role in tackling extremism are very promising. A good example is Abdullah X, a cartoon made by a former


extremist aimed at stopping Britain’s young Muslims from leaving for Syria.


There are certain areas where people can be particularly susceptible to radicalisation. In prisons particularly, there are multiple examples of young men coming out radicalised or further radicalised, who may have been jailed on non-violent sentences. The Charlie Hebdo killers had both been incarcerated on terrorism-related offences


The Parliamentarian | 2015: Issue One | 23


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