Young Saudis say websites lured them into extremism

Riyadh: Former extremists said during a Saudi television programme on Tuesday night that they were lured into extremism by those spreading false ideologies through websites.

"The easiest way to enter paradise is to take part in Jihad and you may get a golden opportunity for this through joining us," was the core message of most of these sites, they said while taking part in a programme called Our Worries broadcast by Saudi television.

The presenter of the programme said the number of websites spreading extremist ideas was no more than 12 during 1998.

"However, the latest studies showed that their number has shot up to more than 5,000," he said.

Participating in the programme former extremists and detainees said that free time was the major factor that led young men and women to browse the internet.

Hatred

"These sites played a devastating role in arousing our passion and zeal for waging a holy war and helping our brothers on battlefields. Subsequently many of us ended up on the battlefields of Iraq, Afghanistan and other turbulent regions," they said.

Abu Saud, one of the participants, said: "These sites usually target Islamic scholars and thinkers, who denounce extremism, and try to inculcate feelings of hatred and contempt."

He added that the identity of those propagating extremist ideas through the websites remains unknown and there is no way of confirming the authenticity of religious edicts (fatwas) issued by them.

Abu Azzam Al Ansari, who was the spokesman for the extremist e-magazine Echo of Jihad, said that he fell victim after browsing the internet to find out the news about Islamic warriors in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Ummu Osama, the Egyptian woman who once served as the supervisor of Al Khanza website founded by Abdul Aziz Al Moqrin, former leader of the Al Qaida cell in Saudi Arabia, said that she was attracted to deviant ideologies through extremist websites.