An organization in England that works with a population vulnerable to the lure of Muslim extremism has taken a bold step and created a video and social media campaign called #NotInMyName.
The video has young Muslims criticizing the barbarity of ISIS and stating firmly that ISIS does not represent Islam.
The organization is the Active Change Foundation and its founder is Hanif Qadir.
In a video created by ACF teen participants, Qadir explains his path from an angry young radical, to creating ACF.
Qadir explained that in early 2002, he felt anger at the invasion of Afghanistan and was drawn to trying to help the innocent Afghanis. He was recruited into terrorism but was able to withdraw. In 2003, he started the Active Change Foundation.
ACF has various programs, some of which are focused on at-risk youth, while another works at re-integrating those convicted of extremist activity back into the community. Qadir explains that the goal of the ACF is to work with those likely to be recruited into terrorism, and give them the tools to identify, challenge and prevent that recruitment. Once the youth are trained, they, in turn, can help alert vulnerable friends to be wary of those who prey on disaffected teens.
The #NotInMyName campaign was launched on Sept. 10, 2014.
