Taibah Karak: The Importance of Intellectually and Digitally Fortifying Students to Protect Them from Extremist Ideologies
Amman3 min read
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Participants in an awareness session held in Karak on the dangers of extremist ideologies and online recruitment emphasized the vital educational and guidance role played by educational institutions in building students' awareness and intellectually and psychologically fortifying them against destructive ideas, protecting their minds from the risks of online recruitment and radicalization, and from harmful behaviors threatening their safety and societal security.
The session, held at the theater of King Abdullah II School of Excellence under the auspices of the Karak Directorate of Education, was organized as part of a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Education and the Public Security Directorate/Community Peace Directorate. It targeted administrative directors and heads of guidance departments across the four educational directorates in Karak Governorate, along with educational counselors from the governorate’s schools.
Participants highlighted the importance of partnership and coordination among schools, families, and relevant national institutions in promoting a culture of moderation and balance, strengthening values of belonging, loyalty, and social responsibility, and building a generation that is intellectually and digitally resilient, capable of distinguishing between moderate and extremist ideas, and equipped to handle ideological and behavioral challenges—especially amid rapid transformations in the digital environment.
Nidal Al-Fateenat, Director of Education for the Karak region, who sponsored the event, stressed the importance of intellectually fortifying students, reinforcing values of moderation, balance, and national belonging, and raising awareness about the dangers of extremist ideologies and online recruitment tactics. He pointed to the tragic incident involving Hammoud in Karak as an example of extremism and violence that calls for enhanced community awareness, entrenching a culture of tolerance and acceptance of others, and instilling values of national belonging and loyalty.
For her part, the directorate's Director of Administrative and Financial Affairs, Kouthar Al-Hamaydah, emphasized that Jordanians share one homeland and a common destiny, and that religious diversity in Jordanian society is a source of richness and plurality, not division. Muslims and Christians are partners in the nation, united by values of brotherhood, love, and belonging.
Hamsa Al-Rawashdeh, Head of the Educational Guidance Department, explained that the session is part of an awareness plan targeting students across the four educational directorates in the governorate. A series of awareness lectures and sessions will be conducted in schools in the coming period, in coordination with school administrations, aiming to raise student awareness about the dangers of extremist ideologies and online recruitment, enhance their ability to consciously engage with digital content, and reinforce values of dialogue, tolerance, and moderation—contributing to protecting the younger generation and strengthening community security and stability.
Lecturers from the Community Peace Center, Captain Saddam Al-Abadi and Lieutenant Ibrahim Al-Tarashneh, clarified that these awareness sessions are highly important in raising awareness among students and the educational community, enhancing their ability to confront the risks of extremist ideologies and online recruitment via social media and digital platforms, and preventing their harmful effects.
The lecturers shed light on online recruitment, safe use of social media platforms, the dangers of rumors and media misinformation, and ways to confront extremist ideologies through awareness, knowledge, and constructive dialogue, while reinforcing values of good citizenship, moderation, balance, and interfaith coexistence.
