The head of Indonesia’s counter-terrorism agency said officials are focusing on protecting teenaged children and women from Islamic radicalization as they have become the most targeted groups.
Citing a report by the Setara Institute for Democracy and Peace, Rycko Amelza Dahniel of the National Counter-terrorism Agency (Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Terorisme, or BNPT) on Feb. 20 said from 2016–2023, the percentage of high school students in five cities who moved from “passive intolerant” to “active intolerant” doubled, from 2.4% to 5%.
While those categorized as “intolerant” intensified from passive to active, tolerance among teens overall increased during the period, with those in the “tolerant” category moving from 61.6% to 70.2%, he said, citing The Setara Institute’s survey, “The Tolerance of Senior High School Students,” of May 2023.
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Along with the increase among teenagers from passive intolerant to active intolerant, “those who are active become exposed to radicalization,” Rycko said at the BNPT 2024 National Working Meeting in Jakarta on Feb. 20. High school students exposed to radicalization groups increased from 0.3% to 0.6%, he said.
As active intolerance increased, the proportion of “passive intolerant” high school students shrank from 35.7% o 22.4% over the period, he said.
“In the results of research conducted from 2016–2023, although the increase in migration is only single digit, this vulnerable group is the nation’s next generation,” said the three-star police general.
Most targeted
The Indonesia Knowledge Hub (I-Khub) BNPT Outlook 2023 reportedly showed that women, children and teenagers were the groups most targeted for radicalization, both offline and online.
As a result, women, children and teenagers are the focus of the counter-terrorism agency for both protection against radicalism and the threat of terrorist acts, he said.
Indonesia ranked 42nd on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally published by Morning Star News.
