Muslims, Christians join hands against radicalisation

A group of Christians, Muslims and business leaders in Eastleigh, Nairobi have embarked on a national campaign to sensitise Kenyans on youth radicalisation.

Led by Eastleigh Business Community Secretary General Ahmed Mohamed, the leaders called for a unified effort from the government and the community to combat rising cases of youth radicalisation.

“It is with much regret that we stand here to talk about an issue that should not even feature in our talks as business and religious leaders,” he said at a press conference in Nairobi.

He said more work is required to educate and train young people on ways to avoid such outlawed cults and teachings.

Institutions of learning, churches and mosques will be the first target for the campaign, set to take place countrywide.

“We will target learning institutions because young people are most targeted for criminal activities,” Salim Ndeda, Director of 8th street Daawah, said.

Ndeda warned against leaders who always put blame on a particular religion saying radicalisation can affect any community or individual.

“It is a shame to find most leaders associating youth radicalisation with a particular religion. It is a crisis that everyone has to grapple with,” he said.

There have been increased cases of terror attacks and youth radicalisation with a section of leaders blaming mostly the Muslim community as big partakers in the criminal activities.

“This is a clear signal to everyone that more should be done to sanitise the country,” said Pastor Charles Nyamwega from the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Mosques have been the venue of several confrontations and the government is warning that it might be forced to close them down as they are allegedly being used to teach radical ideologies to young Muslims.

However, some Muslim leaders led by House Majority leader Aden Duale have maintained that Mosques are sacred and must not be used to promote radicalisation.