Belgian mother who lost her son to IS radicalism narrates her pain in Dhaka

A Belgian mother who lost her son to IS radicalism has narrated her pain and helplessness to an audience in Dhaka.

Sabir Ben Ali was only 18 years of age when he was attracted by the IS ideology.

“He was only 18 years of age. Kids of this age are curious. But when the curiosity drags them into the wrong path, that is painful for any parent,” Saliha, the mother, said.

“One day he came with a book titled Tawheed. He told me that there is no proper practice of Islam in mosques. This is real Islam, he told me showing the book."

“A kind of fear gripped him at the young age. The fear of not having a future in Belgium. The fear of falling under strict monitoring for being a Muslim,” she continued.

“His frustration grew further when he failed to secure a job in Army and the Fire Service despite good knowledge in three languages,” Saliha Ben Ali told a seminar in Dhaka.

The loss of the son prompted her to found the organisation called Society Against Violent Extremism (SAVE) to raise awareness among the parents in the Belgian society.

Innovation for Wellbeing Foundation organised the seminar in Dhaka with a title ‘Campaign to counter violent terrorism – Sharing experience from SAVE’.

Saliha said the recruitment process of the radical group was the same across the world.

“My son was told that if you want to become a good Muslim, you have to perform Hijrat and go to Syria to establish Islam.”

“To me, someone joining a radical group is not just a religious or cultural issue. There are other factors involved in it,” she said.

“School, family, government, politicians, religious leaders got to be involved in combatting the menace.”

The people in power used to believe that it was a family matter but later they realised that it was not just a family or religious matter as many Belgian youths with non-Muslim background left the country to join the IS.

Bangladeshi journalist Julfikar Ali Manik presented the keynote paper at the seminar.

He said it was not only the Islamic political parties involved in using religion in politics; rather most of the other parties tagged Islam in politics.

And it started after the death of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Manik added.

“The attack on Holey Artisan showed us how youths from modern and secular families got involved in radicalism,” he said drawing a parallel with Belgian society.

He stated that the radical elements were not only attacking and killing people, but they were also bringing changes to society.

Among others, Wellbeing Foundation founder Monira Rahman, Barrister Sara Hossain, National Institute of Mental Health's Dr Mekhala Sarker, Prof Mahmudur Rahman, Dhaka University anthropoly teacher Saifur Rashid, Ann McCollen of the American Centre, and journalist Selim Samad spoke at the seminar.