27 February,2009 10:14 AM IST | | Agencies
A Canadian mosque here is taking a page from the Alcoholics Anonymous guidebook and applying it to its fight against terrorism.
Leaders at the Masjid el Noor Mosque say Muslims who get sucked in to an extremist interpretation of Islam become addicted to faith, just as an alcoholic is addicted to alcohol. So the mosque has set up a 12-step program to "detox" budding radicals before it's too late.
The "Specialized De-Radicalization Intervention Program" was created by the mosque's director, Mohammed Shaikh, who says the program is the first of its kind. Shaikh, who used to work as a police chaplain, says the 12 steps are geared toward young people who have fallen in with the "wrong crowd," often through connections made on the Internet.
"The Internet is one of the biggest problems. Online, they can seek out people who think like they do," Shaikh said.
Parents who suspect their teenagers or young adults are heading in the wrong direction bring them to Shaikh, a trusted member of the community. One of the counsellors he has recruited for the program, Ahmed Amiruddin from the Ahlus Sunnah Foundation of Canada, says the goal is to show the radicalised youth that al-Qaeda's beliefs are theologically wrong.
"Their interpretation of the Islamic faith is inconsistent with the last 1,400 years of Islamic schools of thought," Amiruddin says, "We clarify the differences and bring people back toward the traditional interpretation of the Islamic faith, which completely rejects suicide bombings and extremism in all of its forms."
The 12 steps incorporate verses from the Koran that speak of peace, address worldwide conflicts and highlight the need of Muslims to find common ground u2014 not "fighting ground" u2014 with other faiths.
Toronto Police Superintendent Brody Smollet, who worked with Shaikh when he was a police chaplain, welcomes the program. "If Shaikh is successful," Smollet said, "if he can bring even a few of the youth out of that radicalisation, it would be a real benefit to our society, in our community, in our country as a whole."
Mosque leaders would like to see their 12 steps used throughout Canada, which has 5,80,000 Muslims, about 2 per cent of the population. They have reached out to the Canadian government, offering to help courts deal with terrorism cases.
They would also like to work to detox The Toronto 18 u2014 a group of 18 young men who were arrested in 2006 and accused of plotting to bomb Toronto landmarks and government buildings. One of the 18 was convicted last year, 10 are awaiting trial and seven have been released.
The Canadian goverment says it is "committed to reaching out to various communities to foster dialogue on national security matters, including extremism", but has not yet accepted the Masjid el Noor Mosque's offer.
Amiruddin is currently using the 12 steps in the treatment of three young people at the mosque, one of them female. He says he thinks it will take six months or less to reform them. He says some see the light as soon as they go through Step 1: "Who is Allah?"
"Most people, once they realise, 'Hey, I even have God wrong here,' most people do want to change," Amiruddin said.
