Saudis Release 11 "Rehabilitated" Jihadi Terrorists

I would like to think that people are rehabilitatable, that with enough psychological help criminals can change the error of their ways. But I believe that for the most part certain types of criminals are hopeless causes, and that no matter how much help they get they will continue to re-offend. Serial rapists and killers and pedophiles have a huge recidivism rate when they are released from jails and rehabilitation programs, and you can add jihadist/terrorists to that group, as well. There might be a few who are able to lead normal lives, but many go back to their previous activities, and the major problem is that there is really no way to keep track of the recidivism rate of jihadists. Their whole purpose is to remain under the radar.

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But the Saudis have a programme they believe is helpful in turning around the lives of terrorists and those jihadists are soon released into the world, and more than likely some of those will wind up fighting with al-Qaeda somewhere in Pakistan or Afghanistan, or goodness knows where else. And Saudi Arabia just announced 11 have just been released.

The Saudi Prince Mohamed bin Nayef Counseling and Care Center released Tuesday 11 of the 16th group of former jihadists after completing the state-sponsored rehabilitation program that aims at reintegrating them into society.

Media spokesman of the Prince Mohamed Bin Nayef center announced Tuesday that 11 of the group currently receiving therapy, the sixteenth to attend the rehabilitation program, displayed signs of progress and proved that they benefited from the training courses offered at the center.

According to the spokesman, several of the 11 performed the pilgrimage ritual as part of the several services offered by the center to the trainees and their families.

Two of them were enrolled in Imam Mohamed bin Saud University and three were registered in an advanced computer course at the Community Service Center, affiliated to King Saud University.

Apparently, they will continue to participate in various other programmes to help them re-adjust to a non-jihadist lifestyle, but will that really work? Extremist ideology or as the Saudis call it "deviant thought", isn't so easy to eradicate, especially when it comes to religious fundamentalism. Part of the "therapy" includes

.. showing the ex-terrorists, also known as “the deviant group,” where they went wrong and demonstrating the subsequent damages they inflicted upon themselves, their loved ones, and their country.

Then through a series of discussions and seminars, extremist thought is gradually replaced by a moderate ideology that enables them to acquire a balanced personality and renders them active members of the community.

The program also introduces the jihadists to the challenges they will meet after reintegrating into the society and the means to overcome them by focusing on how to turn into productive citizens that work for the benefit of their families and their homeland.

The program offers a variety of cultural and educational sessions and engages the trainees in sports and entertainment activities that prepare them for leading a normal life after completing the required courses.

Do they really think that teaching these people computer skills and lecturing to them the importance of being moderate is really going to change the mind of someone who has been so brainwashed into thinking that jihad is the only way? I doubt it. Of course these people can pretend to follow along while in the programme and then just disappear, which will probably happen to quite a few of those 11.