Protecting our youth from deviant ideology

The recent murder of a mother by her two Saudi twin sons in Riyadh and their stabbing of their father and brother for not supporting the terrorist group, Daesh, shocked the whole country.
It was only the latest success of this deviant group in brainwashing weak Saudis into accepting the Takfiri ideology of the group. Convinced that their parents and brother were not good enough Muslims, the twins decided that they should be killed.
The brutal manner in which the brothers committed the crime shows that it was premeditated, and not an outburst of violence that occurred in the middle of a heated family argument. The shock we all felt was heightened because of the high reverence that we as Saudis and Muslims pay to our parents. How could this happen in our society, we ask. If we all did some much needed soul-searching we would find that there are many factors responsible for this horrendous crime.
First, we as a society must start preaching a more tolerant and loving version of our religion. Islam is a religion of love, tolerance and forgiveness. Yes we are harsh in our punishments for capital crimes such as murder and rape, but we also must believe that giving the right advice, support and love to those we see on the wrong path will go a long way in avoiding tragedies.
Second, we must start occupying our youth with activities that will keep them working to improve themselves, our country and society, and not allow them any time to be attracted and brainwashed by the deviant teachings of terrorist groups. This year students will have nearly four months of summer vacation since Ramadan and Haj bookend the summer season. This is much too long and most children will waste their time sleeping the whole day, playing video games or if they are older perhaps being lured by Daesh into believing that they need to join the fight in Syria.
Both the government and the private sector should invest in quality summer programs that would provide internships in government and company offices for high school and university students. This is an excellent way for teenagers to get a glimpse of working life after they complete their studies, to instill discipline and responsibility in them, and to allow them to network and make work and social connections with a wider group of people than just their professors at school and fellow students.
Third, the government allied with the private sector should start a public relations campaign highlighting the positive aspects of having the appropriate manners and responsibilities in an enlightened Muslim society. Self-reliance, working and studying hard, and helping the less fortunate should be stressed, instead of just the mechanics of the religion. Unfortunately, we have become a society of memorization and rote, without the critical faculties of reasoning and being able to dissect problems and find solutions. This indeed is a problem that afflicts the entire Arab world, but is particularly acute in the Gulf countries.
The most common complaint that parents will hear this summer vacation from their children is “I’m bored!” We need to reverse this sentiment by engaging our youth in productive and creative endeavors. Leaving them to their own devices is dangerous, irresponsible and thoughtless. We owe them a better future, and in order to do so we must invest our time and effort into giving them educational and fun options of activities to do during their vacation. If not, Daesh and other deviant groups will sink their teeth into our youth and produce more terrorists that will kill with no remorse for a bankrupt cause.
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The writer is a Saudi journalist based in Brazil.