REHABILITATION COUNTRY PROFILES
The challenge faced by Saudi Arabia
Between 2003 and 2007, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia faced a prolonged and violent terrorist campaign orchestrated by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Given Saudi Arabia’s significance as the birthplace of Islam and home to the ‘two holy mosques’ of the faith, Saudi Arabia has always been a symbolic target for Islamists. The initial attack on a housing complex in Riyadh marked the beginning of a series of over 30 subsequent attacks, which resulted in the deaths of numerous foreign nationals, Saudi civilians, and security force members. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, the Saudi state took effectively dismantled AQAP by eliminating key figures within the organisation. The rapid decapitation of the movement provided the opportunity for Saudi Arabia to launch ‘soft’ counter-terrorism efforts, of which their rehabilitation programme was the flagship. This deradicalisation project now has to confront the challenge of some 760 Saudi ISIS cadres returning to their country of origin.
The disengagement strategy
In parallel with its security efforts, Saudi Arabia adopted a comprehensive counterterrorism strategy that aimed to create a divide between Islamists and the wider population, delivering the message that extremists do not act in the interests of Muslims. The Rehabilitation and Disengagement Programme serves as a cornerstone in the Kingdom’s approach to deradicalisation. The programme recognises that deradicalisation is a multifaceted process that involves addressing both psychological and environmental factors, which therefore requires a holistic approach.
Prevention, rehabilitation, and after-care
Saudi Arabia’s approach has three elements: prevention, rehabilitation and after-care. Preventative activities to counter radicalisation include providing information about Islam and the threat of extremism. It emphasises that Islamists do not actually support Muslims, pointing out that they are often willing to treat them as collateral damage in their pursuit of their ideological goals. Other preventative measures include sports and recreational projects deployed to occupy young Saudis, creating alternative sources of socialisation, status and activity than those offered by Islamist movements.
Saudi Arabia credits its rehabilitation and after-care programme as a tremendous success, reducing reoffending dramatically. It has been described as ‘the best funded and longest continuously running counter-radicalization program in existence.’
Measuring extremist characteristics
Saudi Arabia conducted extensive research to explore the demographic of radicalised citizen, with one study suggesting that they tended to be young, from large (as in, having seven or more siblings) lower or middle-class families, and that a third had fought abroad in Afghanistan, Somalia or Chechnya. A quarter had a previous criminal record including – unusually for Saudi Arabia – drug offences. Many had been exposed to extremist media. A follow-up study flagged troubled home lives as a risk factor, with having an elderly father who had conducted polygynous marriages being identified as a particular red flag. Many in this sample also had criminal records, reinforcing previous findings. However, this data might well reflect a sample which is unrepresentative of the population, particularly wealthier Saudis. This data has shaped Saudi Arabia’s approach to deradicalisation, in particular its provision of generous support for extremists.
The Risk Reduction Initiative (RRI)
The RRI’s comprehensive framework encompasses a broad spectrum of activities aimed at permanently separating former terrorists from extremist groups and ideologies. This includes providing education, income-generating activities, suitable housing, and a supportive social circle. Support is extended not only to the individual but also to other involved parties, such as family and immediate social connections.
The model comprises four committees: religious, psychosocial, security, and media, all of which sit under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The religious committee may be the most significant of these. It enlists imams to engage in dialogue with prisoners, and attempts to match up the most productive relationships between imam and client. The psychosocial element arranges the support a detainee will need upon leaving prison, and engages with their family. The security committee provides risk assessment and advises upon prisoners’ release. The media committee creates materials aimed at primary prevention and to counter Islamist propaganda. The campaign is designed to convey the message that extremists have been misled into adopting a distorted version of Islam and suggests alternative, pro-social ways to express their legitimate grievances.
‘Takfiri’ beliefs
The Saudi Arabian Deradicalisation Model seeks to eliminate takfiri beliefs, which are used to justify violence against Muslims who do not share extremist world-views. The concept of takfir dates back to the al-Khawarij movement of the seventh century, becoming more repopularised by the Wahhabi movement, founded in the eighteenth century by Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al‐Wahhab. Those who engaged in practices deemed contrary to their puritanical interpretation were labelled as kafir, or unbelievers. This included Muslim groups such as Sufis and Shiites, who faced condemnation due to their participation in rituals and customs that did not align with Wahhabi beliefs – and can be used to license violence against them.
The Saudi approach is based in the position that radicalised Muslims did not understand Islam correctly, which has left them vulnerable to propaganda from extremists. However, it shoud be noted that the official state-sanctioned form of Islam in Saudi Arabia arguably has many intersections with the beliefs of radicalised Islamists, and does not necessarily rule out permitting violence against non-Muslims and followers of Shi’a Islam outside Saudi borders.
The comprehensive framework
The RRI programme draws on Saudi traditions and history, upon the basis that reintegration is an established tradition in Islamic jurisprudence. A number of social programmes and organisations exist to rehabilitate former prisoners, run by both the state and civil society.
It is common in the Kingdom for religious figures to involve themselves in the criminal justice system, where they are often used to intercede with the courts on behalf of individuals. As an extension of this role, they have been deployed in counter-terrorism efforts to provide theological debates and urge cooperation with the authorities.
Authorities conduct an assessment of a prisoner’s needs in order to address such issues as supporting their family, in an attempt to reduce the likelihood of further radicalisation in confinement, and in recognition that these gaps in provision may otherwise be filled by extremist organisations. Upon release, a raft of social support is provided, including assistance to locate work, housing and transport – including providing government stipends and employment in government posts in some cases.
Individuals undergo a crucial transition phase at the Mohammed bin Nayef Centre before release. Serving as a halfway house, it offers support and opportunities for around eight to twelve weeks. Individuals receive ongoing therapy, orientation and counselling to address psychological and emotional aspects. Additionally, participants engage in art, leisure and sport courses for self-expression and physical well-being. Vocational training equips them with practical skills for successful reintegration.
Six components
The Saudi Arabian Risk Reduction Initiative (RRI) is structured around six key components, each playing a vital role in the deradicalisation process.
→ Networks: Family and friends of the individual are engaged to convince them to renounce violent extremism and discourage recidivism by former detainees. This draws upon Arab cultural practices which promote social responsibility, reputation, and familial hierarchies;
→ Countering ideology: Discouraging narrow and exclusionary interpretations of Islam, including takfir;
→ Religious re-education: Clerics are used to coax radicalised individuals towards less violent interpretations of Islam;
→ Former extremists: These are deployed as cautionary examples to discourage extremism and act as positive role models for disengagement;
→ Social support: The government proactively provides financial assistance, social support, and aid in employment to assist the individual’s reintegration into society. Ongoing psychological and religious guidance is also offered after release;
→ Monitoring: The subject is monitored and required to check in at regular intervals to ensure compliance and progress.
Concerns
Initially, the programme aroused suspicion, with extremists charging participants with being a ‘government spy’, seeing dialogue as another form of interrogation. In its defence, officials have often pointed to the recidivism rate, which tracks the number of former detainees who re-engage in extremism. Initially, the metrics given painted a positive picture. Saudi Arabia claimed a 100 percent success rate.
However, in January 2009, Saudi authorities made a significant announcement: at least eleven former Guantanamo detainees who had undergone the deradicalisation program had returned to terrorist activities. This revelation cast doubt on the program’s efficacy and brought its flaws into sharp focus. In 2010, Saudi Arabia admitted that anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of released individuals may relapse to illicit activities. The long-term effects of deradicalisation requires more time and analysis. Without a comprehensive, longitudinal understanding of the program’s lasting impact, accurately gauging recidivism rates and the success of the programme remains a gap in knowledge. More transparency would further the understanding of deradicalisation within this programme. Recidivism rates would provide valuable empirical evidence for further development.
The multifaceted approach
Saudi Arabia’s multifaceted approach to countering extremism, anchored by the Rehabilitation and Disengagement Program, has positioned it as a leader in the field of deradicalisation. By addressing psychological and environmental factors, providing practical support, and promoting alternative narratives, the Kingdom strives to create a conducive environment for successful reintegration and the elimination of extremist ideologies. However, the potential success of Saudi Arabia’s programme might not be possible to export, due to its basis in a culturally and religiously homogenous society with strong familial structures and the high levels of resources which are required to provide the interventions and social support that the Saudi programme is based upon.