Stakeholders urged to work together stopping the spread of extremism on Internet

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Shah Alam said, “Violent extremist ideology is being spread all over the world through the misuse of internet. Violent extremism can be prevented by raising awareness, increasing law enforcement and providing proper training to the officers in charge of the departments concerned. It will be easier to decide what to do if the participants sit together and exchange views on this issue regularly.   He was speaking as the chief guest at a function organized at Dhaka Reporters' Unity on Saturday afternoon. The Cyber ​​Crime Awareness Foundation (CCA Foundation), a voluntary organization, organized a discussion on 'Importance of Cyber ​​Awareness in Preventing Violent Extremism'. Arif Sohail, advisor of the organization presided over ithe meeting. The organizer was Kazi Mustafiz, the president of the organization. It was patronized by Rupantar, a private company.   The keynote speaker at the meeting was Md. Saimum Reza Talukder, a senior lecturer in the law department of BRAC University. The panelists were Mursalin Nomani, President of Dhaka Reporters' Unity, Khandaker Farzana Rahman, Chairperson of Criminology Department, Dhaka University, Imdadul Haque, General Secretary of Internet Service Providers Association, ISPAB, Shaikh Muhammad Usman Gani, Joint Secretary General of Bangladesh Jatiya Imam Samiti and M. Aftabuzzaman, Apan Foundation, a non-governmental organization. Mohammad Abdul Quddus, the liaison manager of Rupantar, delivered the greeting speech. In the second phase of the program, 29 'Truth Ambassadors' from different universities and madrasas were awarded for their awareness programs. DIG Shah Alam said, the internet is a completely open world. Here every action of the user is under surveillance. There is no chance of getting over the crime. Therefore, no behavior can be done using the internet which falls into the category of crime. Presenting the keynote address, Saimum Reza Talukder said that religious leaders should come forward to create awareness at the local level to prevent violent extremism. Young people need to be made aware of the harmful aspects of using social media. Family values ​​can play an important role in preventing violent extremism. The more discussions at every level of society, the easier it will be to stem the tide of violent extremism.   Khandaker Farzana Rahman said that a review of organized criminal activities in the last 20 years shows that violent extremism is one of the problems. Violent extremism cannot be stopped by policing alone. Therefore, governmental and non-governmental organizations as well as social organizations can play an important role.   Mursalin Nomani said the internet has now become a fundamental part of our daily lives. Everyone needs to be aware of true-false verification when using content. Parents should keep an eye on their child's regular activities and friend selection on the Internet with a friendly attitude.   Imdadul Haque said that the media should come forward to stop the violent behavior on the internet. It will be easier to control such crimes if journalists cooperate in spreading awareness about it. He advised the parents to increase the monitoring of the child's internet usage through parental control.   Shaikh Muhammad Usman Ghani said that violence is being spread in the society by spreading rumors or false information on the internet. Just hearing something and spreading it is enough to be a liar. So as soon as you see something on the internet, you have to be careful about spreading it among others. Aggressive attitudes towards different ideologies cannot be shown. Religious leaders must come forward to prevent violent extremism. Aftabuzzaman said that there is no healthy entertainment for the youth. As a result, they have been using the internet for a long time and due to lack of awareness, they are at risk of engaging in extremism. The practice of healthy culture can give positive results in this case.