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The man giving former extremists a second chance

Noor Huda Ismail feels he narrowly avoided becoming radicalised as a teenager, but he got the shock of his life when he recognised a childhood friend accused of a terror attack.

Noor Huda Ismail believes he narrowly avoided becoming radicalised as a teenager in Indonesia. But he got the shock of his life when he was a journalist covering the 2002 Bali bombings and recognised a familiar face among the suspects – a childhood friend from school. That set him on a mission to understand why and how people end up getting involved in extremist groups. He committed himself to helping de-radicalise former extremists and founded the Institute for International Peace building. He also runs a café in Indonesia where some of his employees are former Islamist extremists - he believes that one of the keys to de-radicalisation is keeping people busy.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Nathan Gower / June Christie

Picture: Noor Huda Ismail
Credit: Courtesy of Noor Huda Ismail

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23 minutes

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