Deprogramming Jihadists

[groovedaddy]

The sunset prayer had just ended, and Sheik Ahmad al-Jilani was already calling his class to order. When the latecomers slipped into the front row, Jilani nodded at them briskly. “Young men,” he began, “who can tell me why we do jihad?”

The members of the class were still new and a bit shy. Jilani clasped his hands and smiled encouragingly. Before him, sitting in school desks, were a dozen young Saudi men who had served time in prison for belonging to militant Islamic groups. Now they were inmates in a new rehabilitation center, part of a Saudi government initiative that seeks to deprogram Islamic extremists.

Jilani has been teaching his class, which is called Understandings of Jihad, since the center was established early last year. A stout man who makes constant, self-deprecating references to his weight, the sheik is an avuncular figure, popular with his students. On this chilly evening he had on a woolly, brocade-trimmed bisht, the cloak that Saudi men wear on formal occasions or in cool weather, which gave him a slightly imposing air. But behind his thick glasses, his eyes shone warmly as he surveyed the classroom.

Finally, someone answered: “We do jihad to fight our enemies.”

“To defeat God’s enemies?” another suggested.

“To help weak Muslims,” a third offered.

“Good, good,” Jilani said. “All good answers. Is there someone else? What about you, Ali?” Ali, in the second row, looked away, then faltered: “To . . . answer . . . calls for jihad?”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/magazine/09jihadis-t.html?th&emc=th

[aquart]

1. I'm more worried about deprogramming the soldiers we bring home.

[bemildred]

2. I was hoping we could deprogram some neocons.

How often to you get to help people that admit they are not "reality based"?

[Testor]

3. How to deprogram US persons.

How to deprogram US persons (aka "humans")

[Testor]

4. The point of no return: freedom of thought vs psychosurgery

The point of no return: freedom of thought vs psychosurgery

[Testor]

5. Suspicious Marks; Fortress America?

[Testor]

6. A population with digital software; examining our cranium scars

A population with digital software; examining our cranium scars

US Navy

[Testor]

7. Image from COPS

The COPS camera crews hover on Cops occipital lobes, message?

[Testor]

8. Beauty mark?

[Testor]

9. Soros

Laugh. Repeat laughter.
Q: Did your grandfather possess a similar forehead "scar"?

[Testor]

10. Nick Notle Occipital Lobe

Motorcycle accident? (Garey Busey)