Case Study: Refugees , , How can you tell if a person is turning to Islamist extremism? What can you do if a person in your care is radicalising?

It is often difficult to tell whether a person is turning to Islamist circles. This is especially true when you have little insight into the everyday life of a person. This can be the case, for example, for carers who work in institutions such as refugee homes. They do not have close contact with all refugees. The Advice Centre on Radicalsation advises those carers who fear that one of their care subjects might turn to radical Islamism. Bessem’s* carer also took advantage of this opportunity.

Arguments about the true faith

Bessem first drew the attention of his carer when the young man was arguing with another refugee. Ever louder voices echoed through the corridors of the shelter. Blasts of angry words, booming through closed doors. Bessem's carer was on his feet immediately. In the corridor, the men were facing each other in the narrow passage, too close for a spectator to remain calm. Along the corridor, the doors opened, more and more people ran towards the two men, trying to calm them down, and pulled them away from each other. Together with the carer, they dragged Bessem, who didn't stop screaming, into the next office. When the men let go of Bessem, he began to pace restlessly up and down while he continued to talk. What was it all about? The true faith! And he did not mean what these "infidels" were doing here in the shelter. He meant devotion, humility, strict adherence to rules. Bessem talked and talked. Eventually, he seemed to get tired. He paced more slowly, seemed to collapse into himself, to become smaller. He wanted to go to his room, he said. No, there wouldn't be any more trouble that day, he promised.

Is Bessem becoming radicalised?

The argument and the conversation left Bessem's carer restless. He could still see the young man in front of him who pronounced the word "infidels". The contempt he had seen in that angry face still made him uneasy. This had not only been a simple argument, the carer was almost certain. There was more behind it.

Over the next few days, he spoke with colleagues and other refugees to learn more about Bessem. The young man was 21 years old and had fled a war zone. His escape had taken months. The others did not know much more about Bessem. Only that he often cried and screamed in his sleep at night and could hardly calm down for hours. And there was something else that some had noticed lately: Bessem, who was otherwise so calm, had spoken aggressively with other refugees about their faith and often with great anger.

Faith and oppression

Bessem's carer waited until most of the refugees were outside playing football, and then knocked on the open door of the room in which the young man lived. He sat alone on his bed. Did he have time to talk? Bessem nodded and remained seated. His carer pulled out a chair from the side of the bed. He had heard that faith was important for Bessem, how did this come about? The young man had folded his arms. He shrugged his shoulders. This was important to him, to him and his friends from the nearby mosque. Faith and that the Muslims finally stood up to the West. When his carer continued to ask questions, Bessem just shrugged his shoulders and kept silent.

Help from the Advice Centre on Radicalisation

Bessem's carer thought long and hard about the conversation with his care subject, about whom nobody seemed to know much. He found it difficult to judge the young man. Who were these friends from the mosque that Bessem had spoken about? Were they dangerous? Was Bessem being radicalised? How should he best deal with Bessem? Should he try to talk to him again? The carer spoke at length with a colleague about the case and finally decided to seek the advice of experts familiar with the subject of radicalisation.

He called the Advice Centre on Radicalisation and, together with the helpline personnel, worked out some points that could actually indicate that Bessem was radicalised. She advised him to contact one of her cooperation partners who had experience in dealing with radicalisation. This would enable him to keep an eye on the case together with a local consultant. Perhaps Bessem, who was alone in his accommodation so much, could be integrated step by step into a religious community. The security authorities would not need to be involved for the time being. The security authorities would only have to be notified if Bessem posed a danger to others. This had not been the case so far, according to the carer.

Moderate Islam and psychological support

At present, an Imam who works with the local counselling centre regularly visits Bessem in the refugee accommodation and talks to him about matters of faith. The young man seems increasingly open to a more moderate Islam. In addition, the counselling centre has organised psychological support for Bessem so that he can cope with the traumatic experiences of war and his escape. The care team at the shelter and the experts of the local counselling centre regularly exchange information in order to give Bessem the best possible support and to get him out of his radical Islamist circles. The carer now feels more confident about how to deal with the situation.

*Bessem’ case is fictitious. We treat all the information of our callers as strictly confidential, so this is not a real case.