Keeping a lid on homegrown terror
By Lorenzo Vidino
I have an op-ed in today's Boston Globe comparing homegrown terrorism in Europe and the United States:
....Of course, there are differences between the United States and Europe. The first is related to the significantly better economic conditions of American Muslims. While European Muslims generally languish at the bottom of most rankings that measure economic integration, American Muslims fare significantly better. Although economic integration is not always an antidote to radicalization, it is undeniable that radical ideas find a fertile environment among unemployed and disenfranchised youth.
Geographic dispersion, immigration patterns, and tougher immigration policies have also prevented the formation of extensive recruiting and propaganda networks as those that have sprung up in Europe.
Finally, there is the fact that large segments of the American Muslim population belong to ethnicities that have traditionally espoused moderate interpretations of Islam.
While all these characteristics still hold true, they no longer represent a guarantee. A 2007 report by the New York Police Department stated that “despite the economic opportunities in the United States, the powerful gravitational pull of individuals’ religious roots and identity sometimes supersede the assimilating nature of American society.’’
Factors such as perception of discrimination and frustration at US foreign policies could lead to radicalization, irrespective of favorable economic conditions. Recent cases have also shown that radicalization can touch communities where extremism is rare, such as the Albanian and the Iranian American.
Moreover, the fact that no organized group has an extensive network in the country is no longer a guarantee that radicalization cannot reach America’s shores, as the Internet has replaced the need to have operatives physically spreading the propaganda on the ground. A search of jihadist chat rooms and even of subgroups in “benign’’ social network sites reveal the presence of many American-born youngsters who glorify Al Qaeda’s ideology....
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