Journal for Deradicalization
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Islamist Indoctrination: Exploring the Techniques Used by Hizb Ut-Tahrir to Radicalize Young British Muslims
Get PDFTrying to generate ethnographic data to study Islamist groups in a natural setting has always presented a problem for researchers seeking to comprehend the radicalization process. Islamist groups operate in a clandestine manner, making it difficult to penetrate their inner workings. The researcher was given access to the inner workings of Hizb ut-Tahrir, a clandestine radical Islamist organization. Having accessed the group, the paper seeks to present an account of the methods used by Hizb ut-Tahrir to indoctrinate new members to its ideology and activist orientation. The personal narratives obtained from this ethnographic fieldwork are placed into a frame of reference related to how indoctrination occurs within Hizb ut-Tahrir. My access to Hizb ut-Tahrir put me in the unique position of being able to gather the biographical information required to study indoctrination. As the findings show, Hizb ut-Tahrir indoctrination is a narrow cognitive process that has distinct behavioral outcomes
Radicalisation of Young Adults in the Balkan States: Counter-Measures, Healthcare Provision, and Community Involvement
Get PDFDecreasing the rise of extremism remains a priority for governments worldwide. Motives behind joining an extremist organisation are complex and often unique to the individual, making prevention strategies difficult to design and implement. This article explores several facets of this complex problem, particularly in relation to young adults, including links between extremism, criminality and incarceration, mental health, socioeconomic status and the rise of radicalisation ‘hotspots’ in Muslim majority states in the Western Balkans, where lack of government leadership allows extremist organisations to flourish. Potential counter radicalisation measures are also discussed in various contexts, including healthcare systems, the community, internationally and within the Balkan region
Countering violent extremism via de-securitisation on Twitter
Get PDFThe case of a civil society actor on Twitter entering a securitized discourse on terrorism illustrates the transformative theoretical potential that emerges from new forms of communication online. Through a qualitative analysis of tweets from the Average Mohamed profile, the potential to change a negative narrative of violent extremism operating within a securitised discourse of Islamic terrorism, is discussed in an online context. The arguments forming from this analysis offers a new approach to studying online counter narratives by linking a theoretical framework of securitisation and de-securitisation to recent political efforts Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) and Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE). Through the inclusion of a civil society Twitter account as an illustrative case, this paper explores how social media can challenge existing assumptions of who can be a de-securitising actor within security theory by blurring the lines between political and societal sectors in a securitised threat from Islamic terrorism. If and how a civil society actor can loosen the dichotomous discursive relationship between Self/Other relations within a contemporary discourse on terrorism becomes relevant for a theoretical discussion by presenting an argument suggesting that online CVE polices are more effective within the sphere of ‘normal’ politics rather than within the realm of securitization. This theoretical perspective offers an analytical framework including a wide range of actors involved in counter narratives policies which is useful for further CVE research.
„Denn du gehst gleich ein in ewige Gärten.“ Zum Zusammenhang zwischen transzendenter Weltanschauung und Gewaltbegründung (“You Will Enter Eternal Gardens.“ On the Connection Between Transcendental Worldviews and Legitimizing Violence)
No full textDiscussions about Islamist violence can often be divided into two different trends: one that claims Islam to be essentialy violent per se and another one arguing that violence has nothing to do with Islam. Latter line of argument, particularly in academic discourses, frequently suggests that assailants use religion merely as an instrument to achieve their actually economic-rational interests. However, such argumentation tends to neglect an essential dimension of the whole phenomenon of religiously motivated violence: the spiritual or transcendental worldview which perpetrators use to legitimate their own violence.This article looks into the connection between a religiously based ideology and the representation of violence. To do so, six different documents will be analyzed: the “spiritual guidance“ of the perpetrators involved in the 9/11 attacks (Seidensticker, 2004), four contemporary texts of jihadist actors (mainly from jihadist internet platforms; Lohlker, 2009) and the charter of the terror organization Hamas. Based on these texts, it will be shown how the authors legitimize violence in regard to four fundamental metaphysical principles: the existence of god, the belief in an afterlife, the dichotomous separation of humanity into good and evil and the relevance of a spiritual mindset. The results of the analysis suggest that there is an interior logic of religiously motivated violence, based on premises differentiated from the liberal secularization paradigm and instead following a transcendent understanding of reality. Recognizing this paradigm as one important dimension of Islamist violence could help to better understand such phenomenon and to improve practical work in the field of deradicalization.Article in German
Beating ISIS in the Digital Space: Focus Testing ISIS Defector Counter-Narrative Videos with American College Students
Get PDFISIS recruits on a 24/7 basis in over 21 languages over the Internet using videos, memes, tweets and other social media postings and swarming in on anyone that retweets, likes or endorses their materials to try to seduce them into the group. Their unprecedented social media drive has resulted in over 30,000 foreign fighters from more than 100 countries migrating to Syria and Iraq. ISIS recruitment in the U.S. is for the most part Internet based and has resulted in the actual and attempted recruitment of over 100 individuals residing in the U.S. with over 200 Americans traveling to Syria to join terrorist groups. To date very little counter-narrative material exists and most of it is cognitive versus emotionally impactful. The International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE) Breaking the ISIS Brand – the ISIS Defectors Interviews Project has managed to collect 43 ISIS defector interviews and thus far produce two video clips of ISIS defectors denouncing the group which were focus tested in this research in a small normative college student sample of 75 undergraduate students. The results demonstrate that American college students find the videos authentic, disturbing and turn them away from ISIS, fulfilling the goals that the project is aiming for in producing counter-narrative materials
Propaganda in an insecure, unstructured world: How psychological uncertainty and authoritarian attitudes shape the evaluation of right-wing extremist internet propaganda
Get PDFThe amount of uploaded extremist propaganda on the internet is increasing. In particular, right-wing extremist as well as Islamic extremist groups take advantage of the opportunities presented by the internet to spread their ideas to worldwide masses. Both tackle in-group specific topics and address their audiences in their respective political, national or religious identities. Several factors, such as higher levels of authoritarian value orientations and threatening life situations (such as existential threats or psychological uncertainty) have been found to shape people’s reactions towards radical groups as well as to propaganda. The current study investigated whether the response to extremist propaganda videos (namely, aversion felt for the video and the perceived persuasiveness of the video) is shaped by an individual’s authoritarian attitudes and psychological uncertainty and whether this is a global process or in-group specific. Further, it considered the effects of exposure to extremist propaganda on the identification with one’s in-group. In a laboratory experiment, German students were confronted with a right-wing extremist and an Islamic extremist video after manipulating their level of uncertainty (high vs. low levels of psychological uncertainty). The results confirmed that the interaction between authoritarianism and psychological uncertainty affected the evaluation of right-wing extremist videos addressing participants’ national in-group. Under conditions of uncertainty, authoritarianism predicted less aversion and a higher persuasiveness of these videos. Further, psychological uncertainty increased the identification with participants’ German nationality, irrespective of authoritarian attitudes. Notably, the effect was in-group bound: The same effect was not found for Islamic extremist propaganda referring to a religious out-group. The results are discussed regarding the potential of propaganda to foster behavioral intentions and engagement in extremist groups in specific threatening situations.
Hate Beneath the Counter Speech? A Qualitative Content Analysis of User Comments on YouTube Related to Counter Speech Videos
Get PDFThe odds in stumbling over extremist material in the internet are high. Counter speech videos, such as those of the German campaign Begriffswelten Islam (Concepts of Islam; Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, 2015a) published on YouTube, offer alternative perspectives and democratic ideas to counteract extremist content. YouTube users may discuss these videos in the comment sections below the video. Yet, it remains open which topics these users bring up in their comments. Moreover, it is unknown how far user comments in this context may promote hate speech—the very opposite of what counter speeches intent to evoke. By applying a qualitative content analysis on a randomly selected sample of user comments, which appeared beneath the counter speech videos of Concepts of Islam, we found that comments dominated, which dealt with devaluating prejudices and stereotypes towards Muslims and/or Islam. However, we also discovered that users in a large scale discussed the content of the videos. Moreover, we identified user comments, which hint at hateful speech either in comments themselves or the discourse the comments are embedded in. Based on these results, we discuss implications for researchers, practitioners and security agencies.
Zur Evaluation von Maßnahmen der Prävention von religiöser Radikalisierung in Deutschland (On the evaluation of measures to prevent religious radicalization in Germany)
No full textMit gezielter staatlicher Förderung ist in den letzten Jahren die Anzahl von Maßnahmen zur Prävention von islamistischem Extremismus stark angestiegen. Es wird von Seiten der Wissenschaft und Politik in zunehmendem Maße die Notwendigkeit artikuliert diese Maßnahmen und Projekte zu evaluieren. Der Beitrag stellt Ergebnisse einer Übersichtsarbeit vor, die vom Nationalen Zentrum für Kriminalprävention (NZK) durchgeführt wurde, um vorhandene Evaluationen zu ermitteln und deren Methodik, Fragestellungen und Ergebnisse vergleichend in den Blick zu nehmen. Es wird zunächst das Handlungsfeld skizziert sowie im Anschluss das methodische Vorgehen der Übersichtsarbeit dargestellt. Für lediglich sieben Präventionsprojekte konnten insgesamt elf Evaluationsstudien ermittelt werden. Bei deren Analyse wird festgestellt, dass das methodische Niveau vorhandener Evaluationen weitgehend niedrig und Erkenntnisse zur Wirksamkeit von Präventionsmaßnahmen kaum vorhanden sind. Es sind daher nahezu keine Rückschlüsse möglich, ob Präventionsprojekte Radikalisierung verhindern, begünstigen oder wirkungslos bleiben. Abschließend werden daher vorhandene Forschungsdefizite benannt und Empfehlungen zur Weiterentwicklung des Handlungsfeldes ausgesprochen. English AbstractIn recent years, the number of measures to prevent Islamic extremism in Germany has sharply increased thanks to targeted government support. Politicians and researchers point out more and more the need to evaluate these measures and projects. The paper presents the results of a systematic review carried out by the National Centre for Crime Prevention (Nationales Zentrum für Kriminalprävention - NZK) in order to identify existing evaluations and to take a comparative view of their methodology, research questions and results. First of all, the field of study is outlined and then the methodical procedure of the review work is described. A total of eleven evaluation studies for only seven German prevention projects could be identified. The analysis of these studies reveals that the methodological level of existing evaluations is predominantly low and that there are hardly any findings on the effectiveness of preventive measures. It is therefore almost impossible to draw any conclusions as to whether prevention projects prevent or favour radicalization or if they remain ineffective. In conclusion, existing research deficits are identified and recommendations for further development in the field are made. The article is written in German
Austria and the Threats from Islamist Radicalisation and Terrorist Involvement: An Overview of Governmental and Non-Governmental Initiatives and Policies
Get PDFUnlike other European countries, Austria has so far been spared from terrorist attacks in the context of radical Islamism. However, the perceived threat, several criminal cases of terrorist involvement as well as being indirectly affected by attacks in other countries led to a high level of public and governmental attention to the issues of radicalisation, terrorist involvement and deradicalisation in Austria. Due to strong public pressure and growing recognition of the existing problem and hazard areas by governmental and non-governmental actors, a number of (1) initiatives providing support and counselling in case of radicalisation have been launched (e.g. Extremism Information Centre; DERAD) or extended. Furthermore, (2) governmental agencies and political stakeholders have been pushing for enhanced means for the criminal prosecution and conviction of criminal offenses in the context of terrorism. The article presents an overview and review of new and renewed initiatives as well as (planned) policy changes countering radicalisation and deradicalisation and terrorist involvement (support of terrorist organisations, membership, plans for terrorist attacks, etc.) and thus a summarising insight into the case of Austria
Youth De-Radicalization: A Canadian Framework
Get PDFYouth radicalization leading to violence has become a growing fear among Canadians, as terrorist attacks are carried out in Western states. Although Canada has suffered relatively fewer acts of violence, this fear has intensified and a de-radicalization strategy is needed in the Canadian context. In a qualitative case study methodology, interviews were conducted with school counsellors, religious leaders, and academics to explore solutions to youth radicalization. Youth de-radicalization approaches from the United Kingdom were analyzed and found that community-based initiatives were missing from programming. Social identity theory is used to explain that youth join radicalized groups to feel a sense of belonging and have to be provided an alternative and moderate group identity to de-radicalize. This study found youth de-radicalization in Canada is best served through a community collaboration approach