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Katherine Johnson’s mathematical calculations helped guide some of America’s most important early space missions while she confronted the racial and gender barriers faced by Black women in twentieth-century America.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
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| Counterterrorism and Countering violent extremism |
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Deradicalization refers to a process of encouraging a person with extreme political, social or religious views to adopt more moderate positions on the issues.[1][2] Deradicalization is commonly described as a process in which individuals or groups undergo a cognitive shift from radical, extremist, or criminal identities toward more moderate or law-abiding perspectives.[3] Scholars distinguish this from disengagement, which refers specifically to changes in outward behavior, such as ceasing to participate in violent or criminal activities, without necessarily altering ideological commitments.[3] This distinction means that a person may disengage from violence while still adhering to extremist beliefs, or conversely, may continue participating in a radical organization without holding strong ideological convictions.[3]
The term deradicalization itself remains inconsistently defined across the academic literature.[3] Researchers have noted parallels with criminological theories of desistance, which examine the processes by which offenders not only cease criminal activity but also adopt new self-understandings. In criminology, this is sometimes differentiated as primary desistance (ending offending behavior) and secondary desistance (taking on the identity of a reformed individual), with the latter involving measurable changes in self-identity and social role.[3]
![[icon]](viewer.php?source=wikipedia&q=File%3AWiki%20letter%20w%20cropped.svg&result=0#selected-result){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding missing information. (May 2017) |
Google's think tank Jigsaw has been developing a new program − called the Redirect Method − in which Google's search advertising algorithms and YouTube's video platform are used to target aspiring ISIS recruits and ultimately dissuade them from joining the group.[4]
Machine learning and scientific inquiry can be used to find the most effective contents (such as videos) for deradicalization, to learn why people leave terrorist movements and to identify aspiring violent radicals.
Humera Khan, executive director of the Islamic deradicalization group Muflehu, states that deradicalization also needs human interaction and a supportive community backing up the person's decision to turn away from extremism.[4]
Renee Garfinkel also notes that personal relationships play a major role in the transformation of involvement in violence to non-violent activity, saying "change often hinges on a relationship with a mentor or friend who supports and affirms peaceful behavior".[5]
Many nations and universities are engaging in deradicalization efforts.[6][7][8]
Multiple Western Europe countries have implemented deradicalization programs in a variety of forms, specifically after September 11, 2001.[9] In more recent years, some countries saw a drastic increases in the number of jihadists attacks, especially France. In September 2016, France opened its first deradicalization centre in Pontourny. The original plan was to have the Pontourny center the first of multiple in the country, however, the Pontourny centre turned out to be a failure. Less than a year after it opened, the deradicalization centre in Pontourny had no residents.[9] Spain launched its prison deradicalization program for jihadists in 2016, and suspended it in 2022, as only four inmates had signed up for it.[10]
Sociologist Gérald Bronner calls the notion of "deradicalization" flawed, saying "It means that you can take an idea or a belief out of the brain, and I think that’s just impossible" and instead suggests "not a kind of mental manipulation but the opposite — mind liberation, a strengthening of their intellectual immune systems".[6]
One study found that Islamic State supporters responded to counter-radicalization efforts by censoring expression of pro-IS views and moving their activity from public social media to Telegram, a non publicly viewable medium.[11]
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Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.
Deradicalization refers to a process of encouraging a person with extreme political, social or religious views to adopt more moderate positions on the issues. Deradicalization is commonly described as a process in which individuals or groups undergo a cognitive shift from radical, extremist, or criminal identities toward more moderate or law-abiding perspectives. Scholars distinguish this from disengagement, which refers specifically to changes in outward behavior, such as ceasing to participate in violent or criminal activities, without necessarily altering ideological commitments. This distinction means that a person may disengage from violence while still adhering to extremist beliefs, or conversely, may continue participating in a radical organization without holding strong ideological convictions. The term deradicalization itself remains inconsistently defined across the academic literature. Researchers have noted parallels with criminological theories of desistance, which examine the processes by which offenders not only cease criminal activity but also adopt new self-understandings. In criminology, this is sometimes differentiated as primary desistance (ending offending behavior) and secondary desistance (taking on the identity of a reformed individual), with the latter involving measurable changes in self-identity and social role.
The Houri Juvenile Deradicalization Center (sometimes referred to as al-Houri or spelled "Houry") was a facility in Tal Marouf southeast of Qamishli in northeastern Syria for boys and young men 12 to 22 years old affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The program, which opened in 2017, aimed to rehabilitate ISIL's former child soldiers and reintegrate them into society. The facility offered counseling and psychological supports. The facility was locked and heavily guarded. Boys living with their ISIL-supporting mothers in the Al-Roj refugee camp and Al-Hawl refugee camp were supposed to be sent to a deradicalization center when they turned 12; Al-Hawl's director said, "Those kids, once they reach the age of 12, they could become dangerous and could kill and beat up others. So we had a choice, which is to put them at rehabilitation centers and keep them away from the extreme ideology that their mothers carry." Pubescent boys were also sent away to protect them from sexual abuse and arranged child marriages, as ISIL had issued a fatwa ordering women in the camps to reproduce. Women in Al-Roj and Al-Hawl claimed their sons had been "snatched" without warning, something an administrator at Al-Roj denied; he said the mothers were notified in advance that their sons would be taken, and boys found to be under 12 who had been removed were returned to their mothers. Some of the children were allowed to return to the camps for one week every month. Syrian detainees' families are allowed to visit them, but the children of foreign nationals are rarely allowed contact with their families in the camps. As of 2024, the facility held about 100 boys and young men. Although there were nationals of more than 35 countries represented among the detainees, as of 2021, only three boys from the Houri Center were known to have been repatriated. Only Syrian detainees were ever charged, tried, or released. Detainees who became too old to stay at Houri were transferred to adult prison after turning 23. A staff member said, "Everything is undone when these states do not repatriate their children. We are managing to rehabilitate these boys, but then they are sent to prisons and get radicalized again." The director said the inmates “have made a lot of progress in the deradicalization programs and transferring them to a prison would mean losing all those achievements.” As of February 2026, Houri is "completely empty" and it's unclear where the detainees have been sent.
Counterspeech is a tactic of countering hate speech or misinformation by presenting an alternative narrative rather than with censorship of the offending speech. It also means responding to hate speech with empathy and challenging the hate narratives, rather than responding with more hate speech directed in the opposite direction. According to advocates, counterspeech is more likely to result in deradicalization and peaceful resolution of conflict. Susan Benesch of the Dangerous Speech Project has articulated a taxonomy of counterspeech which includes eight specific strategies. They include: Presentation of facts to correct misstatements or misperceptions Pointing out hypocrisy or contradictions Warning of possible offline and online consequences of speech Identification with original speaker or target group Denouncing speech as hateful or dangerous Use of visual media Use of humor Use of a particular tone, e.g. an empathetic one. The use of counterspeech is of particular significance on social media. A report published by Facebook in July 2021 under its "Courage Against Hate" initiative provides information on its own "Counterspeech Hub" website, and includes case studies on several organisations or movements that employ counterspeech as a strategy for countering hate speech. Two of the most prominent of these are I Am Here International and the Online Civil Courage Initiative (OCCI), a partnership between the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and Facebook. A Swiss study reported in December 2021 on a field experiment using three different strategies of counterspeech, using single responses to xenophobic posts on Twitter: humour, warning of consequences, and empathy. It found that only empathy had a small but measurable effect on the hate speech, with the authors suggesting that future research should focus on repeated interventions.
Bulama Bukarti is a prominent Nigerian lawyer, public intellectual and reform advocate focusing on security, governance, and justice in Africa. He currently serves as the Vice President of Programs and Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) & Deradicalization at the Bridgeway Foundation.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
