By: Fajrur Rahman) *
We all know that acts of terrorism do not only occur in the Middle East, but acts of terror have also spread to the country even long ago.
From various events such as the Bali bombing, the Thamrin bomb to the pot bomb in Bandung, the perpetrators were generally still in their teens. Therefore it is clear that radicalism is a real threat to the young generation in the archipelago.
The government and related parties, this is more aggressive in preventing radicalism or deradicalization, especially among adolescents.
Yenny Wahid, as the director of the Wahid Institute, said that young age includes being vulnerable to being tolerant and radical. Because they enter the phase of searching for identity or identity. Moreover, this generation saw an injustice around them.
The impact of these young people can easily accept the radical ideas and thoughts that they have obtained easily, through writing in cyberspace or verbally conveyed by the religious leaders they admit.
Young people also need to understand the meaning of jihad so as not to misinterpret. Because Jihad itself means sincerity, it does not mean fighting or spreading fear.
The Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security Wiranto said that the younger generation was more vulnerable to being exposed to radicalism because most of them had access to the internet. According to him, advanced technology such as faster information flow can make it easier for radical groups to recruit and build opinions through the cyber world.
He said the younger generation is the group that relies the most on information and communication through cyberspace. Moreover, there are currently 132 million internet users in Indonesia, 106 million social media users and 371 million circulating devices.
Therefore young people in Indonesia in particular must be equipped with critical thinking patterns and good digital literacy in order to be able to reject invitations to commit violence and spread terror.
We certainly need to appreciate the convening of the inauguration of the Southeast Asian Mayan Peace Ambassador, which involves the young generation continuously warding off the understanding of terrorism that is spreading in cyberspace.
We consciously or not easily provoked the issue into one of radical behavior. Lately, along with the development of social media into a phenomenon (talkative) in devotion. Someone easily spreads, blasphemes and judges everything that happens regardless of the news is a hoax or true.
We must also believe that there is no religion in the world that teaches radical behavior. The concept must certainly be understood by young people who want to study religion in depth.
Therefore, in addition to learning about religion, young people who are still looking for identity should get a multicultural education that teaches and implements ideologies that understand, respect and value human dignity and respect without looking at someone from economic, cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious aspects. , so it is hoped that character and awareness will live together in diversity.
Young people should also understand what a peaceful and tolerant religion looks like, so that they will not be trapped in the flow of radicalism. In this case the Religion Teacher also has an important role to be able to give peaceful messages from religious teachings that need to be put forward in the lesson.
Thus, attitudes will be heard, respect and respect opinions to find the best way to overcome the various problems encountered.
In addition, so that young people are not exposed to radicalism is to direct young people to a variety of quality activities in the academic, social, religious, arts, cultural, and sports fields.
By being actively involved in positive activities this will spur them to become young men who excel and actively organize in their environment so that they can anticipate young people from the influence of radical ideology.
And no less important is giving the example to Youth. Because, without the example of community leaders or religious leaders, the efforts that will be made will be in vain.
) * The author is a contributor of Reader Institute