Radical Islam In The United States

Domestic terrorism has played a major part in shaping the societies of the United States. The ideologies of individuals can become radicalized. This can lead to a movement. This movement involves the infliction of fear upon the communities, in attempt to make it a better world. It is critical to examine the events created by one man’s extreme ideologies in effort to better understand.

Many Americans do not understand the implication and role of terrorism in the modern world. Terrorism is not a something that can be measured or held in hand. It is a theoretical idea that has many different meanings to many different people (Aziz, 2014). U.S. Citizens in general need to understand the full effect of modern terrorism. Blinded by media coverage and dramatized by slow-motion video replay of terrorist attacks,

Tactics to induce terror in pursuit of a political goal have been utilized by a multitude of organizations across the globe. This method of power control is known as terrorism, and due to its impact and unpredictability, it is highly feared and monitored today in the 21st century. Attacks of this nature stem from radical beliefs of religion, ethics, or other politics, and have been carried out globally, ranging from the 9/11 attack in New York City to the 2015 shooting in Paris, France. Terrorism over recent years has grown despite an abundance of efforts by many nations and international organisations to stop development of such groups. This growth is partially attributed to advances in digital technology and the furtherment of communication techniques, such as social media and web-based content, which has allowed for the spread of these radical ideas across the planet making it difficult to control the advancement of these beliefs (Council on Foreign Relations, 2009). Terrorism will never be able to be fully stopped due to the abstract nature and ideology from which terrorism originates.

Since 2001, domestic extremist have killed more people in the U.S. than foreign sources of Terrorism. In 2015 alone, 52 people were killed by domestic terrorism; the most killed by such terrorism in a decade (Berman, 2016). This leaves the United States of America no true face to fight, making it extremely difficult to find the perpetrators of terror. Fighting this form of terrorism is so challenging that the “U.S. Justice Department is considering legal changes to combat what it sees as a rising threat from domestic anti-government extremists,” (Harte, 2016). Over the past two years, 42 people have been charged with plotting attacks on America in the name of the Islamic state or anti-government fervor. All of these individuals will not face a life sentence, and will be let free in a couple of decades (Harte, 2016). With the little reform that happens in prison, these people will one day be out of prison, most likely with the same radical passion. Efforts are being made to make deradicalization facilities rather than let the convicted 42 go back into society with plenty of rage (Harte, 2016). The fight against radicalization has largely turned towards targeting the communities where they begin. Many

American’s fear of terrorism is founded on the ideal that it can effect anybody at any point: no one person is safe from terrorism (Anderson). This belief is also demonstrated in the Chapman Study, where participants listed terrorism as one of the five things they most fear (Chapman). By examining expert advice from homeland security and scholars, coupled with images from similar resources, I hope to further the understanding of how America can safe guard against terrorism, while also not compromising the values of liberty and

It is nearly impossible to go an entire day in the United States without hearing of some act of terrorism. Whether it be a shooting in a public place or threats against a group of people, this violent form of conflict is prevalent in every American’s life. These ruthless acts of cold-blooded murder demonstrate evil in its purest form, and leave death and mourning in their wake. The article “Homegrown Terrorism: Is There an Islamic Wave?” gives an overview of the rise of domestic terrorism since the tragedy of 9/11. Though it was written in 2011, the core message is the same today: terrorism in the United States still continues to grow at a sickening pace, with each new attack seeming more barbaric than the last.

Religious extremism may be the kind of terror threat most familiar to contemporary Americans, considering the religious extremism that fuels groups like al-Qaeda and its affiliates. However, while these groups are based outside of the United States and often coordinate across borders, there are domestic religious groups that have developed within the United States. In addition to any "homegrown" terrorists who may identify

On April 15, 2013, two pressure cookers exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The fatalities were low but the symbolism was high: more than a decade after 9/11, the United States is still not safe from militant jihadist terrorist attacks. The bombers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had planned on killing and dying in the name of global “jihad”. The two brothers were self-radicalized homegrown terrorists. Existing evidence points to the fact that, while inspired by militant jihadism and in loose contact with terrorists in Dagestan, they operated alone. This is a case study of the radicalization process that led Tamerlan Tsarnaev to adopt violent “jihad”, kill three people and injure 250 others.

Ever since post 9/11 conflicts began and the United States became involved in the Syrian conflict, several homegrown radicalized terrorist have come extremely close to succeeding in highly destructive attacks. Currently, there are gaps in understanding the radicalization of homegrown Muslims in the United States. Therefore, it is imperative to understand paths towards radicalization through crime prevention strategies (Kamien, 2012). The sources listed below will aid in the psychological background of radicalization, and how radicalization happens to homegrown Muslim converts and non-converts (Schumacher, 2011).

Radicalization have various sources, from reactionary hatred of the freedom world, involvement in antigovernment militia movements in the U.S, to even mental illnesses. The main focus in this paper is to focus on Jihad-based radicalization in the prison system because according the FBI these groups are the biggest potential threats to American security. It is important to recognize all of the factors of why Americans are radicalizing in the prison system. First off, in prison, individuals associate themselves with other individuals or groups to protect themselves. They also tend to associate with those that are similar to them; share background similarities, family, ethnicity, religion, etc. Ever since 911, the government has increased its economic spending to combat and prevent domestic terrorism. In October 2003, the U.S Senate Subcommittee on Terrorism, technology, and homeland security held a hearing, that warned the threats of Islamic radicalization in the U.S prisons. The subcommittee concluded that radicalization in prisons is a real threat and “prisons are producing a formidable enemy within. Eight years later, in June 2011, the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security held another series of hearings on the issue. In his opening remarks, Committee Chairman Peter King claimed that prisons have created "an assembly line of radicalization," which poses a major threat to the safety and security of the

Radical Islamists are activists whose main goal is to form an international group of Islamic believers. They are determined to form this group in whatever way they can, even using violence and having mass killings. The United States of America allows them to be radical because of their needs such as, oil. They take teachings from the Qur’an and radicalize them into violence and harsh beliefs, however, the majority of Muslims do not believe in most all of the ways of radical Islamists.

In 1999 there was said to be a huge increase that focused on the terrorism in the United States (fbi.gov). Even though this focus was on terrorism in general, it was mainly focused on the domestic terrorist. Eight of the ten terrorist incidents were those domestic terrorisms that year in the United States. There were seven plots that were prevented by law enforcers this year and in 1998 there were twelve. The seven that occurred in 1999 were because of the Animal Liberation Front also known as ALF. All of these led to financial damages that ended up being more than three million dollars (fbi.gov).

Chip Ellis is a coordinator for the National Memorial Institute for the prevention of Terrorism and he provides some very insightful information on how someone in prison becomes radicalized and loyal to a terrorist group (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). The type of inmates that are most susceptible to radicalization are those who feel they have little worth, require protection, and looking to identify with a group (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Mr. Ellis states that these types of folks while in prison have little distractions and extremists take advantage of this by subjecting them to other radical inmates and preach anti-US rhetoric during their prayer time (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Even the FBI states that al-Qaeda attempts to enlist these convicts estimated at a population of 9,600 (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). John Pistole, a FBI counterterrorism chief, said this: “These terrorists seek to exploit our freedom to exercise religion to their advantage by using radical forms of Islam to recruit operatives”. The question then, is how can we prevent terrorists from taking advantage of our religious freedom?

On September 11,2001, the biggest terrorist attack on American soil that embarked a True American Form of Security against the parasitic influence of terrorism amongst organizations and civilizations. A targeted threat that many describe to have an affiliation with the Islamic State, a clear enemy against the United States, we have succumbed to fighting radicals of different forms in which they seek religious justice. Through time we have known terrorism as an attack on national security threatening the public, however since 9/11 we have identified the face of terrorism that follows through Islamic preach and influence. As a precedent factor to our xenophobic paranoia of an unknown attack, we can conclude or assume one suspect, however the

Any policy concerning homegrown radicalization needs to be consistent with America’s unique set of constitutional, political, and social laws. The search for policies and solutions concerning domestic radicalization and terrorism has been ongoing for nearly two decades. Constitutional freedom to express radical or extremist views creates unintended consequences in homeland security policies. One policy passed into law weeks after 9/11 was the 2001 Patriot Act. Policy makers believed that the act would be use to break barriers created between terrorist and counterterrorism, and law enforcement provisions. However, it created several unintended consequences.