Fighting extremism with animation

(CNN) -- His name is Abdullah X. His slogan: "Mind of a Scholar, Heart of a Warrior." But the star of this new animated show isn't a caped crusader battling bad guys in the streets of Gotham -- he's fighting for the hearts and minds of young Muslims everywhere.

"Abdullah X," the new Web-only cartoon series, is the tale of a young Muslim man in London who is struggling with his identity and his faith. It is a story that its creator, a former extremist who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, knows all too well.

"I was struggling with my own identity and sense of belonging when I was growing up -- issues around self-esteem and confidence, and where you fit in with regards to your Britishness or your Muslimness," Ahmed, as he asked to be called for this story, told CNN.

Ahmed said he spent years helping to spread and vocalize "extreme and harsh" worldviews in Britain. He saw efforts by governments and organizations to understand what was fueling anti-Western extremism as often "piecemeal and simplistic."

"Young people -- the most vulnerable groups in society -- were caught between government policy perspectives on how you combat terrorism and extremism, and this wall of shame and denial from within communities. I felt that we needed something that was going to be innovative and engaging."

So he created Abdullah X, the eponymous star of the series and an animated alter-ego that mirrors Ahmed's own journey from former extremist to someone who now hopes to steer young Muslims away from violence and extreme views.

Inspired by the superhero comics of his childhood, Ahmed used his own money to create "Abdullah X" and post it online, specifically to grab the attention of a generation raised on computer games and social media.

The series, which includes episodes such as "Five Considerations for a Muslim on Syria" and "Don't Try and Justify your Anger with Islam," is intended to be a counterpoint to the flashy, gore-filled videos posted on YouTube by groups like ISIS -- the Islamist militant group that has seized large chunks of Syria and Iraq and rallied hundreds of Western recruits to its cause.

In a "soundbite age," as he describes it, Ahmed says his goal was to create a robust narrative in order to give viewers pause to reflect -- and to prevent vulnerable minds from succumbing to ISIS' radical ideology.

"There's no point sermonizing, there's no point creating three-hour videos and campaigns [where] young people can see [a] potential propaganda element of it. If we're going to tackle extremism effectively, or tackle the narrative, you have to understand that narrative very well and then package that in a way that rivals the extremist material that a lot of young people find online," Ahmed said.

"Abdullah X is potentially any particular young Muslim from any particular walk of life, in any given time," Ahmed said. "His story and the development of his character suggest that he's built resilience and an element of willpower, and housed that within a kind of critical framework where he's able to judge sources on their merit rather than just believe what is put in front of him."

Ahmed's videos, which he posts on YouTube and Facebook, have already had tens of thousands of views -- and there are plans for an app that lets users directly interact with "Abdullah X."

"We're trying to tackle the keyboard warrior mentality. We're trying to tackle the 'Call of Duty,' PlayStation mentality and the 'jihobbyist' mentality -- those people who are allowing their grievances to sometimes put them at risk or in harm without knowing it."

Ahmed says he'll have achieved the project's objective "if we can save one person from going to die in some foreign land, or attempting to do something in his homeland or her homeland."

In the meantime, Ahmed hopes that "Abdullah X" will keep winning young Muslim viewers over, one YouTube click at a time.

CNN's Nick Thompson contributed to this report.

“阿卜杜拉X：'前極端的卡通目的是為了阻止年輕的穆斯林加入ISIS
通過阿蒂卡舒伯特和佛羅倫薩戴維-艾德禮，美國有線新聞網
2014年10月7日 - 更新2112 GMT（0512 HKT）
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極端主義的戰鬥動畫
新聞提要
新的動畫系列“阿卜杜拉X”旨在引導青少年心目中的穆斯林遠離極端主義
卡通是由誰說話CNN不願透露姓名的英國前極端創建
該系列旨在打擊像ISIS集團的網上宣傳
ISIS，控制敘利亞和伊拉克的部分組，已經上漲數百個西方新兵其原因
（CNN） -他的名字是阿卜杜拉十，他的口號：“一個學者的心中，戰士的心。” 但是，這種新的動畫演出的明星不是蝙蝠俠對抗壞人在高譚市的街道上-他無處不在爭取年輕穆斯林的心靈。
“阿卜杜拉X，”新的網絡只卡通系列，是一個年輕的穆斯林男子在倫敦誰是掙扎與他的身份和他的信仰的故事。這是一個故事，它的創造者，誰說話CNN不願透露姓名的前極端分子，知道一切太清楚了。
“我掙扎了自己的身份和歸屬感，當我長大了 - 問題圍繞自尊和自信，而你在適應與問候你的英國化或Muslimness，”艾哈邁德，他要求被稱為對於這個故事，告訴CNN。
艾哈邁德說，他花了幾年時間幫助傳播和發聲的英國“極端惡劣”的世界觀。他看到了政府和組織努力了解發生了什麼助長反西方的極端主義往往是“零碎的和簡單的。”
“年輕人 - 在社會最弱勢的群體 - 被抓到你如何從社區內打擊恐怖主義和極端主義，這堵牆的恥辱和拒絕政府的政策觀點之間我覺得我們需要的東西，將是創新人心魄。“
於是，他創造了阿卜杜拉的X，該系列的同名明星和動畫的另一個自我，反映艾哈邁德自己的旅程，從以前的極端主義的人誰現在希望能夠帶領年輕的穆斯林遠離暴力和極端的觀點。
他童年的超級英雄漫畫的啟發，艾哈邁德用自己的錢，創造“阿卜杜拉X”，並發布到網上，專門搶提出對電腦遊戲和社交媒體上一代的關注。

該系列產品，其中包括情節，如“五注意事項穆斯林對敘利亞”和“不要試圖證明你的憤怒與伊斯蘭教”，意在成為一個對位的浮華，戈爾填充視頻張貼在YouTube上以群分如ISIS - 已查獲敘利亞和伊拉克的大塊和數百反彈西方新兵其原因伊斯蘭激進組織。
在“同期聲時代”，因為他描述的那樣，艾哈邁德說，他的目標是為了建立一個強大的敘事給觀眾停下來想一想 - 和防止脆弱的心靈，從屈從於ISIS的“激進思想。
“沒有一點說教，沒有點創建三個小時的錄像和運動[地方]年輕人可以看到它的[A]潛在的宣傳元素，如果我們要有效地應對極端主義，或解決的敘述，你必須明白的敘述非常好，然後打包，在相媲美的極端主義的材料，很多年輕人在網上找到一個方法，“艾哈邁德說。
“阿卜杜拉X是可能從生活的某一特定步行任何特定的穆斯林青年，在任何給定的時間，”艾哈邁德說。“他的故事和他的性格的發展表明，他建的韌性和毅力的元素，並安置了內一種重要的框架，在那裡他能判斷源對自己的價值，而不是僅僅相信是擺在他的面前。 “
艾哈邁德的影片，這是他張貼在YouTube和Facebook，已經進行了意見數以萬計的 - 有計劃的應用程序，讓用戶直接與“阿卜杜拉X”互動
“我們正在努力解決這個鍵盤戰士的心態，我們正在努力解決”使命召喚“的PlayStation心態和”jihobbyist“的心態 - 那些誰是讓自己的委屈的人，有時使他們處於危險或傷害而不自知。“
艾哈邁德說，他將已取得該項目的目標：“如果我們能救一個人從去一些異鄉死去，或試圖做一些在他的家鄉或她的祖國。”
在此期間，艾哈邁德希望“阿卜杜拉X”將繼續在獲獎的年輕穆斯林觀眾，一是YouTube上點擊的時間。
CNN的尼克·湯普森促成了這一報告。