Should We Listen to Former Extremists?
In an increasingly divided world, it is all the more important that we listen to those with dissenting views. Former extremists fall into this category, and their unique perspectives hold important truths that can help us work towards peace and understanding. In this article, we will discuss whether or not we should listen to former extremists.
What Are Extremists?
Understanding the definition of extremism is paramount to understanding why we should contemplate listening to former extremists. Extremism entails “the holding of extreme political or religious views and the willingness to use violence or intimidation in pursuit of one’s objectives”. They have intense, militant interpretations of their belief systems, and their ideology often involves hatred of those with differing opinions. But what happens to former extremists?
Understanding Former Extremists
A former extremist is someone who has left a life of militancy and distortion of their belief system to now pursue peace, understanding and acceptance. Former extremists are important to listen to because they can identify the alternate paths to peace, as they themselves have undergone a journey from extremist to non-extremist.
Former extremists can provide insight into how extremist ideology has the potential to be tempered or reformed, and what sorts of structures exist in extremist communities which fuel such ideas.
Reasons We Should Listen to Former Extremists
On a number of fronts, listening to former extremists has the potential to foster peace and understanding across political or ideological divides.
Peace-building: Learning from former extremists can provide a better understanding of how to bring restorative justice and long-term positive change to conflict resolution.
Education: Former extremists can explain how extremist ideology is violently enforced, and how understanding their view on the world may lead to finding common ground.
Development: Discrimination on the basis of faith, gender, race, and ethnicity is a mainstay of extremist communities, and listening to former extremists can help us better understand how to break down the cycles of oppression that exist.
Debates and Dialogue: Former extremists’ views are essential to the goal of dialogue and understanding, allowing us to bridge the gaps that exist between different beliefs.
Creating Empathy: Hearing the stories of former extremists enhances our capacity to empathize with those still active in extremist movements, as we can more readily understand how individuals are brought into such ideology.
Reasons We Should Not Listen to Former Extremists
While there are many strong arguments for listening to former extremists, there are also some valid reasons why we should be wary of such a course of action.
Unrepentant Attitudes: Some former extremists may still hold onto their extremist beliefs, and may not be convinced that their interpretations of their beliefs were wrong. As such, we should be conscious of the fact that we are giving voice to those who may still be complicit in violent ideologies and extremism
Risk Of Recidivism: Without proper reintegration and rehabilitation, former extremists may relapse and return to the same views they once professed.
No Room For Nuance: Former extremists may take up a ‘black-or-white’ approach, where dialogue and understanding are dismissed as weak and unhelpful.
We should listen to former extremists cautiously and thoughtfully as we seek to resolve issues and create understanding among different ideologies. They have an important role to play in educating us on the scope of extremism, and allowing us to better empathize with – and understand – those still active in extremist groups. They can provide essential insight into the motivations of extremists and help us to understand the ideology that spawned from their views, and ultimately, the ways in which we continually strive for peace, understanding and acceptance among all people.
