cidiss.co, Osama Muhammad Alshoiby, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to Indonesia, has lauded the de-radicalization program being implemented by the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT).
“The de-radicalization program being implemented by the BNPT is very interesting, and probably, no other country has this,” the ambassador was quoted as saying in a press statement of the agency here, Monday.
Alshoiby held a meeting with BNPT Chief Commissioner General Suhardi Alius at the agencys office on Friday.
The envoy said his country is ready to support the agencys programs, among other things, by sending competent ulemas (Muslim scholars) to counter the ideology of radicals, so the people could return back to the right path.
The Saudi government has played an important role in de-radicalizing former terrorists.
Alius informed the ambassador that his agency, in cooperation with other ministries, such as the religious affairs ministry; the education ministry; the social affairs ministry; and the research, technology, and higher education ministry, had handled terrorism from upstream to downstream.
In implementing the de-radicalization program, the agency has involved former jihad commanders who have come to realize that radicalism is wrong in a bid to persuade members of radical groups, former terror convicts, and members of their families to give up the radical ideology.
The Saudi government and the agencys chief also discussed a plan for Alius to visit Saudi Arabia to obtain first hand information on the Saudi de-radicalization program.
ANTARA