Kenya debates how to welcome home extremist fighters

(The Christian Science Monitor) By 4 p.m. each weekday at a parking lot in the Nairobi suburb of Eastleigh, the cars clear out.

Volunteers lay down straw mats on the tarmac, and young men and women trickle in—sitting on separate sides—to listen to the daily teaching of Salim Ndenda, a local Islamic leader.

Here in the bustling neighborhood, nicknamed Little Mogadishu for its large concentration of ethnic Somalis, Ndenda’s daily message to more than 500 youths—who are often sent by their own families—is of singular importance. It is one that will help prevent young men from radicalizing or joining the ranks of al-Shabaab fighters.