Call for de-radicalisation of returning Irish fighters

Any Irish fighters returning from Syria and Iraq must be included in de-radicalisation programmes here, a leading Muslim cleric has said.

Shaykh Umar Al-Qadri made the call following the reported death of Irish IS fighter Terence ‘Khalid’ Kelly, in Iraq on Friday.

Convert Kelly — thought to be the first Irish suicide-bomber — was blown up by Iraqi troops as he attempted to drive an armoured vehicle packed with explosives in an attempted suicide attack.

Security experts predict that with the military onslaught against the so-called Islamic State, foreign fighters will be sent back home to carry out attacks.

Irish security estimates put the figure of Irish people who have travelled to the war zone at around 30, but stress that this includes those fighting for non-IS groups, and humanitarian workers.

“Khalid Kelly may not be the first Irish person to die for ISIS, but I believe he is the first Irish person who was not born a Muslim and who converted to Islam, to do so,” said Shaykh Al-Qadri. “And I believe he is the first Irish person to die as a suicide bomber.”

Kelly, aged 50 and from Dublin’s south inner city, moved between Ireland and London, where his wife and children live. He has been a top target of Garda security services for more than a decade. He left Ireland in 2015, but returned in March this year, supporting a Jordanian figure described as Ireland’s foremost recruiter for Islamic State at his deportation hearing in the High Court.

Shaykh Al-Qadri said Kelly was a notorious figure in Ireland and roundly shunned. He was “gravely concerned” that people like Kelly were able to freely associate with others. “He was able to associate and influence people. I think he may have had an influence of some, although the vast majority of Muslim youths thought he was a lunatic and were making fun of him.”

Shaykh Al-Qadri said any fighter returning to Ireland needs to be monitored, and intervention taken. “I am very concerned about free movement. It’s very dangerous, very problematic.

“People with this fundamentalist ideology need to be challenged. If we can’t put them in prison because they haven’t committed a crime yet, force them to take part in a de-radicalisation programme, to try and minimise the threat. This fundamentalist ideology is an illness. It can be treated like an addiction, by using psychiatrists and religious leaders.”

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