Homegrown Terrorism and Islamic Extremist Discussion Response What do you think the key factors were that inspired Mubin Shaikh toward extremism? This is t

Homegrown Terrorism and Islamic Extremist Discussion Response What do you think the key factors were that inspired Mubin Shaikh toward extremism? This is the first case we have looked at that deals with a homegrown group (terrorist cell). In week 2 you read the Radicalization Puzzle by Hafez and Mullins (2015) who described one of the four key factors (‘pieces of the puzzle’) in their model is networks. What impacts do you see with regard to social networks, group dynamics, and other non-family associations for the Toronto 18?

READINGS

Mubin Shaikh: From Islamic Extremist to Government Informant: https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/01/15/mubin-shaikh-from-islamic-extremist-to-government-informant
Homegrown Terrorism in Canada: Local Patterns, Global Trends:

Instructions: Fully utilize the materials that have been provided to you in order to support your response. Your initial post should be at least 350 words. Please respond to at least two other students. Responses should be a minimum of 150 words and include direct questions. You may challenge, support or supplement another student’s answer using the terms, concepts and theories from the required readings. Also, do not be afraid to respectfully disagree where you feel appropriate; as this should be part of your analysis process at this academic level.

Forum posts are graded on timeliness, relevance, knowledge of the weekly readings, and the quality of original ideas. While proper APA is not required, attribution to sources that informed your posting should be included. Refer to the grading rubric for additional details concerning grading criteria.

STUDENT RESPONSES

Student#1 Dakota

Good afternoon everyone and I hope that you are all healthy and having a great Monday. One of the main factors for Mubin Shaikh’s radicalization was the feeling of needing to become more involved in the Muslim culture. He describes himself as having two identities that are conflicting as he grows up where on one side he was doing things that other western teenagers do such as going out to parties and clubs, but on the other hand he participated in religious ceremonies and schools. This leads him to travelling to Pakistan at the age of nineteen in an attempt to become more involved with his religion after pressure from his family and community to do so. This identity crisis is described as being the second stage in the NYPD’s radicalization process (King & Taylor p.7 2001) This module also describes how that individuals who are going through this second stage would be inevitably exposed to radical interpretations of religion and will seek out like minded individuals, all things that Mubin Shaikh experienced during his travels to become more in touch with his religion and less likely to act in a way that his family and religious friends would deem as unacceptable.

The social networks, interpretations of religious meanings and teaching as well as other factors played a role in the way the Toronto 18 came together and operated. The group used jihadi videos to better create and target individuals who held the same beliefs in regards to western cultures. Group dynamics were created from similar interests that leaned towards more radicalized views and motives until the beliefs of the group became less talking about perceived issues and more about acting to correct those issues through what ever means necessary. As the group moved towards acting on their view points they became more reliant on each other for validation and less reliant on family members, which ultimately led to actions.

Sources

King, M., & Taylor, D. M. (2011). The radicalization of homegrown jihadists: A review of theoretical models and social psychological evidence. Terrorism and political violence, 23(4), 602-622. From https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/doi/full/10.1080/09546553.2011.587064

Student #2 Lauryn

Hello Class,

There’s a lot that can be said about terrorism, It comes from many different backgrounds, nationalities and professions. One could walk around taking a survey and ask the question: What comes to mind when you think terrorist/terrorism? You’d probably get a lot of responses with ISIS, Muslims, 9/11, or Al Qaeda. Terrorism has grown rapidly throughout the 21 century, when looking at terrorism you have to look at the Who, What, When, Where, and Why. When we analysis a terrorist we look at the individuals motivations, organizational strategies, and societal conflicts.

Mubin Shaikh joined the Canadian Army Cadets and moved away, during his time away he had a western experience and by the age of 19 he had an identity crisis. This identity crisis was one of the many factors that would drive him down the path of extremism. One of the other motivational factors was that Shaikh became more religious and it required that he associated with a group called Tablighi Jamaat. Cirincione’s interview with Shaikh touched base on what his day to day life was like, Shaikh had a small circle of individuals that received religious training and would lead him to travel with the group Tablighi Jamaat to explore and experience his home culture in India and Pakistan. Shaikh came across a group of young men and in that time overseas he was moved by the young group. The group had told him ““The way to bring about change in the world is by jihad.” And you know, I thought about it, and they came back to the mosque with us later on that evening. They stayed for a little bit and then they left. But while we were there I was struck by that — by the idea that the way to bring about change is through jihad, violent action.” (Cirincione, 2015) The little time he spent with the group of men influenced him, Shaikh called it the “jihadi bug” (Cirincione, 2015) Once he arrived home he networked with a militant Islamist group of like-minded individuals in his community. Shaikh went through the radicalization process by experiencing certain ideological injuctions, he adopted extreme views and idealizes to bring about change. In Shaikh interview he he told Cirincione ” I went through my de-radicalization phase. It was a full cognitive shift. This wasn’t just mere disengagement from violence. … it was a full cognitive shift, and it was from spending time with a religious scholar who helped me debunk the extremist interpretations of the Quran.” Ciricione, 2015)The process of de-radicalization allows government to combat extremist groups or individuals whom have already committed violence. The psychological reason’s behind why an individual would disengage from terrorism could be because of self doubt, discovery of ones self, or termination.

Lauryn

Source:

Mubin Shaikh: From Islamic Extremist to Government Informant. (n.d.). Retrieved May 26, 2020, from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/01/15/mu…