Akbar was attracted to the allures of action, fashion and fascinating life of machismo & martyrdom.
Akbar was a bright teen student from Aceh who received a rare scholarship to further his studies overseas. He pursued his academic and spiritual developments in Turkey, which shares a long border with Syria.
Several friends who had crossed the border to live and serve under ‘The Caliphate’, posted their photos online, boasting about their experiences, including handling weapons, donning militia garbs and consuming horse meat.
about the programme
The Real Films for Counter-Radicalism Forums programme is a series of engagements through uniquely friendly yet focused forums based on originally produced real-life films featuring varying unsuspecting motivations and vulnerabilities of youths to radicalism through cyber space. It takes a social approach (complementing security mechanisms) highlighting social-related vulnerabilities versus traditional notion of merely ideological appeal.