The approach taken in response to the threat of radicalisation has been focused on law, security, and intelligence. However, with the problem spiralling out of control, this narrow response, including the government’s Prevent policy in schools, seems to be repeated more aggressively. Not only does applying security and surveillance policy across society limit civil liberties, but it also isolates mainstream Muslims, and fails to counter the manipulative interpretation of Islam that extremists use to exploit grievances held by some Muslims.
An alternative long-term educational policy could support Muslim communities in addressing the rise of religious extremism within their midst. Since 9/11, official counter-terrorism policy has been largely determined by right and left-leaning think tanks. Right-wing pundits explain Islamic extremism as a result of the supposed inability of Islam to reform itself, together with Muslims’ unwillingness to integrate into wider society. Meanwhile, analysts on the left see extremist action as a political struggle that has little to do with religion. The former avoids responsibility for addressing the root causes of the problem, and the latter dismisses the possibility of a theological definition defining the central ideology of Islamic extremism.
The problem stems from the predominance of an indoctrinatory approach to learning and teaching about Islam, which confines Islamic education to the uncritical transmission of set texts. This type of Islamic education is exploited by extremist recruiters in both majority and minority Muslim societies. However, Islam has a rich heritage of critical education and shares prophetic educational teachings with Abrahamic faiths. This calls for continuous self-examination, so the faithful remain balanced in their religious observance.
Extremism relates to a form of religiosity involving a rigid interpretation of Islam. A complex mix of identity needs, peer pressure, personal grievances, and Islamophobia has led some young Muslims to adopt an extremist personality. This has been nurtured by formal and informal indoctrinatory educational activities that use a narrow religious context to shapes the ideology of religious extremism and can leave them vulnerable to negative influences that manipulate irrational hatred via an "us versus them" narrative.
To address this problem, we need to challenge indoctrinatory practices, including those on the internet, and provide young Muslims with Islamic literacy that integrates reflective thinking skills and intercultural understanding. This will help them engage intelligently and confidently with their faith heritage and wider society. Unfortunately, neither Muslim communities nor educational policymakers have shown interest in developing alternative models of education.
For over ten years, research has been conducted into how stagnant Islamic education practices have nurtured "foreclosed" religiosities among Muslim youth in Britain. Three types of religiosities have been identified: an exploratory religious identity, mostly observed among female and younger age groups; a "diffused identity" where Islam only functions as a cultural sentiment, and the "foreclosed" religiosity, rendering individuals vulnerable to radical voices.
A critical and reflective Islamic education programme has been developed to meet the changing needs of British Muslim children. Various Muslim faith leaders and teachers have been trained in this programme, which offers a practical model for addressing the foundations of radicalisation among British Muslim youth, enabling direct action at community level. Such models should be part of the rehabilitation of returning foreign fighters and others who have undergone Islamic indoctrination.
Inclusive religious education, such as that provided in many community schools, would complement this approach. It would enable students to develop a contextual understanding of Islam and its contemporary expressions. Schools should encourage collaboration between RE teachers and Muslim educators, promoting better-informed pupils about Islam and building competence among Muslim students to challenge the rigid interpretation of their own religion.
Currently, there is no specialist Muslim teacher-training provision, nor community-based educational oversight of diverse Muslim educational institutions in the UK. Muslim communities should work with universities and relevant authorities to develop a set of educational benchmarks and standards for the teaching of Islam within diverse Muslim educational settings, including madrassas and mosques. A specialist watchdog could be established to monitor standards, especially for the teaching of Islam in prisons.
Robust, competent internal Islamic intervention can defeat Islamic extremism. The struggle against extremism needs a measured, long-term educational response in which Muslim communities can join wider civil and educational efforts, without being stigmatised, to counter it.
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