Mentoring and Deradicalisation

Abstract

A former mentor from the renowned Danish program known as the “Aarhus Model” summarizes his experience working with teenagers who had gone down a pathway of extremist thought, while assessing the current framework set up for deradicalisation in Denmark. He employs knowledge from his personal experience of mentoring three four individuals, mentees A, B and C, including one individual who at the outset was convinced that traveling to Syria to fight was the only way to fulfill his obligation as a Muslim. Examples of how this mentor engaged with his mentees highlight a specific strategy in Denmark which is focused on establishing dialogue with the mentee, encouraging them to reflect on their lives while challenging their worldviews. The mentor also recognized the important role played by the online dimension in the radicalisation in his mentees, highlighting that further preventative measures need to be considered to address this area.