The Danish strategy to deal with citizens recruited by ISIL is an example for other countries to follow
The Danish government's strategy to rehabilitate citizens who may have trained and fought with militant groups should be used as a model for other European countries to emulate. By establishing a rehabilitation programme to offer former ISIL members a way back into society without facing prosecution, Denmark is addressing the complex issue of terrorism and providing a possible solution for those who have lost their way.
The same strategy was used to great effect by Saudi Arabia, when the kingdom faced the return of its citizens from Guantanamo Bay.
The government established mandatory rehabilitation centres to counter extremist ideas by engaging radicalised individuals and their sympathisers in intensive education programmes to discuss religion. They also offered these citizens psychological counselling and a space to have social support from their families and the wider community. Such a strategy has helped many individuals to leave extremism behind, reunify with their families and reintegrate into society.
In contrast, the latest tough proposals announced in the UK this week, banning western fighters from ever finding a place back in society, seem to focus more on punishment rather than cure. Certainly, such measures can help calm the tide of extremism in the short-term, but they do not solve the problem permanently.
On the other hand, the Danish strategy is worth exploring. Radical causes are not necessarily causes for life. While some fighters will undoubtedly stay in Iraq and Syria to engage in further acts of terrorism, others may want to return to their home countries after seeing the horrors of ISIL first-hand and rejecting its toxic ideology.
Without offering those people a way out, the only option they will have is to stay on in Iraq and Syria and fight – thereby perpetuating the cycle of violence.