“The threat of religious extremism and terrorism among the youth”

The modern world is characterized by a significant increase in the number of threats to the security of the individual, society and the state. A socially dangerous phenomenon that negatively affects the complex state of security of society in any country in the world is extremism and terrorism. The most sensitive and vulnerable to the impact of their ideology is the youth. In order to protect the involvement of the student contingent in destructive organizations, on November 21, 2022, the Branch continued a series of lectures and seminars on the topic: “Will I go to heaven”? What and who did the young Mujahideen-terrorists believe, with the participation of the Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Institute of Strategic and Interregional Studies of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences Babajanov B.M

The quote in the title of this lecture is a cry-question of the bleeding young Mujahideen terrorist Abu Dujon, who was blown up by a mine. He was dying of his wounds surrounded by his peers. On his deathbed, he suddenly began to realize that he had been deceived by his teachers, who promised him and his naive peers paradise for “jihad”, the meaning of which they never understood.

The aims for recruiting are mainly guys from 19 to 30 years old, who are easier to radicalize, many have nothing to lose, who have many problems, are more sensitive to injustice, corruption, and even unsuccessful relationships with the opposite sex can serve as a reason for committing hijra (resettlement) and joining to jihad, somewhere far from home. It is only when they find themselves in the combat training camp of gangs that such young people understand what has happened to them, but it is usually too late.

B.Babajanov has emphasized that recruitment starts from the foundation - it is radicalization. The Internet, social networks, instant messengers are the main sources of dissemination of the ideas of violent extremism, which are actively used by the leaders of international terrorist organizations, their ideologists, emissaries, supporters and followers.

But recruitment, as a process, is often carried out in countries where our young guys are in labor migration. Recruiters are almost always financially motivated, so they do their “work” most often with those who have already been radicalized. The vulnerabilities that young people face help a lot in this process, simplify it. Injustice, corruption, difficult financial situation, legal illiteracy, violation of the laws in the host country, illegal migration - all these are arguments actively used by recruiters. They convince young people that only from countries where there is a real war between believers and infidels, the struggle for a just order of the world begins. And it is their duty to participate in this war, by any means. And it is not necessary to shoot at the enemy with weapons, there are necessary peaceful professions in the war, for example, cooks, nurses, builders and so on are needed. At the same time, you can still make good money. But already upon arrival at the camps for the training of militants, the recruits understand that, to their regret, they have the only way - to stand with weapons in their hands on the jihad path.

A lively discussion took place at the end of the meeting and the participants of came to the conclusion that it is extremely necessary for modern youth to develop the instinct of self-preservation through awareness of the destructive ideas of extremism and critical thinking, which will not allow making fatal decisions.