SANLIURFA, Turkey — As military clashes rage in Raqqa’s countryside and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) recapture land from Islamic State militants, Syrians are making plans for life after the jihadis are expelled. On April 2, a group of teachers from Raqqa held a meeting at the headquarters of the Center of Civil Society and Democracy in Urfa, southern Turkey, to discuss the resumption of education in Raqqa.

The attendees addressed effective and modern teaching tools that should be introduced to the educational process after three years of suspension. Since IS took over Raqqa on Jan. 14, 2014, all schools closed their doors, and IS turned some into jails or security centers.

Mustafa, a teacher who asked that his name not be used because some of his family members still live in Raqqa, said the city “has been under IS' grip for three years, and the organization has tried to spread its ideology and open Sharia institutes to mess with the minds of all generations.”

Mustafa taught students in Raqqa's schools for 15 years. He told Al-Monitor, “IS' thoughts are destructive. If we decide to fight this radical thought, we need to find new educational tools and methods to remove all traces of its extremism, violence and distortion of true Islam.”