MEMRI: Special Dispatch | No. 2241 | February 12, 2009
Saudi Arabia/Reform Project
Saudi Columnist: How to Keep Your Son from Becoming a Terrorist

In a February 6, 2009 article in the Saudi Al-Riyadh daily, liberal
columnist Mamdouh Al-Muhaini wrote that in order to keep their children from
growing up to be terrorists, Saudi parents must inculcate in them a culture
of tolerance and respect for people of all religions and cultures.
Following are excerpt from the article:(1)

"In Order to Keep Our Children from Embracing Terrorist Ideology, We Need to
Block the Entryways that Lead to It"
"Every time the Saudi Interior Ministry issues a new list of names of people
wanted for planning terrorist activities, my thoughts immediately jump to
their good, peaceful families. I imagine their sadness, their trauma, their
torn emotions, and their feelings of shame at this humiliation, which is
published everywhere.

"But, in truth, what occurs concerns not only these families, but all of us
as a society. If we examine the wanted lists, and especially the latest one,
we see many tribal and family names that relate to us and are an expression
of us. They are names [borne by] our friends, our brothers, or our
relatives. In fact, there is not a single family name, large or small, that
has not appeared [on these lists].

"This emphasizes the fact that the problem of terrorism is not one that
concerns just a particular group or region, and is not limited to the
families [of those on the list]. They should not blame themselves too much,
since the problem is the problem of all of us, as a society, and we need to
rid ourselves of it once and for all so that none of our children fall into
it again.

"In order to keep our children from embracing terrorist ideology, we need to
block the entryways that lead to it. Unfortunately, despite the self-evident
nature of this conclusion, we have long opened these entryways that prepare
the way for our children to embrace violent and extremist ideas. Thus, it is
important for us to acknowledge our grave errors so as not to fall into them
again and so as not to entangle more generations of our children in
extremist ideas that lead them to terrorist organizations.

"In truth, I think that it is we - fathers, mothers, brothers, and friends -
who need to accomplish this change, since I see no true changes occurring on
the ground in order to fight the spread of these extremist ideas."

We Must Teach Our Children Religious Tolerance - "To Love All and Harbor
Hatred Towards None"
"How can you prevent your son from becoming a terrorist?! It may be assumed
that fathers and mothers ask themselves this question when they watch their
tender, beautiful little children playing in front of them. Fathers,
mothers, and brothers need to know that the only thing that can prevent
these children from turning into extremists or terrorists when they grow up
is to immunize them through a strong and profound intellectual culture
characterized by rationalism, tolerance, love for others, and the desire to
integrate with them. They need to do this themselves, in a constant and
uninterrupted fashion, and not to rely on anyone [else to do it for them].
In fact, it is better for them not to rely on any of the elements
responsible for forming minds among us, such as schools and clubs, since
these have been proven to be harmful, and to be one the fundamental reasons
that pushed children towards the hostile way of thinking that leads to
terrorism.

"Most of the families whose children got involved in extremism or terrorism
did not provide an answer to the important question [of how to keep their
children from becoming terrorists]. They even encouraged - though out of
good intentions - their children to embrace extremist thinking by leaving
them as easy prey for the extremist groups [that are present] in some
schools and mosques, and in the streets. Or [they encouraged them], through
their own support for extremist ideas. This is something that exists among
us all; many of us grew up in homes that didn't believe in the values of
tolerance and coexistence, but rather believe in hatred for anyone who
differs from us in religion, sect, or way of thinking.

"[If there is] an intellectual climate within the home and outside it that
fills the youth's minds with extremist ideas, the question of a youth
becoming a terrorist is a distinct possibility, and he is primed for any
organization or group that [might] enlist him and lead to his death, either
inside or outside Saudi Arabia.

"If we want to protect our young children from one day becoming fanatics or
terrorists, we need to provide them with a completely new culture that is
radically different than the religious, intellectual, and social culture
that has dominated us for many decades, and still does. Instead of teaching
your children hostility, or letting someone else teach them hostility,
towards those of other religions, teach [them] religious tolerance, which
will [ensure that while] they differ from others in religion, they will
share with them their common humanity.

"If he listens to the imam at the mosque praying at the top of his voice for
[Allah] to destroy [others], ask him to forget what he heard, and to
remember to love all and harbor hatred towards none, and [tell him] that the
values that [should] motivate him are those of coexistence and cooperation.

"The families whose children have gotten involved in terrorism responded
entirely favorably to this kind of hostile culture, and set extremist
individuals as models of what was good and proper for their children.

"If you want to keep your son from being a terrorist, you must teach him to
read religious texts not in a fanatical, narrow, and literalist manner, but
in a rational manner that is open to changes in reality. The families that
lost their children to terrorism abandoned them to those who inculcate in
them extremist thoughts based on their extremist and ideological view of the
Koran and the sunna. [For them,] one hadith or one Koranic verse read and
interpreted in an extremist manner becomes an expression of the essence of
the religion, whereas the [true] essence of the religion is love, mercy
towards one another, humility, and high moral standards."

"People Who Respect Human Worth and Liberty Do Not Become Terrorists"
"If you want to keep your son from being a terrorist, you need to get him to
be open towards other cultures, to integrate with them, and to learn from
them, and [you need] to get him to renounce all of the ideas of [our]
dominant culture that declare others to be in error and encourage
insularity. In this way, he will learn to respect others' beliefs and ideas,
and will renounce the view of himself as the only one who is correct and
pure in the world. You can make him see that reality is based on the
coexistence of humans and cultures, with all their differences, and that
insular and extremist beliefs and cultures eventually prove to be failures,
and come to an end. He can feel the value of interconnectedness through the
medicine that heals him, the care that transports him, and even the food
that he prefers.

"You can inculcate your son with concepts that respect the worth of humans -
male and female - whatever their country, their religion, or their culture.
It is entirely certain that people who respect human worth and liberty do
not become terrorists.

"You can make your son not sanctify individuals and not be deceived by their
appearances. You can make him have an independent mentality and a strong
personality that will prevent the inciters and leaders of terrorism from
[getting him to] kill himself and harm his country, while they enjoy lives
of ease and send their children to study abroad.
"You can make him see that his value as a human is in life, love, and
building - and not in death, hatred, and destruction. This kind of culture
that is based on tolerance, rationalism, and respect for human worth is the
only way for us good and peaceful families to prevent our children from
becoming fanatics and then terrorists. It is the only path that will make it
so that no mother or father will be traumatized, torn apart, and feel shame,
asking themselves: My son is a terrorist - how did this happen?"
Endnote:
(1) Al-Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), February 6, 2009.

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