Sri Lankan government is working closely with the Muslim organizations to engage the Sri Lankan Muslim youth to prevent them from joining the ISIS, said Prof. Rohan Gunaratna of Nanyang University, Singapore.

Gunaratna said this during an interview with’ The Nation’ regarding the Government’s acknowledgement that some Sri Lankans joined the ISIS.

Gunaratna predicted the number of Sri Lankans in the ISIS would exceed 50 by the end of the year. “The real threat is not travel, but the spread of the radical and violent ideology of IS both in the virtual and physical space in Sri Lanka”, he said.

Gunaratna also said that Sri Lankan government must continue to work closely with all Muslim organizations and develop programmes and initiatives to engage the Muslim youth and ensure that they are not deceived by the ISIS ideology.

Professor Rohan Gunaratna is the head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR) at Nanyang University. He is also the author of several books on counter insurgency, including an internationally acclaimed book on Al-Qaeda.