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Mothers: The key to combating extremism
Research has also found that women are more resistant than men to deradicalization programs.
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Women — and particularly mothers — are crucial to ending this extremism. (Shutterstock/File)
F
or a long time, religious extremism has been seen as a man’s arena. When one thinks of an adherent of the Islamic State group (IS), for instance, the image of a male fighter is usually the one that comes to mind. The protests by extremist groups we see in the media are usually led by men. As a result, women are often seen as passive actors and, by those seeking to battle extremism, as victims of this extremism. But the reality is that this is not always the case.
While women are indeed particularly impacted by religious extremism, they are not always passive actors — and the role they play in these movements should be acknowledged and better understood, especially if we want to design programs aimed at tackling religious extremism that actually work.
According to C-SAVE, a nongovernmental organization that plays a central role in assisting IS fighters deported back to Indonesia to reintegrate into society and deradicalize, women are being given an increasingly important role in actively arranging marriages to strengthen kinship ties, and they participate in both funding and calling for jihad through social media.
Research has also found that women are more resistant than men to deradicalization programs. Why is that? Because women internalize extremist doctrines more than men and are, as a result, more loyal to the ideology of extremist groups. By falsely assuming that women are only victims of religious extremism, we fail to address a key point: Women — and particularly mothers — are crucial to ending this extremism.
By ignoring the active role they play in religious extremism, it goes without saying that we are not coming up with solutions to deradicalize them, thus perpetuating the problem.
Mothers are the link: For many children, their mother is the most influential person in their lives, and are invaluable in imparting life lessons and values to their children. These values are often positive ones. But for mothers who have been radicalized, the values they impart may often be the very ones we want to combat. Research has also shown that they may exert significant influence on their children — or other family members — to reject deradicalization programs, thereby threatening the success of these broader efforts.
It is thus high time to consider how we can strengthen our efforts to combat religious radicalism and extremism, not just focusing on the role that men play, but also on the role that women — and particularly mothers — play, especially to ensure that our future generations grow up tolerant and considerate of others.
