Winning over violent jihadists with logic and facts
February 7, 2005
This may be one of the unusual and interesting stories to have appeared in the media (American or other) for some time, and it is an excellent example of the merits of dialogue.
The Christian Science Monitor describes how a Yemeni judge has been re-educating Al Qaeda detainees by challenging them to theological contests, where one side has to convince the other. Judge Hamoud Al-Hitar explains that his system is simple: if the militants can convince the Islamic scholars that their ideas are justified by the Koran, the latter would join in their struggle; but if the scholars succeed in convincing the prisoners of the contrary, they would have to renounce violence.
Al Hitar ”invites militants to use the Koran to justify attacks on innocent civilians and when they cannot, he shows them numerous passages commanding Muslims not to attack civilians, to respect other religions, and fight only in self-defense.
For example, he quotes: "Whoever kills a soul, unless for a soul, or for corruption done in the land - it is as if he had slain all mankind entirely. And, whoever saves one, it is as if he had saved mankind entirely." He uses the passage to bolster his argument against bombing Western targets in Yemen - attacks he says defy the Koran. And, he says, the Koran says under no circumstances should women and children be killed.
If, after weeks of debate, the prisoners renounce violence they are released and offered vocational training courses and help to find jobs.
So far, 364 men have been rehabilitated in this way, simply because one courageous man decided that Guantanamo-style “justice” did nothing to help combat terror. “Name that verse,” in contrast, and – more seriously – a true interchange of ideas and interpretations can make a real difference.
