he National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) is set to invite the Culture and Education Ministry and the Communications and Information Ministry to collaborate with the agency to fight against radicalism.
BNPT head Comr.Gen.Suhardi Alius said the spread of radicalism had taken place through school text-books and websites for over 10 years. The two ministries can hopefully use their authority to prevent the use of school books and internet sites from spreading radical teachings, he went on to say.
“The Culture and Education Ministry should evaluate the content of school text-books and dispose of those that contain radical teachings,” said Suhardi in a discussion in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday. He said the Communications and Information Ministry had the authority to monitor pornographic websites and also sites containing radical teachings.
Suhardi further said there were many students in Jakarta and Bandung who had developed radical ideas.
“Young people can be recruited by radical groups because they do not have sufficient knowledge on radicalism,” he said.
He referred to a survey conducted by human rights group the Setara Institute from March 9 to March 19 last year. In the survey, 16.9 percent of 515 students surveyed in Jakarta and Bandung considered the Islamic State (IS) movement to be Muslims fighting only for the establishment of an Islamic caliphate. (rez/ebf)
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