Europe to rehabilitate homegrown ISIS militants

In the face of a large number of homegrown militants posing an extremist threat to European countries, Denmark is now taking some precautionary measures to deal with returning ISIS-linked European militants. The Danish Parliament approved the allocation of $9 million for an anti-radicalization program to prevent Danish youth from joining radical extremist groups over the next three years. The program includes assistance to militants returning from Syria and Iraq, and a national hotline for concerned parents and other adults. Through these programs, returning fighters are expected to reintegrate into society.

In the face of the growing number of British Muslims traveling to the Middle East to take part in ISIS, Britain has started taking serious measures to tackle the increasing radicalization of British Muslim youth. Britain also forces returning British militants to participate in such programs, while also preventing people already in Britain from becoming radicalized. Regarding the potential risk that individuals might become radicalized by extremists, de-radicalization programs aim to reverse the brainwashing of British fighters. Several types of de-radicalization programs with mentorships and counseling have been used to challenge the threat posed by militants. The Al Furqan program is applied to prisoners in an effort to change their view of Islam through religious teaching by imams. The Healthy Identities Intervention program offers a psychological approach to counter the allure of extremist ideologies. The channel program targets residents identified as being at risk of falling into extremism before they become terrorists.

France is also preparing an extensive de-radicalization program to be applied in French prisons. However, the new measures stirred growing criticism, as possibly promoting a perfect environment for easily radicalizing Muslim prisoners.

"These people got radicalized in prison," EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove said in an interview with the Associated Press. He suggested that jails should be designed "in a way that they are not in contact with petty criminals" and instead can meet with moderate imams.

As part of a de-radicalization program, Belgium has worked on religious teaching with imams. An estimated 450 young people from Belgium, a small European country with a population of 11 million, have joined ISIS. Radicalized Belgians pose a grave national security threat. The low integration rate of the Muslim population in Belgian society is why a significant number of young people are being radicalized and joining ISIS-led organizations.

While reassessing the terrorist threat to Europe, it has been acknowledged that homegrown militants have become the major threat for European countries. The security threat posed by ISIS-linked homegrown militants has recently drawn much more attention in Europe. Europe's police organization Europol underscored that the roughly 5,000 radicalized European fighters in Syria will continue to pose a greater risk to European countries as they become more hostile to the West. The large number of homegrown militants is an indication that European countries have to take significant measures to stop the flow of militants who are looking to return to their homelands or want to travel abroad to fight alongside ISIS militants.