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Chess, smokes, therapy for ex-ISIS fighters at Syria rehab centre

By AFP

Mohammed Haj Ahmad (R), 23, plays chess with his roommate at the Syrian Centre for Countering Extremist Ideology in the Syrian town of Marea, on November 30th. [Nazeer al-Khatib/AFP]

Mohammed Haj Ahmad (R), 23, plays chess with his roommate at the Syrian Centre for Countering Extremist Ideology in the Syrian town of Marea, on November 30th. [Nazeer al-Khatib/AFP]

In a rehabilitation centre in northern Syria, young men huddle over an innocuous game of chess and some cigarettes -- activities they once brutally suppressed as "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) fighters.

Based in the opposition-held town of Marea, the Syrian Centre for Countering Extremist Ideology is home to around 100 one-time ISIS fighters from Syria, the Middle East and even Europe.

"I used to dream of establishing an Islamic state... but now, we take courses that clear up what is wrong with what we once believed," 23-year-old Mohammad Haj Ahmad said.

Ahmad hails from al-Raqa, the northern city that served as the de facto capital of a now-collapsed ISIS "caliphate" sprawling across Syria and Iraq.

Abdel Karim Darwish, psychological and sociological supervisor, gives a lecture at the Syrian Centre for Countering Extremist Ideology in the Syrian town of Marea. [Nazeer al-Khatib/AFP]

Abdel Karim Darwish, psychological and sociological supervisor, gives a lecture at the Syrian Centre for Countering Extremist Ideology in the Syrian town of Marea. [Nazeer al-Khatib/AFP]

Men pray at the Syrian Centre for Countering Extremist Ideology in the Syrian town of Marea in the northern Aleppo district, on November 30th. [Nazeer al-Khatib/AFP]

Men pray at the Syrian Centre for Countering Extremist Ideology in the Syrian town of Marea in the northern Aleppo district, on November 30th. [Nazeer al-Khatib/AFP]

He joined ISIS in 2014 and took part in one of its most gruesome battles at Tabqa airport near al-Raqa, where extremists executed more than 200 army troops.

"I was completely convinced by their slogans about jihad, that they were the only ones implementing religion correctly, and that everyone else was an infidel and an apostate," he said.

"My father was scared I would be convinced to blow myself up."

Now, Ahmad and fellow ex-ISIS fighters are undergoing intensive rehabilitation courses in Marea aiming to wash away extremist habits so they can ultimately reintegrate into society.

Ahmad does not know what he will do once he is cleared by opposition authorities to leave the centre.

"Maybe I will start a business, continue my studies, or go to Europe," he shrugs.

Therapy, civil rights

The two-story centre in Marea opened on October 27th.

"We founded the centre because of the many fighters coming to northern parts of Aleppo province after the collapse of ISIS, which created a security problem," said its head, Hussein Nasser.

Some lodgers checked in voluntarily, while others are undergoing therapy as part of the jail sentence dished out by opposition authorities for joining ISIS.

They are split into three categories: short-term ISIS fighters, those who fought heavily or for an extended period and foreigners from Tunisians to Uzbeks.

Treatment lasts up to six months, which can be renewed, Nasser said.

The administrators, doctors and activists who run the centre co-ordinate closely with opposition authorities, particularly the court system.

"The centre's lecturers provide an assessment to relevant judicial authorities, who decide if the person can be integrated into society or not," Nasser added.

He said the centre is financed locally but seeking additional funds to take in more foreigners and open a branch for female ISIS members.

Inside, patients shuffle into classrooms for group and individual therapy sessions as well as courses on Islamic law, civil rights and psychology.

Some sport beards and others are clean-shaven. Most wear an unofficial uniform of bright sweatshirts under sleeveless black vests.

"The courses are similar to corrective treatment, giving them positive outlooks on themselves and their abilities," said the centre's psychosocial therapist Abdulkarim Darwish.

Darwish listens to their life stories, then runs therapy sessions to identify what social factors led them to join ISIS.

During breaks, the ex-fighters pray, eat modest meals on mattresses lined around a windowless room, and play chess -- one of the many forms of entertainment ISIS considered un-Islamic -- or spend time with their wives and children, who also stay at the centre.

'I did not come from Mars'

"I never thought I would turn into a jihadist," said Hawas al-Ali, 26, who quit his job as a cook in northern Iraq in 2016 and moved to east Syria.

He joined an ISIS police unit deployed to bolster flailing extremist fighting battalions.

"My aim was the victory of Islam, but after a while I began thinking about returning to civilian life, society, my relatives and children," said al-Ali.

He checked himself into the centre and now said he is excited to return "to my life before ISIS".

Al-Ali fears being arrested if he returns to Iraq, so for now is stuck in northern Syria and may travel to Turkey.

Ashraf Nasir, 24, said he is ready to become again an active member of a society which ISIS once terrorised.

"I am an essential part of society -- I did not come from under a rock or from Mars, even though I joined ISIS," he said.

The problem, Nasir said, lies in "how society will accept us".

Going home will be even harder for foreigners like Muslim Gadzhimetov.

The Ukrainian entered Syria in 2016 coming from Turkey to join ISIS and earlier this year he was detained by opposition fighters.

Gadzhimetov said he decided to defect when he learned of the atrocities committed by ISIS against other Muslims.

"I consider myself guilty for this," he said.

"Of course I want to socialise and so on, I want to return to civilian life. I dream about this life."

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