Canadian expert haunted by video of 3-year-old cutting teddy’s head
Mubin Shaikh told the UN Security Council Tuesday that he’s haunted by a video image: A 3-year-old boy uses a large knife given to him by his parents to cut off his teddy bear’s head.
Shaikh is a Canadian Muslim who was radicalized in his teens, travelled in Taliban-controlled areas and turned away from that “poisonous” way of thinking after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. He is now an expert on countering violent extremism and said he uses that video — in which the knife is as long as the boy’s arm — to train police and intelligence services.
“What will become of this boy when he’s 10? 15? Will he even live to 20?,” Shaikh asked at a council meeting on children and armed conflict. “This is a real-life story of where we are today and what we will deal with tomorrow.”
Shaikh said armed groups deliberately recruit and use children to carry out attacks, build their ranks, and promote their beliefs and agenda.