Security expert and former Director at the BNI Kofi Bentum Quantson has warned against the demonization of Islam in the face of threats of the activities of ISIS following the suspected recruitment of a 25 year old graduate of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology into the militant group.
There have been concerns over the decision of Nazir Alema to join the violent group and security agencies in Ghana are on high alert since news of his decision broke out. With a degree in Geography and Rural Development, he is one of the 10 suspected Muslim youth from Ghana who have finally taken the decision to join the terrorist group, whose stock-in-trade is public beheading of their opponents or those they regard as infidels, attracting a worldwide opprobrium.
Part of Nazir’s whatsapp message read “Pray for me, for I will never forget you in my prayer and it’s my hope and prayer that we meet again if not in this world then in Jannah (paradise). I love you all. May Allah grant us understanding and guide us all to the straight path. Asalaamu alaikum.”
Speaking on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show Thursday, the security expert and former director at the Bureau of National Investigations said this situation is a smack of persistent danger from the violent fundamentalists. He explained that the philosophy of ISIS is brutal and indiscriminate violence that culminate into beheading people who defy them and this poses a national danger to all countries including Ghana.
“The ISIS philosophy is not located in a particular place but it’s widespread particularly its links with general Islam where they are able to skew the Quran to justify the violence that they are unloading on human kind” he said.
Mr. Bentum proposed that in dealing with this threat to curtail its possible escalation in Ghana, there must be conscious efforts to detect early warning signs of individuals who might be showing tendencies of affection for extremist ideologies and above all do away with any tendency to demonize the Islamic religion over this worrying development. He warned that any attempt to smear all muslims might create some level of anger and radicalize the bigger section of muslims who are against the ISIS ideology and turn to create affection for the group.
“The question of ISIS is not a totality of Islam and so in dealing with ISIS and in condemning them, we should be careful not to smear all muslims otherwise we will end up radicalizing even those who otherwise will not have been attracted to ISIS. In reacting to the threat if we turn to demonize all muslims and so on, we may create a bigger monster and radicalizing the younger people who are the fertile grounds for ISIS recruitment” he warned.
He further called for a patriotic approach to deal with the situation because according to him people will do all they can to further their own political agenda and vehemently warned against the politicization of this issue.
By: Azongo Albert | A1radioonline.com | Ghana
