MOI DISCUSSES DE-RADICALIZATION PROGRAMS DURING

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 002476

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SIPDIS

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DEPT OF ENERGY PASS TO A/S KKOLEVAR, A/S KHARBERT, AND
MWILLIAMSON
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/11/2017
TAGS: KCIP EPET ENERG PTER ASEC SA
SUBJECT: MOI DISCUSSES DE-RADICALIZATION PROGRAMS DURING
INTERGENCY VISIT

REF: RIYADH 2474

Classified By: DCM Michael Gfoeller for reasons 1.4
(b) (c) and (d).


1. This cable has been cleared by S/CT Deputy Coordinator
Feierstein.

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Summary
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2. (C) During a December 3-5 Interagency visit (ref A) to
discuss greater USG cooperation with the Ministry of Interior
(MOI) on its modernization drive, Dr. Hadleg, Director of the
MOI's Radical Ideology Department, made a presentation to the
delegation on the SAG's approach to de-radicalization of
Saudi extremists and the War of Ideas. He highlighted the
program's efforts to re-integrate participants into
mainstream Saudi society, ensuring they will forfeit
substantial social and economic benefits if they returns to
radicalism. The MOI claims an 88 to 90 percent success rate
in rehabilitating extremists, while cautioning there are "no
guarantees." MOI Major General Dr. Saad Al-Jabri noted he
hoped the MOI might host a "best practices" conference in the
area of de-radicalization, perhaps in the spring.
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Program Based on Research Findings
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3. (C) Dr. Hadleg overviewed the SAG's programs to
rehabilitate young and impressionable recruits who had been
employed by Islamic extremists, noting the SAG believed the
"hard approach" is not the only approach to fighting
extremism in society. Dr. Hadleg described the extensive
studies MOI has carried out on those recruited into extremist
groups, and explained the structure of its de-radicalization
program was based on its findings. The MOI had identified a
few key features of those recruited by extremist
organizations: most were middle class or wealthier, late
teens to early twenties, and at least high-school educated.
As Saudi Arabia increasingly cracks down on extremist
preaching in mosques in public, most were recruited on the
internet.

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MOI's De-Radicalization Program Structure;
Give Them Something to Lose
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4. (C) Dr. Hadleg highlighted some of the key features of
the SAG's de-radicalization program: detainees under this
program are not mixed with the general prison population of
hardened criminals, but kept separate. The program
emphasizes outreach by imams to show extremists the errors in
their religious judgments and interpretations of the Koran.
Outreach by social workers, psychologists, and respected
members of society are also part of the program. The program
features structured group discussion sessions in the morning,
followed by sports and outdoor activities in the afternoon,
with religious instruction in the evening. For those who
"graduate" successfully into re-integration into society, the
MOI offers assistance with employment, marriage, and housing.
Dr. Hadleg also detailed the outreach to the detainees'
tribes and families, with whom the MOI works closely to
ensure participants do not return to an extremist path. Each
step of the program is designed to tightly bind the
participant into mainstream Saudi society, and ensure he will
forfeit substantial social and economic benefits if he
returns to radicalism. He specifically noted that

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participants are encouraged to marry, have children, and seek
employment or further education.

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MOI claims an 88 to 90% Success Rate,
But There are no Guarantees
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5. (C) The MOI claims an 88 to 90 percent success rate in
rehabilitating extremists who pass through their program, but
Dr. Hadleg offered careful caveats, noting "there are no
guarantees." He indicated the man who carried out the
bombing attacked on the MOI building in 2004 had participated
in the rehabilitation program. More optimistically, he noted
that the Guantanamo returnees had demonstrated no mis-conduct
to date. Dr. Hadleg clarified that merely participating in
the program did not automatically entitle a prisoner to
release. Generally, those determined to be ringleaders will
not be eligible for release.

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Reaching Out to Other Nations for
"Best Practices" in De-Radicalization
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6. (C) NEA Deputy Assistant Secretary Gray asked if the SAG
has shared information or best practices with other
countries, such as Egypt, which has an active
de-radicalization program. Dr. Al-Jabri responded that he
would welcome the opportunity to host a workshop or forum on
de-radicalization initiatives, perhaps in the spring, for
affected countries in both the Arab world and the west, to
share experiences and best practices. S/CT Deputy
Coordinator Feierstein noted that there was broad
recognition that Saudi Arabia was a leader in
de-radicalization initiatives, with Morocco being another
example in the Near East region of a government with a
successful program.


7. (C) In discussing the propensity for violence in rapidly
modernizing societies, Dr. Hadlag remarked that, "Saudi
Arabia is different because it is based on Islam, and we are
modernizing in a gradual way so that we do not have the same
social problems." Dr. Al-Jabri stated that "Saudi Arabia has
always been a conservative society, but not a violent one."
He went on to explain the religious roots of Wahabism, which
emphasize that even though you may dis-agree with the
government, you do not have the right to attack it.

FRAKER