The battlefield of the mind: rehabilitating muslim terrorists

Abstract

The Battlefield of the Mind, fighting the ideological priciples that sustain the terrorist´s mindset, is one of the missing duties. Rehabilitating a terrorist detainee is crucial to stem the spread of radicalism. A rehabilitation that involves fixing the terrorist´s religious missconceptions, supporting him/her psycologically and offering reintegration into society is the necessary complemet to repressive measures. Still the challenge of the diversity of contexts where Islam is located, calls for tailored programmes according to the place and the moment. For example reluctance in the West to lean on the support of clerics to fight ideological radicalism because of the separation of state and religion is an obstacle. To undertake it seriously, rehabilitation has to focus single terrorists and has to engage society in support at every level and with a multiplicity of actors in order to stem the spread of radical propaganda as to prevent any relapse. The evolution towards a global regime of rehabilitation´s programmes is the final goal of a successful aproach to change the mind of a terrorist.