Noor Huda Ismail’s life changed after discovering one of the 2002 Bali Bombers was an old school friend. For the past 15 years, and as the founder of the International Peacebuilding in Indonesia, Huda has been committed to understanding what draws ordinary people to extremism – and what can be done to stop this from happening. In the first episode of #ExtremeLives, Huda talks about his work with Indonesians returning from the battlefields of Syria and Iraq, what they experienced and why they left. We hear specifically about how Indonesians were recruited, both online and offline. Interestingly, Huda also tells us that Indonesian fighters experienced a hierarchy between Arab and Asian fighters in Islamic State battalions. *** #ExtremeLives is a video series covering on-the-ground stories of violent extremism in Asia. With first-hand accounts of the darkest days of ISIS-occupied Raqqa, dispatches from an insider of a network training militants across Asia, and discourse from journalists at the front-lines fighting misinformation in a post-truth world, #ExtremeLives offers a unique opportunity to delve deep into polarizing issues affecting the modern age. From recruitment, radicalization, and rehabilitation, to the role of news corporations and social media, to refugees fleeing violence and migrant workers targeted by underground terrorist organisations, #ExtremeLives exposes stories that aim to bring us closer to figuring out how to stop the spread of violent extremist ideologies. #ExtremeLives is a project by the United Nations Development Programme in Asia and the Pacific, co-funded by the European Union. Discover more on our website: https://bit.ly/2QF9nU2 Subscribe to #ExtremeLives: https://bit.ly/2KM0JC1 Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2K3w5XT

For many years, Nasir Abas was one of the most wanted Jihadists in Southeast Asia. As a senior commander in Jemaah Islamiyah, Nasir trained the 2002 Bali bombers in Afghanistan. Today, Nasir works to prevent others from following the path he once did. In this session, Nasir tells #ExtremeLives about how and why he joined a militant group, starting with him travelling to Afghanistan and his later activities in Jemaah Islamiyah. Our interviewer, Anneliese McAuliffe, questions Nasir closely on why he eventually turned away from extremism, and how we can convince others to do the same. *** #ExtremeLives is a video series covering on-the-ground stories of violent extremism in Asia. With first-hand accounts of the darkest days of ISIS-occupied Raqqa, dispatches from an insider of a network training militants across Asia, and discourse from journalists at the front-lines fighting misinformation in a post-truth world, #ExtremeLives offers a unique opportunity to delve deep into polarizing issues affecting the modern age. From recruitment, radicalization, and rehabilitation, to the role of news corporations and social media, to refugees fleeing violence and migrant workers targeted by underground terrorist organisations, #ExtremeLives exposes stories that aim to bring us closer to figuring out how to stop the spread of violent extremist ideologies. #ExtremeLives is a project by the United Nations Development Programme in Asia and the Pacific, co-funded by the European Union. Discover more on our website: https://bit.ly/2QF9nU2 Subscribe to #ExtremeLives: https://bit.ly/2KM0JC1 Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2K3w5XT

Dete Aliah meets with women whose lives have been completely transformed by violent extremism. Across Indonesia, she has talked with over 60 wives of violent extremists to understand extremism from their perspectives. For the past year, Dete has closely followed and interviewed Indonesian families deported from Turkey after attempting to reach Syria. After listening to their stories, Dete shares with #ExtremeLives a first-hand account of what lures mothers, children, grandparents, and ordinary people to join the Islamic State. In this episode of #ExtremeLives, Dete talks about what drove these people to try to join extremist networks, and what happens when these families come back. She highlights that radicalisation is not always about ideology, as political, social and economic factors can also play into people’s motivations to travel to Syria. *** #ExtremeLives is a video series covering on-the-ground stories of violent extremism in Asia. With first-hand accounts of the darkest days of ISIS-occupied Raqqa, dispatches from an insider of a network training militants across Asia, and discourse from journalists at the front-lines fighting misinformation in a post-truth world, #ExtremeLives offers a unique opportunity to delve deep into polarizing issues affecting the modern age. From recruitment, radicalization, and rehabilitation, to the role of news corporations and social media, to refugees fleeing violence and migrant workers targeted by underground terrorist organisations, #ExtremeLives exposes stories that aim to bring us closer to figuring out how to stop the spread of violent extremist ideologies. #ExtremeLives is a project by the United Nations Development Programme in Asia and the Pacific, co-funded by the European Union. Discover more on our website: https://bit.ly/2QF9nU2 Subscribe to #ExtremeLives: https://bit.ly/2KM0JC1 Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2K3w5XT

Ahmad el Muhammady is a counter-terrorism expert based in Malaysia. As an Advisor with the Royal Malaysian Police rehabilitation programme, Ahmad has interviewed more than 80 suspected ‘terrorists’, some as young as 14. He has inside knowledge of what motivates young Asians to join radical groups and how these groups operate. *** #ExtremeLives is a video series covering on-the-ground stories of violent extremism in Asia. With first-hand accounts of the darkest days of ISIS-occupied Raqqa, dispatches from an insider of a network training militants across Asia, and discourse from journalists at the front-lines fighting misinformation in a post-truth world, #ExtremeLives offers a unique opportunity to delve deep into polarizing issues affecting the modern age. From recruitment, radicalization, and rehabilitation, to the role of news corporations and social media, to refugees fleeing violence and migrant workers targeted by underground terrorist organisations, #ExtremeLives exposes stories that aim to bring us closer to figuring out how to stop the spread of violent extremist ideologies. #ExtremeLives is a project by the United Nations Development Programme in Asia and the Pacific, co-funded by the European Union. Discover more on our website: https://bit.ly/2QF9nU2 Subscribe to #ExtremeLives: https://bit.ly/2KM0JC1 Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2K3w5XT

By the time he was 10, Mahir Gustaham had already started to train to become a fighter, joining his father and family in their campaign with the Moro National Liberation Front against the Philippines military. Living under martial law, he witnessed numerous atrocities. He wanted to fight to defend his family and his community from oppression. However, his mother wanted for him a life away from the battlefield​ and convinced him to travel to Sudan to further his education in Islamic law. There, he quickly rose within the ranks of the MNLF non-armed chapter to lead the organisation in Africa and the Middle East. In this episode of #ExtremeLives, Mahir recounts the struggles of balancing the wills of his parents – education, versus fighting on the ground. After returning to the Southern Philippines after almost a decade, he saw the conflict with fresh eyes – as an uninterrupted cycle of violence that was destroying both his community and their Islamic values. He decided to start lecturing youth and orphans on the values of Islamic law and international humanitarian law, discouraging them from joining extremist groups. He also recounts the shock of seeing one of his former students, Mohammad Reza Kiram, become one of the faces of ISIS in Syria, and how that gave him even more determination to tell his story so that others could learn from his experiences. *** #ExtremeLives is a video series covering on-the-ground stories of violent extremism in Asia. With first-hand accounts of the darkest days of ISIS-occupied Raqqa, dispatches from an insider of a network training militants across Asia, and discourse from journalists at the front-lines fighting misinformation in a post-truth world, #ExtremeLives offers a unique opportunity to delve deep into polarizing issues affecting the modern age. From recruitment, radicalization, and rehabilitation, to the role of news corporations and social media, to refugees fleeing violence and migrant workers targeted by underground terrorist organisations, #ExtremeLives exposes stories that aim to bring us closer to figuring out how to stop the spread of violent extremist ideologies. #ExtremeLives is a project by the United Nations Development Programme in Asia and the Pacific, co-funded by the European Union. Discover more on our website: https://bit.ly/2QF9nU2 Subscribe to #ExtremeLives: https://bit.ly/2KM0JC1 Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2K3w5XT

Time's 2018 Person of the Year, journalist Maria Ressa has been honoured for “taking great risks in the pursuit of truth” as executive editor of Rappler, the Philippines' news site she helped found. Ressa, an expert on terrorist and extremist networks in Southeast Asia, shares her thoughts with UNDP #ExtremeLives on the radicalisation of youth, foreign fighters and the aftermath of the siege of Marawi, as well as the “weaponization” of social media companies like Facebook by extremists and autocrats, and the global fight for democracy and media freedom. #TIMEPOY #TheGuardians *** #ExtremeLives is a video series covering on-the-ground stories of violent extremism in Asia. With first-hand accounts of the darkest days of ISIS-occupied Raqqa, dispatches from an insider of a network training militants across Asia, and discourse from journalists at the front-lines fighting misinformation in a post-truth world, #ExtremeLives offers a unique opportunity to delve deep into polarizing issues affecting the modern age. From recruitment, radicalization, and rehabilitation, to the role of news corporations and social media, to refugees fleeing violence and migrant workers targeted by underground terrorist organisations, #ExtremeLives exposes stories that aim to bring us closer to figuring out how to stop the spread of violent extremist ideologies. #ExtremeLives is a project by the United Nations Development Programme in Asia and the Pacific, co-funded by the European Union. Discover more on our website: https://bit.ly/2QF9nU2 Subscribe to #ExtremeLives: https://bit.ly/2KM0JC1 Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2K3w5XT

As a young girl brought up by parents who did not allow gender to define or limit her, Mossarat Qadeem was inspired to bring positivity to some of the issues she saw around her. She is now an established figure in the development community, tackling extremism at its very roots, by working with young boys and their mothers to combat radicalization in her local areas. As the Executive Director and Co-Founder of PAIMAN Alumni Trust, Mossarat has received international praise for her innovative approaches to preventing violent extremism. In this episode of #ExtremeLives, Mossarat will offer some personal insights into the challenges she faces when working with women and boys to reduce radicalization. Women play a vital role in preventing the spread of extremist ideologies and activities, especially among youth. In family settings and as professionals in the workplace, they help shape their community’s values and remain an under appreciated resource in the fight against extremism. With 14 years as a political science professor, and having three times addressed preventing violent extremism and de-radicalisation to the UN General Assembly, Mossarat has incredible expertise on how to engage women in peacebuilding and offer young people an alternate narrative to extremism. *** #ExtremeLives is a video series covering on-the-ground stories of violent extremism in Asia. With first-hand accounts of the darkest days of ISIS-occupied Raqqa, dispatches from an insider of a network training militants across Asia, and discourse from journalists at the front-lines fighting misinformation in a post-truth world, #ExtremeLives offers a unique opportunity to delve deep into polarizing issues affecting the modern age. From recruitment, radicalization, and rehabilitation, to the role of news corporations and social media, to refugees fleeing violence and migrant workers targeted by underground terrorist organisations, #ExtremeLives exposes stories that aim to bring us closer to figuring out how to stop the spread of violent extremist ideologies. #ExtremeLives is a project by the United Nations Development Programme in Asia and the Pacific, co-funded by the European Union. Discover more on our website: https://bit.ly/2QF9nU2 Subscribe to #ExtremeLives: https://bit.ly/2KM0JC1 Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2K3w5XT

For years, Don Pathan has travelled to some of the world’s most dangerous places, from the insurgency in Aceh Indonesia, to Thailand’s Southern provinces, and to the frontlines of the fight against the Taliban in northern Afghanistan. His mission: to find out what pushes ordinary people to become armed fighters, extremists, and terrorists. By following and listening to the stories of armed fighters, Don’s work has shed much-needed light on Thailand’s forgotten southern insurgency. He is a widely published author, and well-known advisor on security and diplomacy in Southeast Asia. Don also spent time in the conflict-affected Golden Triangle at the borderlands of Myanmar and Thailand, studying the drug trade of the United Wa State Army. As a life-long peacebuilding activist, Don is one of the founding members of the Patani Forum, a civil society organization dedicated to opening dialogue and ending the decades of violence in Southern Thailand. *** #ExtremeLives is a video series covering on-the-ground stories of violent extremism in Asia. With first-hand accounts of the darkest days of ISIS-occupied Raqqa, dispatches from an insider of a network training militants across Asia, and discourse from journalists at the front-lines fighting misinformation in a post-truth world, #ExtremeLives offers a unique opportunity to delve deep into polarizing issues affecting the modern age. From recruitment, radicalization, and rehabilitation, to the role of news corporations and social media, to refugees fleeing violence and migrant workers targeted by underground terrorist organisations, #ExtremeLives exposes stories that aim to bring us closer to figuring out how to stop the spread of violent extremist ideologies. #ExtremeLives is a project by the United Nations Development Programme in Asia and the Pacific, co-funded by the European Union. Discover more on our website: https://bit.ly/2QF9nU2 Subscribe to #ExtremeLives: https://bit.ly/2KM0JC1 Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2K3w5XT

Bangladesh faces a diverse array of extremist-related challenges; domestic threats, transnational threats, and accusations that is has become a safe haven for extremists. The arrival of nearly 700,000 additional Rohingya refugees since August 2017 (UNHCR) causes further concerns for the security and stability of Bangladesh, posing additional challenges for both the ruling party and the opposition and stoking fears that Islamist parties seeking to claim the moral and religious high ground could challenge the status quo by registering as political parties in their own right. Increasingly, the fear is that the further erosion of political space in Bangladesh could create fertile ground for Islamist militants to operate domestically - and provide the opportunity for transnational groups to exploit the instability to recruit and prepare international plots. With a cocktail of elections, refugees and recent extremist attacks, where is Bangladesh placed as ISIS increasingly seeks to export its violence and exploit local grievances for a global jihad? From refugees to Islamist militants, transnational radical groups, and elections, #ExtremeLives asks: what is threatening the security of Bangladesh? Our panel includes: Zafar Sohhan is the editor of the Dhaka Tribune, an English-language daily launched in 2015. He has also contributed to The New York Times, The Guardian, Time , Vice, and other publications. In 2015, he was named by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader, and was a Yale World Fellow in 2009, and an Asia 21 Young leader in 2008. Retired Brigadier General Sakhawat Hussain is a security analyst, former election commissioner and a Brigadier General (retired) in the Bangladesh Army. He has written more than 300 articles and 20 books, and serves as a columnist and commentator for the national and international media as a security and defence analyst Dr. Nawab Osman, Assistant Professor and coordinator of the Malaysia programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University,Singapore (RSIS). Nawab has carried out field research in Bangladesh on transnational extremism. Nawab is a frequent commentator on political Islam, terrorism and Southeast Asian politics for regional and international media. Nawab has written various papers, books and journal articles relating to his research interests. *** #ExtremeLives is a video series covering on-the-ground stories of violent extremism in Asia. With first-hand accounts of the darkest days of ISIS-occupied Raqqa, dispatches from an insider of a network training militants across Asia, and discourse from journalists at the front-lines fighting misinformation in a post-truth world, #ExtremeLives offers a unique opportunity to delve deep into polarizing issues affecting the modern age. From recruitment, radicalization, and rehabilitation, to the role of news corporations and social media, to refugees fleeing violence and migrant workers targeted by underground terrorist organisations, #ExtremeLives exposes stories that aim to bring us closer to figuring out how to stop the spread of violent extremist ideologies. #ExtremeLives is a project by the United Nations Development Programme in Asia and the Pacific, co-funded by the European Union. Discover more on our website: https://bit.ly/2QF9nU2 Subscribe to #ExtremeLives: https://bit.ly/2KM0JC1 Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2K3w5XT

Thinzar Shunlei Yi’s father was a military man. She grew up before the election of 2015 that propelled Aung San Suu Kyi to power after decades of absolute military rule. Over the past two years, she has witnessed a brief surge of increased liberties, followed by the sharp rolling back of freedom of speech, the right to protest, and the marginalization and distrust of civil society. As a young activist, she is challenging hate speech and intolerance to build a more peaceful future. What can be done now to re-build this trust, deliver justice and stop the next generation from continuing on a dangerous legacy of hatred towards those who come from other ethnic and religious groups in Myanmar? *** #ExtremeLives is a video series covering on-the-ground stories of violent extremism in Asia. With first-hand accounts of the darkest days of ISIS-occupied Raqqa, dispatches from an insider of a network training militants across Asia, and discourse from journalists at the front-lines fighting misinformation in a post-truth world, #ExtremeLives offers a unique opportunity to delve deep into polarizing issues affecting the modern age. From recruitment, radicalization, and rehabilitation, to the role of news corporations and social media, to refugees fleeing violence and migrant workers targeted by underground terrorist organisations, #ExtremeLives exposes stories that aim to bring us closer to figuring out how to stop the spread of violent extremist ideologies. #ExtremeLives is a project by the United Nations Development Programme in Asia and the Pacific, co-funded by the European Union. Discover more on our website: https://bit.ly/2QF9nU2 Subscribe to #ExtremeLives: https://bit.ly/2KM0JC1 Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2K3w5XT

Abdalaziz Alhamza watched the Islamic State take over his home town of Raqqa in Syria. He has been fighting them every day since. With his friends, Aziz founded Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), a group of citizen journalists risking their lives to uncover the atrocities committed by the Islamic State in the city. The group was awarded the 2015 International Press Freedom Award. In this episode of #ExtremeLives, Aziz shares his experiences of living under ISIS and how he and his friends started to document what was going on in Raqqa. Aziz tells us the importance of using social media to fight back against ISIS and how this became more important even as he fled Syria. Now on a target of ISIS, Aziz continues to work around the world to promote citizen journalism. *** #ExtremeLives is a video series covering on-the-ground stories of violent extremism in Asia. With first-hand accounts of the darkest days of ISIS-occupied Raqqa, dispatches from an insider of a network training militants across Asia, and discourse from journalists at the front-lines fighting misinformation in a post-truth world, #ExtremeLives offers a unique opportunity to delve deep into polarizing issues affecting the modern age. From recruitment, radicalization, and rehabilitation, to the role of news corporations and social media, to refugees fleeing violence and migrant workers targeted by underground terrorist organisations, #ExtremeLives exposes stories that aim to bring us closer to figuring out how to stop the spread of violent extremist ideologies. #ExtremeLives is a project by the United Nations Development Programme in Asia and the Pacific, co-funded by the European Union. Discover more on our website: https://bit.ly/2QF9nU2 Subscribe to #ExtremeLives: https://bit.ly/2KM0JC1 Like us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2K3w5XT