UK based Connect Justice Launches Free Online Film Initiative to Prevent Islamic State Recruitment

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BIRMINGHAM, England, April 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ —

Five free online film testimonies by former extremists aim to dissuade people from joining violent extremist groups

“Those who have ‘been there, done that’ have a compelling story to tell us about why people join and then turn away from extremism. Formers are those who have followed a path of violence and subsequently desisted.  When you know the leaders of these groups are as corrupt, hypocritical and oppressive as those you supposedly rail against, the prospect of joining them for brotherhood, adventure and redemption can be questioned.” – Prof. Lynn Davies

ConnectJustice, a UK-based social enterprise which builds trust between communities, police and state agencies around extremism and exploitation, recently launched a crowd funded initiative to film former extremists. The film is a preventative measure to stop people from joining violent extremist groups.

The film includes stories and powerful testimonials of five former UK extremists (Islamists and far right) in a 15-minute film, to create a community-led counter-narrative on extremism. The film will be made up of five three-minute segments.

By speaking to those who have “been there, done that”, ConnectJustice aims to raise £17,500 from a variety of community and individual backers. In less than two weeks the community-led enterprise has already raised £6,500. The social enterprise only has until 3rd April 2015 to meet its target and is appealing for support from individuals in the business community, to enable it to independently produce a free film resource available to everyone online.

“We want to raise this money from communities, as we believe the project will gain credibility if it is free from state funding, because we know that the problem needs addressing from within all our communities. The crowdsourcing route will help to produce a free, practical, online video capturing the stories of former UK extremists, because connecting with ‘real’ voices is important in preventing and halting the path to violence,” said Zubeda Limbada.

All monies raised will go directly into the project, and none of the money raised will go to ConnectJustice.