Playful Religion: An Innovative Approach to Prevent Radicalisation of Muslim Youth in Europe

Abstract

Radicalisation of Muslim youth is a hot item in the Netherlands. Deradicalisation is therefore high on the agenda. In our view, however, the deradicalisation processes begin at a moment ‘when it is too late to lock the stable door, because the horse has already bolted’. That is why our focus is on the prevention of radicalisation. In our contribution, we explore the concept of ‘radicalisation’ and inform the reader about deradicalisation programmes developed in the Netherlands and in Europe. The lack of success of these programmes challenges us to focus on ‘prevention’. In our view, a playful dialogical encounter in a safe space is a must in the approach of young people who are on the verge of radicalisation. The above-mentioned concepts of radicalisation, deradicalisation and prevention are presented in the first paragraph, followed by a discussion of de- and counter-radicalisation programmes in paragraph two. The third paragraph focuses on the prevention of radicalisation in education. Crucial here is a dialogical relationship between teachers and students, between the students themselves and within the students’ inner selves. This latter aspect is inspired by the theoretical framework of the dialogical self-theory, with its core concept of ‘multi-voicedness’ and ‘positioning of voices’. Special attention in the positioning process is given to resilience. The heart of this publication is dedicated to the re-invention of an age-old Islamic game: shaṭranj al-ʿārifīn’. In the fourth paragraph, we describe its origins and our adapted version of this game. Playing the game in pilot studies—a ‘serious play session’—increases young people’s awareness of religion and its positioning, resulting in strengthening resilience in their life orientation. In the concluding fifth paragraph, we state that our innovative, playful and theoretically well-framed approach is a promising module to be implemented in formal and informal education.

Education and dialogical self: state of art (Educación y yo dialógico: estado de la cuestión)

“…Probably the most concerning consequence of a lack of appropriate response to cultural diversity are the processes of radicalization taking place in European schools, particularly among Muslim youth. Studies such as that by Gurlesin et al (2020) try to offer preventive measures that help de-radicalize by means of creating dialogical spaces (for instance, using an old Islamic game: shaṭranj al-ʿārifīn’ ) that allow for a multiplicity of positionings and voices, promoting resilience in the face of radical discourse. Works like Ahmed’s (2021), in which the existence of an Islamic identity of a dialogical nature ( shakhsiyah Islamiyah ) is explored, also constitute encouraging contributions to deal with the frequent conflicts between secular liberalism and Islam.…”

YoungRes: A Serious Game-Based Intervention to Increase Youngsters Resilience Against Extremist Ideologies

“…Some initiatives have been proved in previous experiences, such as the ones from the MMORPG game CMX [8], where a serious game was used to teach students several procedural programming concepts. Through the use of video games, youngsters can be confronted with different challenges and worldviews in an under control context (e.g., the school), including more complex threats, such as extremism [9]. Specially referring to educational video games, or serious games, literature shows that their use can increase all three components of social learning: cognitive (knowledge), normative (values and beliefs) and relational (networks and relationships) [10].…”

The Role of Islamic Education as the First Step Moral Education in Era Society 5.0: Implications for Indonesian and Turkish Education Systems

“…The length of education is considered to have a lot of influence on the formation of one's competitiveness. The higher one's education level, the higher one's chances of improving oneself, and the lower the level of education, the more difficult it is to grow one's abilities and competitiveness (Gurlesin et al, 2020).Islamic education should be integrated into the development of human beings who are cultured, civilized, moral, knowledgeable both in science and technology, and skilled in innovative and competitive (Huda, Suherman, et al, 2020).…”