Thursday, October 2, 2008

Islamist recruitment and radicalization

The European Commission has just released a study carried out by King's College London on Islamist recruitment and mobilization in Europe. (Thanks to Rachel.) Based on extensive field work in the UK, France and Spain, it concludes that recruitment efforts have been driven underground; that 'radical imams' play less of a role than 'activists'; that the internet is very important in the process; and that despite a more difficult environment, recruitment appears to be continuing unabated.

One recommendation caught my eye: "Governments need to tackle the problem posed by gateway organizations, and to be clear and consistent in doing so." By 'gateway organizations', they mean 'non-violent' Islamist groups like Hizb-ut-Tahrir that act as a conveyor belt for potential terrorist recruits. That's true, but I predict governments will have to a step beyond that, and 'tackle the problem' - whatever that means - of the entire network of organizations related to the Muslim Brotherhood.

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