I amsterdam - Broad approach to radicalisation

Press release- 18 October 2006

The Amsterdam council is concerned about both left-wing and right-wing radicalisation. In 2005 the Amsterdam council commissioned the IMES to carry out the research because it has less experience with the Islamic form of radicalisation. According to the IMES, radicalisation occurs among people of orthodox belief on the one hand, but also among people who argue that politics and society in the Netherlands have treated Muslims unfairly and that this is a threat to Islam.

Muslims who combine orthodox religious and political modes of thought have a higher than normal chance of becoming radicalised. Some two per cent of Amsterdam Muslims fall into this category and are therefore more receptive to radicalisation, according to the researchers. Those most receptive to radicalisation are young people between the ages of 16 and 18 who are socially isolated and have a high school education, a strong sense of identity with an ethnic group, a strong sense of being discriminated against and a lack of trust in the political process.

An important conclusion of the research is that orthodoxy does not necessarily cause political discontent, and therefore lead to possible radicalisation, or the other way round. A person of orthodox belief is therefore no more receptive to radicalisation than other people.

The IMES researchers make a number of recommendations with regard to preventing radicalisation:
-Increase levels of social trust by tackling discrimination and negative images of Islam, among other measures;
-Increase levels of political trust by strengthening a sense of having a common ground socially;
-Make Islam more accessible to outsiders by making its diversity more visible.

The researchers were in contact with a group of young people who were already radicalised, and they concluded that radical influences, and the possibility that extreme actions might be undertaken, can be limited by breaking through the social isolation of such people. Supporting mosques in the way they deal with radicalising youths is also an effective measure, according to the IMES.

The IMES report makes it clear how complex radicalisation really is, and how hard it can be to reach radicalised individuals,’ said Mayor Cohen. ‘But the authorities do have some measures at their disposal. The results of this research give us some considerable support in our search for solutions, and in particular our combined “hard/soft” approach. This involves clearly setting limits while at the same time investing in social cohesion, which is the main approach of our action plan, “We Amsterdammers”. We’re working on the conditions which lead to radicalisation in the first place. In specific, individual cases we will set up information systems. Timely information and effective intervention mean that we are in a position to do something in these cases.’  

‘Tackling radicalisation has been high on the agenda of the council for some time,’ says councillor Ahmed Aboutaleb (Youth, Education). ‘We’re already supporting schools, for instance, because teachers and social workers often bear the brunt of radicalisation. Also, issues that are important in the international arena can have a big impact on our city. The report does not address all the questions that arise in relation to radicalisation, but we can certainly use it to focus our approach even further.’

The council yesterday agreed on a ‘Policy Framework on Information Regarding Radicalisation’ (part of the ‘We Amsterdammers’ action programme), which outlines how individual cases of radicalisation are dealt with. The main emphasis of the report is on timely signals with regard to individuals who are (possibly) in the process of radicalising, combined with the appropriate interventions. Various stakeholder institutions are always involved in discussions about such cases. An Amsterdam Education Centre on Radicalisation has also also been set up to support schools in cases of radicalisation. Interventions against radicalisation are preventive (such as discussions with institutions and mosques), curative (such as discussions with young people and their parents and making more work-study and training schemes available) and control-based (information from the police and the ministry of justice that make it possible to start judicial investigations).

In summary, Amsterdam’s approach to radicalisation is as follows:

- ‘We Amsterdammers’ is developing a broad preventive approach that is aimed at dealing with the conditions for radicalisation in Amsterdam society;
- The information systems will be focused on specific and actual signals of possible radicalisation, and develop interventions to counter radicalisation where it has been observed;
- The Contra Terreuroverleg (CTO, Anti-Terror Forum) involving police, the ministry of justice and the council is responsible for cases of activities motivated by a radical ideology, for instance where an individual has compiled a last will and testament, visited a training camp of is in possession of working documents for making explosive devices. In such cases the approach could involve diverting the person involved from the further pursuit of such activities;
- The police and Justice will deal with cases in which criminal acts have been committed or are likely to be. The council will play no role. Such persons will often also be the subject of interest to the national intelligence service (AIVD).