Islamic extremists were trying to groom Muslim school children as young as 13 for terrorism and some of the youngsters were picking up the extremist messages from Internet chat rooms, a media report claimed here on Sunday. Quoting Sir Norman Bettison, Chief constable of West Yorkshire, the report said his force has now identified at least 10 youngsters including two 13 year olds – as ‘vulnerable’ and formally referred them to a programme to wean them away from radicalism.
‘They are not picking up the message of violent extremism from the mosque but from individuals seeking to radicalize them.It’s the bright kids who are the ones that might be most vulnerable.’ Sir Bettison was quoted as saying by the Sunday Times.
The ‘channel programme’ that Bettison has begun involves a team of five fulltime community field officers working among West Yorkshire’s 225,000 Muslims to identify those being preyed upon by radicals.
According to a report, officers talk to schools, social services and Muslim groups.They are looking for children who show obsessive interest in violent ‘Jihadist’ material.