Grooming Jihadists: The Ladder Of Radicalization And Its Antidote
By Saher Fares/Gatestone Institute June 07, 2017These were just a few of the successful attacks; those thwarted were more numerous.
France's prime minister said last September that authorities were foiling plots "daily," while some 15,000 people "in the process of radicalization" were being monitored. Last year, British security services prevented no fewer than 12 other assaults.
The average European now knows the names of Masood and those of other publicized terrorists. But few in the West are familiar with the many people who put those terrorists on their path by leading them up the rungs of a ladder of radicalization.
If you spend hours listening to speeches and sermons -- and reading countless articles by "respectable" local imams, community leaders and Islamic scholars -- you can see a pattern emerge.
The following is a description of the ladder of radicalization, based on material from 45 detailed case studies, covering the period 2012-2015, compiled by the author from U.K. government sources:
A radical preacher commonly employs theological "carrots and sticks" as a spur to action. He attempts to terrorize audiences with passages from religious literature about the horrors of hell.
The preacher quotes passages from the Quran and hadith [the sayings and deeds of Muhammad], gradually ratcheting up his rhetoric until openly calling for the restoration of the caliphate through global jihad.
The preacher presents stark, simplistic choices, cornering his audience into accepting his particular reading of Islam, and leaving no option but jihad. He does this by using language that evokes gut emotions.
At the root of such preaching is a totalitarian worldview. According to it, there is no distinction between private freedoms and the public good. The past and the present are on a continuum. Secular matters are meticulously "guided" by clerical judgements.
One reason that this radicalization process has gone undetected in the West has to do with language. Imams and Islamist intellectuals use terms that are seemingly identical to those of Judeo-Christian or secular-liberal discourse, but which have an entirely different connotation in Arabic.
Salaam, "peace," means the peace that will reign only after the whole world has accepted living under the rule of Islam.
Shihada, for example, often translated as "martyrdom," usually refers to the act of those who kill or are killed in battle for a religiously-sanctioned cause. It is not a testimony of faith in laying down one's life instead of recanting under pressure.
Iman, translated as "faith," is proven by total submission to Allah, His Messenger Mohammed and the edicts of sharia as propagated by the leader. It is of great "faith" not to waver in battle against Allah's enemies.
Qassas, wrongly interpreted as "justice", often entails a sense of vindictiveness, and "eye-for-an-eye" revenge. It is also circumscribed by Islamic law, sharia: whatever is inside sharia is just; whatever is outside sharia is not just.
Fight them; Allah will torment [not "punish" as many current translations claim] them by your hands... and will give you victory over them and satisfy the breasts (give a great sense of satisfaction, relief) of a believing people. -- Quran, 9:14, after Sahih International
Power is elevated as an Allah-given right to the believers, whereas humility is scorned as a sign of weakness. The goal toward which you are urged to aspire is not equality but ascendancy.
It is a matter of ihssan, or "benevolence" of Muslims that they tolerate the life and severely limited "liberties" of dhimmis (subjugated non-Muslims) so long as the latter pay a "protection" tax, the jizya, and abide by a covenant of inferiority "while feeling themselves subdued".
To challenge Islam's authority, its prophet's character or received tradition, or to critique the religion, is construed as ihanah, or "insult"; sabb-e-Rasul, "disparaging the Prophet," is a libelous offense worthy of death. Failure to accept Islam is also regarded as an "insult" that justifies attack:
As to those who reject faith, I will punish them with terrible agony in this world and in the Hereafter, nor will they have anyone to help. -- Quran (3:56)
Counteracting the radicalization of vulnerable Muslims requires a multi-pronged effort on the part of governments, academic institutions and community leaders. Here are a few recommendations:
Discourage voluntary segregation in Muslim communities. Establish initiatives that introduce genuine multiculturalism into classrooms, neighborhoods and community centers. This is the only way that insular, extremist thought can be debated and challenged openly by Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Prevent fundamentalist Muslim community leaders from hiding behind a "moderate" or "mainstream" façade. Hold preachers accountable for the content of their sermons, and make sure that what they are promoting in Arabic aligns with their public statements in English.
Subject the history of early Islam -- the conquests of Persia, the Byzantine Empire, the Middle East, North Africa, Greece, Spain and most of Eastern Europe -- to the same academic rigors to which Western history has been subjected.
Use the press and social media to expose young Muslims to facts other than those they are fed in mosques and the textbooks of their native countries, including the humanistic values of the West, such as freedom of speech and of the press; equal justice under the law -- especially due process and the presumption of innocence; property rights; separation of religion and state; an independent judiciary; an independent educational system, and freedom of religion and from religion -- for a start.
Those who preach hate simply build on ahistorical, uncontested narratives to spread the messages that inspired the Manchester, London, Paris, Brussels and Berlin terrorists and that groom the terrorists of tomorrow. When will correcting the record and addressing the root causes please start?