Is this how to deprogram jihadists?

Wendy Pollack over at the Wall Street Journal's Informed Reader writes about how Saudi Arabia is attempting to do this:

Detained jihadists are put through an intensive religious and psychological counseling program aimed at returning the prisoners to society. Prisoners meet with respected clerics, who use Islamic teachings to challenge the ideology of al Qaeda. Family members are brought in to influence prisoners, much in the same way that counselors seek to “deprogram” brainwashed cult members.... The changes come after a 10-year stretch in which terrorists linked to al Qaeda launched a series of violent attacks in the kingdom, initially against foreigners, but eventually hitting at Saudis directly. In 2003 and 2004, 22 terrorist attacks killed 90 civilians in Saudi Arabia and wounded many more.

The upsurge in violence sparked a backlash against al Qaeda among Saudi citizens — a shift in sentiment that the government used to its advantage to bolster its intelligence and hunt down militants....

It is difficult to know if the program has had an impact. Saudi authorities claim to have rehabilitated 500 militants. Violent attacks had ebbed until early this year, when jihadist militants killed four French citizens. Last month, Saudi officials disclosed the arrest of 172 people accused of plotting to attack oil installations, a possible sign that terrorist groups are undergoing a resurgence. Meanwhile, a similar rehabilitation regimen has produced mixed results in neighboring Yemen. But the program might hold lessons for U.S. and European governments.