Countering Militant Islam's Narrative (Keep it Simple)

Radio Qur'an aids in Algeria's fight against terrorism

By Said Jameh for Magharebia in Algiers – 28/01/08



Eager to combat the forces of extremism and terrorism in their country, Algerian authorities have enlisted the aid of a radio station to broadcast religious messages condemning the violent practices. Islamic scholars from Algeria and Gulf countries have appeared on Radio Qur'an to undermine the doctrinal bases used by al-Qaeda to justify its suicide operations in North Africa.
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The government has used Radio Qur'an as a platform for scholars to present religious evidence against the beliefs and fatwas issued by local al-Qaeda emir Abdelmalek Droukdel. The terrorist leader is responsible for the escalation of violence among anti-government groups – including suicide operations and the targeting of civilians – since the April 11th, 2007 bombings in Algiers.
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On January 22nd the station aired a seminar entitled: "Warning against the two discords of takfir and bombings". The programme featured participation by Saudi scholar Ibrahim Ben Amer Rahili, Algeria's Nabil Mustapha Osmani, Abdelghani Aouissat and Saudi-Algerian Abdelmalek Ramdani.
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[...]
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Though the FM station is only on the air from 5:00 AM to 11:00 AM, it has already had some impact on the anti-terrorist effort. Citing local and French security findings, Algerian newspapers reported recently that Radio Qur'an has played a pivotal role in recent months in convincing scores of armed men to lay down their arms and benefit from pardons under the laws of national reconciliation, adopted in 2005.
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The Algerian government began the radio effort in an attempt to undermine the effect of al-Qaeda's online dissemination of audio and video propaganda and training information. The terrorist group has also begun videotaping all its suicide operations and attacks in Algeria, making the footage freely available to citizens browsing Islamist websites. Some sites even provide videos formatted for viewing and transmission on mobile phones.
(The Full Article)
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Snop's Commentary:
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Algeria's Radio Qur'an program is one example of how the authors of the "Militant Ideology Atlas" envision countering the jihadist ideological narrative. In theory, they may be right, but in practice it may be more effective to keep the message simple.
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The Atlas authors state that..."Governments combating Jihadism should support messages and messengers that will resonate with the various constituencies [they] have identified. Since Western governments lack credibility in the Muslim world, they should do this indirectly.”
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Addressing the credibility issue, the Algerians picked a number of influential scholars, both Algerian and Saudi, to undermine Al Qaeda's doctrinal basis for its violent actions.
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As for messages that resonate, look at the difference between messages put forward by Radio Qur'an verses those recommended by the Atlas authors.
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Actual Radio Qur'an messages:
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"The bombings and terrorist operations in Algeria are not jihad, but discord."
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"...the people resorting to bombing and assassination are guilty of sin and responsible for sowing the seeds of discord."
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"... one of Islam's gravest sins, which is the killing of a soul."

Suggested Atlas messages:
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"Jihadis want a totalitarian system of government in which no one is allowed to think for themselves. Not even the Saudi government is strict enough. Anyone who does not share their understanding of Islam will be declared an apostate and executed. If you want to know what a Jihadi state will look like, contemplate the Taliban—the only state in recent memory that Jihadis consider to have been legitimately Islamic."
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or
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"The Jihadi message is so weak and unappealing that they have to use violence to persuade people. They claim to be saving Islam, but they are giving it a bad reputation. They are hurting their own people and national resources."
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The Algerians made use of much simpler straight forward messages. This maybe just the difference between an academic solution vs. a practical solution or it might point to a greater issue of lack of cultural understanding and the political-religious context in which the messaging is taking place.
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Regardless of intended Muslim audience, be it, Islamist, Salafi, or Jihadist- the Radio Qur'an messages of (discord, sin, and killing of the soul) -are clear and unambiguous in the religous context in which they are transmitted and received.

When trying to construct the needed counter ideological narrative to exploit the power of Cognetics, it would be easier and more effective to weave the Radio Qur'an messages together rather than to use what the Atlas suggests.