WASHINGTON - A leading Muslim civil rights group has laid out a strategy to battle emerging homegrown extremism, urging grassroots engagement by law enforcement and Muslims, community policing and new programs for at-risk youth.
"One violent extremist in our community is one too many. There's no doubt about that," Alejandro J. Beutel, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) government liaison, said in an exclusive an interview with IslamOnline.net.
The Muslim policy group released on Friday, December 11, a 32-page report entitled "Building Bridges to Strengthen America: Forging an Effective Counterterrorism Enterprise between Muslim Americans and Law Enforcement."
It outlines theories for understanding radicalization and terrorist recruitment among the US Muslim community.
It says the first step in the radicalization process is finding a "cognitive opening", that is the first crack in an individual who has a personal crisis caused by socio-economic frustration, identity crisis or political grievances.
The report warns that if the person's experiences are not exposed to mainstream religious knowledge then "religion can be abused to reframe a person's worldview."
After an individual agrees with the radical ideology, the process of "socialization" in which the individual internalizes the ideology begins.
Five American Muslim youths were arrested in Pakistan last week on charges of attempting to join militant groups.
Their arrest came few weeks after the Fort Hood shooting in which 13 soldiers were killed by Major Nidal Hasan, a Muslim psychiatrist.
While admitting that radicalization has hit close to home, Beutel, the MPAC report author, insists that homegrown extremism is an emerging, rather than growing, problem.
"We're also trying not to exaggerate it either because if you induce too much fear, that's also counterproductive as well," he told IOL.
"You want to know what the real problem is and tackle it with the least amount of over-emotion possible because overreacting is the kind of things that the terrorists want themselves and you don't want them to seem bigger than what they are."
* Division of labor
The 32-page MPAC report outlines a blueprint for forging an effective counterterrorism partnership the American Muslims and law enforcement.
"Muslim American communities can be an asset in securing our nation and preserving the rights of all Americans."
It describes a "division of labor and cooperation" between law enforcement and the Muslim community.
The Muslim policy group says law enforcement authorities should focus on criminal activity, while the Muslim community deals with counteracting the radicalization process.
It believes a shift away from the traditional use of informants and intelligence-led policing will gain the trust of America's estimated 7-8 million Muslims.
"Law enforcement needs to make sure its actions do not undermine US community’s efforts and thus end up expanding the market for martyrs."
The relationship between American Muslims and the Justice Department has come under increasing strain recently.
Muslims are particularly infuriated by the FBI's planting of informants into mosques to provoke Muslim worshippers and trap unsuspecting youth.
The MPAC affirms that the Muslim community is "uniquely equipped" to counter radicalization because it has the language and cultural expertise to connect to its members.
Beutel. its government liaison, believes law enforcement authorities will be able to gather more information from a wider range of contacts and get a more "nuanced intelligence net" through community policing.
"Community policing itself is about problem solving," he told IOL.
He explained that community policing means using social services, networking and programs to help vulnerable youth get "plugged into social services, helping them out in quality-of-life issues as well as tackling hard crime.
"Even something for instance like developing a hotline or some sort of safe space for people to vent and talk about these different issues that you hash out what they might be thinking and feeling."
Source: IslamOnline
"One violent extremist in our community is one too many. There's no doubt about that," Alejandro J. Beutel, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) government liaison, said in an exclusive an interview with IslamOnline.net.
The Muslim policy group released on Friday, December 11, a 32-page report entitled "Building Bridges to Strengthen America: Forging an Effective Counterterrorism Enterprise between Muslim Americans and Law Enforcement."
It outlines theories for understanding radicalization and terrorist recruitment among the US Muslim community.
It says the first step in the radicalization process is finding a "cognitive opening", that is the first crack in an individual who has a personal crisis caused by socio-economic frustration, identity crisis or political grievances.
The report warns that if the person's experiences are not exposed to mainstream religious knowledge then "religion can be abused to reframe a person's worldview."
After an individual agrees with the radical ideology, the process of "socialization" in which the individual internalizes the ideology begins.
Five American Muslim youths were arrested in Pakistan last week on charges of attempting to join militant groups.
Their arrest came few weeks after the Fort Hood shooting in which 13 soldiers were killed by Major Nidal Hasan, a Muslim psychiatrist.
While admitting that radicalization has hit close to home, Beutel, the MPAC report author, insists that homegrown extremism is an emerging, rather than growing, problem.
"We're also trying not to exaggerate it either because if you induce too much fear, that's also counterproductive as well," he told IOL.
"You want to know what the real problem is and tackle it with the least amount of over-emotion possible because overreacting is the kind of things that the terrorists want themselves and you don't want them to seem bigger than what they are."
* Division of labor
The 32-page MPAC report outlines a blueprint for forging an effective counterterrorism partnership the American Muslims and law enforcement.
"Muslim American communities can be an asset in securing our nation and preserving the rights of all Americans."
It describes a "division of labor and cooperation" between law enforcement and the Muslim community.
The Muslim policy group says law enforcement authorities should focus on criminal activity, while the Muslim community deals with counteracting the radicalization process.
It believes a shift away from the traditional use of informants and intelligence-led policing will gain the trust of America's estimated 7-8 million Muslims.
"Law enforcement needs to make sure its actions do not undermine US community’s efforts and thus end up expanding the market for martyrs."
The relationship between American Muslims and the Justice Department has come under increasing strain recently.
Muslims are particularly infuriated by the FBI's planting of informants into mosques to provoke Muslim worshippers and trap unsuspecting youth.
The MPAC affirms that the Muslim community is "uniquely equipped" to counter radicalization because it has the language and cultural expertise to connect to its members.
Beutel. its government liaison, believes law enforcement authorities will be able to gather more information from a wider range of contacts and get a more "nuanced intelligence net" through community policing.
"Community policing itself is about problem solving," he told IOL.
He explained that community policing means using social services, networking and programs to help vulnerable youth get "plugged into social services, helping them out in quality-of-life issues as well as tackling hard crime.
"Even something for instance like developing a hotline or some sort of safe space for people to vent and talk about these different issues that you hash out what they might be thinking and feeling."
Source: IslamOnline
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