MASS RADICALIZATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE - WARNING TO MONITOR WHAT'S ONLINE

BELGRADE, OCTOBER 28 /SRNA/ - The conflicts in the Middle East and the crisis in the region are leading to mass radicalization of young people, which is why it is important for security services to monitor online content continuously, Milan Vukelić, a political scientist specializing in religious extremism, told SRNA.

"Although we don't yet have specific information about the individual who attacked a police officer outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade last night, there is a high probability that he was a target of exactly this type of radicalization," Vukelić said.

This is further supported, he added, by the fact that the individual was deported from Germany precisely for posting radical religious content on social media.

He reminded that an almost identical scenario was seen in June 2024, when Miloš Žujović, a convert from Mladenovac who had pledged allegiance to Islamic State, attempted an almost identical act at the same location.

This proves that there are quite a few people in Serbia who have had the misfortune of being targeted by extremist ideology and propaganda.

Referring to the fact that the attack was carried out by a minor, Vukelić said it raises the question of increased online radicalization through social media, YouTube channels and other digital platforms.

"Online content needs to be monitored continuously in order to react preventively and in time and curb the spread of extremist propaganda, which is rising sharply because of instability in the Middle East," Vukelić said.

He said that, in addition to online radicalization, numerous highly suspicious organizations and informal groups present in the parts of the country with a significant Muslim population are often responsible.

"Such organizations, most of which are in the Raška region and in Kosovo and Metohija, usually under the guise of humanitarian work, education and other activities, promote a wrong and radicalized interpretation of the Islamic faith," Vukelić said, adding that these organizations are beyond the control of regular Islamic institutions.

According to him, the terrorist attack outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade should serve as a warning to the relevant security services, not only in Serbia but more broadly, to remain on constant alert.

Vukelić said that because of the war in the Middle East, above all Israel's military operations in Gaza, Israeli diplomatic missions and Jewish religious sites almost everywhere in the world face an increased security risk from potential attacks by radicalized individuals.

"Terrorist organizations such as `Islamic State` seek to exploit existing crises and instability in the Middle East to strengthen their ideology and propaganda activities," Vukelić told SRNA.

He said the suffering of the Muslim population in Gaza is being used as an ideological recruitment tool, and that the youngest are often the target because they are the most present online.