Cartoons steer youth away from ISIL


LONDON –Struggling for his own identity, a British Muslim has created an animated web series for a Muslim hero called "Abdullah X" to fight for the hearts and minds of young Muslims, and to stop them from treading the path of extremism.

"I was struggling with my own identity and sense of belonging when I was growing up -- issues around self-esteem and confidence, and where you fit in with regards to your Britishness or your Muslimness," Ahmed, as he asked to be called for this story, told CNN on Tuesday, October 7.

"Abdullah X," the new Web-only cartoon series, tells the story of a young British Muslim man in London who is struggling with his identity and his faith rather than criminals in Gotham.

Ahmed, the creator of the web series, said that the story of his hero is similar to his own.

"Young people -- the most vulnerable groups in society -- were caught between government policy perspectives on how you combat terrorism and extremism, and this wall of shame and denial from within communities,” he said.

“I felt that we needed something that was going to be innovative and engaging."

Inspired by the superhero comics of his childhood, Ahmed created the character of "Abdullah X", choosing to post it online to grab the attention of a generation raised on computer games and social media.

Some of the series episodes are dedicated to clear some ideas about jihad and Islam, such as "Five Considerations for a Muslim on Syria" and "Don't Try and Justify your Anger with Islam".

The episodes were introduced as a counterpoint to the flashy, gore-filled videos posted on YouTube by groups like the so-called “Islamic State” or ISIL.

Britain is home to a Muslim community of nearly 2.7 million.

In 2011, think tank Demo found that Muslims in the United Kingdom are more patriotic than the rest of population.

Responding to the statement “I am proud to be a British citizen”, 83% of Muslims said they are proud of being British.

Effective Tool 

Reaching out to the young people, usually connected to internet and social media, the YouTube series were praised as a successful tool against extremism.

"There's no point sermonizing, there's no point creating three-hour videos and campaigns [where] young people can see [a] potential propaganda element of it," Ahmed said.

“If we're going to tackle extremism effectively, or tackle the narrative, you have to understand that narrative very well and then package that in a way that rivals the extremist material that a lot of young people find online.”

Drawing a character that can represent every Muslim, Ahmed said that Abdullah X’s development would inspire young Muslims.

"Abdullah X is potentially any particular young Muslim from any particular walk of life, in any given time," Ahmed said.

"His story and the development of his character suggest that he's built resilience and an element of willpower, and housed that within a kind of critical framework where he's able to judge sources on their merit rather than just believe what is put in front of him."

Ahmed's videos, which he posts on YouTube and Facebook, have already had tens of thousands of views.

"We're trying to tackle the keyboard warrior mentality. We're trying to tackle the 'Call of Duty,' PlayStation mentality and the 'jihobbyist' mentality -- those people who are allowing their grievances to sometimes put them at risk or in harm without knowing it," Ahmed said.

Ahmed says he'll have achieved the project's objective "if we can save one person from going to die in some foreign land, or attempting to do something in his homeland or her homeland."


Source http://www.onislam.net/english/news/europe/478389-muslim-cartoon-steers-youth-away-from-isil.html

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