The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in USA has come under fire from Muslim activists after they designed a controversial game-style website to be used by teachers and students to help the agency spot and prevent radicalisation of youth.
According to Washington Post, Muslim and Arab advocacy groups who were briefed by the FBI last month on the programme have criticised it as they fear it will foment discrimination against Muslims.
The website called ‘Don’t Be A Puppet’ was scheduled to go live on Monday but was put temporarily on hold after Muslim community leaders complained to the Department of Justice.
“It seems like they’re asking teachers to be extensions of law enforcement and to police thought, and students as well. That was very concerning to us all,” Hoda Hawa, director of policy and advocacy for the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), said of the site.
Further, Muslim activists complained that despite being described as combatting “violent extremism,” the programme frames the topic heavily through the lens of Islam and will lead to profiling of Muslim youth.
Those who attended the meeting shared that the website included exercises like a quiz. For example, one option was about a youth with a stereotypically Muslim-sounding name who “posted that he’s going overseas on a mission [and] does anyone want to chat?”
“All our hands went up, like: What’s with this?” Hawa said of the meeting.
The law enforcement agency issued a statement on Sunday explaining the programme as one that would keep youth from falling prey to online recruiting by terrorists. “The FBI is developing a website designed to provide awareness about the dangers of violent extremist predators on the Internet, with input from students, educators and community leaders,” the statement read.
However, the community groups noted that experts disagreed on what might be clear signs of radicalisation among young people.
Seamus Hughes, deputy director of George Washington University’s program on extremism, said trying to spot signs of radicalisation in school students could be complicated.
“Schools can be an important space in spotting and combating radicalisation, as teachers are often best positioned to see concerning signs. Of course this needs to be done right, with proper training, respect of civil liberties and without stigmatizing. Doing otherwise would make the effort counterproductive,” Hughes said.
