The United States faces radical Islamic terrorism as a persistent threat that adheres to religious fundamentalism. In the past, the U.S primarily focused on the externally operated militant group, the al-Qaeda’s terrorist operations in other parts of the world. However, after the 9/11 attacks the U.S government and law enforcement authorities shifted concern to the national security efforts towards Islamic extremism within the country. The specialty on the Islam religion as one of the aspects that define former suspects and terrorist is based upon ambiguous definition of Jihad. Radicals weigh in heavily on the importance of theological and political as a way to sway new recruits into believing that terrorist acts are a spiritual duty (Dogan, 2015). Due to the sensitivity of religious profiling, there is need to address the polarized perceptions of radical Islamic terrorism.
The threat of Radicalization
Combatting Islamist radicalization is a challenge because of the wave of Americans joining radical groups where they plan, enable, and strategize on spreading extremist influence in the West. Such people do not fall in the typical profiling because they have unique instigators and experiences that lead to violence. Former terrorists were mostly Arab born, conversed in Arab, and were members of Islamist states. The new emerging terrorist is American-born or naturalized citizen that may show conventional signs of pursuing the American dream Propagated extremist communication may influence an individual to act in a violent manner that is not link to the main militant groups. As a new strategy, terrorists prefer recruiting citizens that understand the working system of the United States society and cannot be suspected thereby carrying out massive destruction that is abrupt, unpredictable, and has a profound effect (Terman, 2017). Law enforcement agencies are therefore crippled because they cannot easily disrupt plans or detect terrorist related activities.
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The freedom of religion in the U.S allows for the expression of religious ideologies while at the same time condemns the discriminations of persons based on their religious affiliation. However, many Muslim Americans are affiliated with Islamic groups that promote monotheistic worship which distinct the rest of the population as one that commits idolatry. As vanguards, such groups have a significant challenge on individuals that are already targeted by islamophobia and therefore find consolation in participation in terrorist acts.
The increase of lone wolf terrorists has advanced past strategies of recruitment and training of jihadists. Many radicalized persons are difficult to detect because they have no ties with known groups such as al Qaeda, ISIS, or Al Shaabab (Dogan, 2015). Whether Muslim or non-Muslim, they often fall prey to triggering messages that are available for anyone seeking information about the Islam religion. Through the use of well-articulated English to broaden the spectrum of receivership, the terrorist organizations often justify terrorism to listeners on a global scale. Such strategies work to prompt any one to act independently and with the ownership of guns remaining a debate, they could easily injure American citizens.
Furthermore, public institutions such as mosques and prisons work to further radicalize people because there is lack of scrutiny on the dissemination of radicalized ideologies that are often instigated by religious volunteers or imams (Wiktorowicz & Kaltenthaler, 2016). Some mosques such as the North American Islamic Trust spread fundamentalist ideas through obligatory advice regarding abiding to the Sharia. Religious freedom restricts authorities from monitoring such activities. Prisons are also grounds for spread of extremist ideologies. With limited statistics on the religion of inmates, security agencies cannot track the spread of extremism.
As part of technological advancement, the internet is the most significant facilitator towards spreading Islamic terrorism. Accelerating messages that are uncensored reach an unaccountable number of users that consume such information and may or may not develop curiosity in the justification of terrorism activity. The anonymity of cyberspace interactions and encryption of conversation exchanges increase the likelihood of the web platform in escalating the threat to the American population. Many former Americans that were caught planning or after committing terrorism acts have all shared a past of alienation and disgruntled by the society. The websites offer a chance for them to share an outlet for their frustration with the American way of life and are given a chance to make a significant heroic impact that is justified by religious ideals.
Recommendation
The proper response to radical Islamic terrorism is the open communication lines between the citizens and law enforcement agencies (Terman, 2017) Americans should report any suspicious activity that poses a threat to the security of a person. However insignificant these efforts may seem, a sudden attack always ends up in blaming the lack of reports of suspicious persons or activities. Witnesses often claim that they saw the person carrying some suspicious items or they looked eager or in hurry. Such small cues act to conclude to the revelation of plans that can save a life.
Americans can also counter the terrorist ideologies spread by sharing facts on distorted views and challenge the basis for violence. In particular, how is killing innocent people that have not wronged you a solution towards spreading a peaceful religion? American ideals should be used to reduce the rates at which extremists succeed spreading convincing propaganda. Internet users should also challenge the narrow minded approach of focusing on un-contextualized literal meanings from the Quran, for instance, the lack of discussion in Radical Jihad.
References
Dogan, R. (2015). Global Terrorism and Islamic Radicalization: Analysis from Fethullah Gülen’s perspective. International Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Society , 6(1), 71–85. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=113369083&site=ehost-live
Terman, R. (2017). Islamophobia and media portrayals of Muslim women: A computational text analysis of US news coverage. International Studies Quarterly , 61(3), 489–502. https://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqx051
Wiktorowicz, Q., & Kaltenthaler, K. (2016). The rationality of radical Islam. Political Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell), 131(2), 421–448. https://doi.org/10.1002/polq.12480
