Steps to counter radicalisation of students by IS

Malaysia's Minister for Higher Education Dato' Seri Idris Jusoh stated last year that the university enrolment rate is at an all-time high with almost 40% of eligible students pursuing higher education. In contrast, only 4% of Malaysian students were enrolling in universities 40 years ago.

The increasing number of students in universities is, however, viewed by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group or Daesh as an opportunity to recruit vulnerable students for its jihadist agenda. Police and security agencies in Malaysia fear that terrorist ideology is gaining traction among university and school students and have been briefing them on the dangers of joining IS.

Since the emergence of IS in June 2014, more than 420 Malaysians have been arrested for clandestine activities related to the group with at least 40 being students from schools, colleges and universities.

Three students from public universities were detained in 2016 and four more were arrested in the first three months of 2017. They include two female students who were planning to travel to Turkey before entering Syria and Iraq. Most of them were in contact with Abu Muhammad Wanndy and Zainuri Kamaruddin who are part of IS’s Southeast Asian militant wing, Katibah Nusantara, in Raqqa and Aleppo.

Four private university students were also detained – two of them had connections with another two graduates from Monash University Malaysia who were directly involved in the Dhaka restaurant bombing in July 2016.

In January 2017, two more students from Al-Madinah International University were arrested for having links with the IS terror network by mostly channelling funds to the group's terrorist activities. The university in Shah Alam also came into the spotlight after police announced that two of its students, who were planning an attack against an international school in Malaysia, were arrested on suspicion of involvement with IS.

So far, eight secondary school students have also been found to be involved in IS-related activities. The youngest detained student was 16 years old, from an Islamic private school in Kedah. He was in possession of an IS flag, symbols, books and his written oath of allegiance (bai'ah) to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Targeting vulnerable young people

Young people under 25 years old have been found to be more susceptible to radical ideology. Their relatively young age and inexperience render them vulnerable to exploitation by groups such as IS. The latter is able to recruit them for jihad in the Middle East through a number of avenues.

This includes social media and usrah groups (religious discussion groups) in local schools, colleges and universities.

Students lacking in critical thinking skills and whose worldview is black and white in nature are more easily influenced by jihadists. Assistant Professor Guy Burton of the University of Nottingham Malaysia has stated: “Radicalisation is especially prevalent among younger individuals, who are more liable to see the world in black and white, to have a sense of idealism in stark contrast to the grubby realism and pragmatism of the day-to-day world.”

Teenagers and youngsters also have this incessant urge to act like adults, driven by notions of independence and feelings of adulthood. As such, they want to engage in adult activities.

Renowned psychology consultant Zac Parsons has said: “Teens tend to be more vulnerable to the appeals of IS for similar reasons that they are attracted to sex, drugs, alcohol and other adult activities – it‘s a world that is clearly run by adults, and they want to be a part of that.”

Additionally, some younger individuals who have been engaged in wrongdoings are looking for a shortcut to atone for their past misdeeds and return to the correct path.

Radical preachers and ideologues exploit such individuals by asserting that they can achieve redemption through violent jihad.

IS has also tailored its message to recruit female university students. The group has used the romanticised notion of jihad and the symbolic heroicness latent in the image of the IS fighter to lure young women into engaging in IS activities. They become love-struck and fall for the Arab or white Caucasian fighter in IS.

For instance, on 24 December 2014, police arrested a 27-year-old female university student in Klang Valley, who had married a Western IS fighter through Skype. This underscores the vulnerability of female students to the romanticised notion of IS militants.

From YouTube to religious discussion groups

Platforms such as YouTube, social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and chat applications (WhatsApp and Telegram) are used to cajole and lure university students to join IS activities.

For instance, the 20-year-old Syamimi Faiqah, a former student at the International Islamic University College of Selangor, was lured into IS in October 2014 through Facebook. Another 22-year-old male student from the public university in Perlis became an IS sympathiser after watching IS propaganda videos on YouTube. He was arrested at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

IS has also used usrah groups to propagate its message. University students join usrah groups not only to expand their religious understanding but also to seek guidance. Traditionally, an usrah group follows a particular teaching or idealism espoused by certain groups.

Some of these teachings and narratives are extremist in nature. For instance, the 24-year-old Muhamad Razin Sharhan Mustafa Kamal, who was arrested in Beirut in 2012, admitted that he was exposed to IS ideology through his usrah group, which was led by the former Jemaah Islamiyah member Yazid Sufaat.

Students who come from broken families are also susceptible to radical ideology. Followers of Islamist political parties can also be a problem. Some adhere to the bai'ah system (oath of allegiance to the leader) that compels them to be secretive and obedient to the group's leader.

Introverted students who do not mix with other students can also be exploited by IS jihadist recruiters. Most of the lone wolves who get involved in attacks around the world are introverted students with anti-social tendencies and a hatred of America and Israel.

Taking action

Given the growing number of people, including young university students, arrested for having ties with IS, the Malaysian authorities should formulate a comprehensive strategy to reverse this phenomenon.

First, the government needs to provide more space for students to express their views, ideas and desires. This freedom and inclusion in the system would dissuade them from looking at alternative avenues.

One such programme is the #Mahasiswa IslamTolak Keganasan (Muslim University Students Reject Terrorism), which was launched in 2015 by the Malaysian Department of Islamic Development, or JAKIM, at the National Muslim Undergraduate Leadership Convention, Selangor. This programme was initiated by the Malaysian government to allow students to convey their ideas on religion and politics. The government hopes to stimulate discussion and address potential problems faced by students.

Second, the Ministry of Higher Education must provide more training for university administrators in charge of managing students and their problems. Additionally, according to Rais Yatim, the president of International Islamic University, the university‘s security staff should do a background check on students and monitor their activities on the internet.

University staff should also provide students with activities that offer them recreation and distraction from potential radical outlets. This includes activities such as aerobics, paintball and horseback riding.

Third, universities should monitor students who are known to have extremist views on Islamic issues.

Fourth, the university campus should be a restricted area and closed off to any unauthorised activities. Security at university access points must be enhanced.

Class attendance should also be monitored. For instance, Elizabeth Lee, senior executive director of Sunway University, said foreign students must achieve at least 80% attendance and must pass all subjects taken in the past year and that missing classes could lead eventually to a police report and the cancellation of the student's visa. This is to prevent students from getting involved in clandestine or undesirable activities.

Fifth, universities need to partner with the police and the special branch to monitor extremist activities. Malaysia's Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said on 9 July 2016: “We already have working relationships with the institutions of higher learning and we will work more closely with them to identify those that are suspected of being involved.”

Sixth, there is a need to establish usrah or religious studies that promote religious moderation, and programmes that counter IS narratives and expose the group's atrocities. For instance, in 2014, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission ran a programme that highlighted IS crimes and brutalities.

Seventh, parents are important stakeholders and should be involved in detecting early signs of radicalisation. There is a need to approach parents of students who are involved in extremist activities and ask them to persuade their children to change. Mothers, who share a deep emotional bond with their children, can play a crucial role in this regard.

IS has adversely impacted Muslim countries. Malaysia and Indonesia, for instance, have been mentioned as targets for IS attacks and recruitment. This makes young people, especially science students in institutions of higher learning, important because of their technical expertise that can be exploited by IS.

It is therefore critical that a partnership is established between the government, policy-makers, security officials and parents to prevent IS’s recruitment of university students and the latter's participation in IS activities.

Mohd Mizan bin Mohammad Aslam is the first rector of the Islamic University College of Perlis or KUIPs in Malaysia. He is a former director of the Sustainable Development Unit, University Malaysia Perlis, and also a senior lecturer at the Centre for Communication Technology and Human Development or PTKPI since 2003. This is an edited version of an article in the April 2017 edition of Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses published by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.