Watch for Islamic groups to denounce this plan as “Islamophobic.” But in reality, it stems from the Australian government’s unwillingness to face the jihad threat squarely: there is a world of difference, much greater than an iota, between “jihadi watch” and “jihad watch.” Western authorities can’t and won’t confront the ideology and its provenance, so the Australians are trying instead to catch every Muslim who is influenced by it. If they’d deal instead with what is taught in the mosques and Islamic schools, their job would over time become easier.
“Teachers and students trained to spot potential terrorists in classroom ‘jihadi watch’ scheme,” by Carly Crawford, PerthNow, May 24, 2015:
TEACHERS and students would be taught how to spot potential jihadis in the classroom under plans before the Federal Government.
As the Islamic State threat moves closer to home, officials are exploring the introduction of a “jihadi watch” scheme to school curriculums.
Government officials, terror experts and Islamic leaders are engaged in talks about making lessons part of school life.
Attorney-General George Brandis says the aim is to develop teaching materials and deliver training to identify and steer individuals away from “ideologies of hate”.
“Just as parents and families have gained greater understanding of the dangers posed by online sexual predators, there needs to be increased awareness of the threat from online terrorist propaganda,” Mr Brandis said.
Education Minister Christopher Pyne will ask state education ministers to sign off on a plan to have a federal committee develop a “deradicalisation in schools strategy”.
The Council of Education Ministers, which meets on Friday, would have to sign off on any curriculum changes.
A confidential council briefing paper notes the reach of IS into Australian schools, saying “a national strategy to combat radicalisation and extremism in schools is required”.
Under the “jihadi watch” scheme, teachers and students would be taught to watch for shifts in behaviour such as students drifting away from their friends, running into minor trouble with the law and arguing with those who have different ideological views to their own.
Greg Barton, from the Global Terrorism Research Centre, said detecting a young person’s slide towards radicalisation was not as simple as checking social media, nor could it be done by authorities alone.
“It falls back on family and friends because they see what’s happening,” Prof Barton said….
Good luck with that, Mr. Barton. Muslim family and friends of jihadis have very, very seldom shown any interest in turning in their own to authorities. And the multiculturalist ethos militates against the families of converts to Islam showing any concern over their new convert’s Islamic activities, for to do so would be “Islamophobic.”