For this week, I looked at an
article in the New York Times that focused on the similarities between how
individuals join different extremist groups such as ISIS or Neo-Nazi
organization. The article examined these similarities by looking at the
personal stories of two individuals who had joined two extremist organizations
with arguably vastly different ideologies. Ibrahim Ahmad, one of the two men
the articles looks at, grew up in a non-religious family in South London but ended
up involved in a Muslim extremist organization as a way of dealing with racist
violence from white Europeans. The other
individual, Robert Orell, was a Swedish national who joined a neo-Nazi
organization due to a combination of family problems and conflicts with young
immigrants as a child. Although Ibrahim Ahmad was motivated by religious
ideology and Robert Orell was motived by race, both individuals were strongly
influenced by negative experiences with different groups at a young age.
The article effectively argues that
specific ideology is not as critical as the actual process of radicalization –
personal troubles which are externalized on to some group of “others” which
then become the target of hate and violence – and that addressing the process
of radicalization is more effective than attempting to argue against each
specific ideology. In this regard, the article examines an outreach group
called Exit which is now run by Robert Orell that attempts to connect people
who are affiliated with radical organizations with individuals who have left
extremist groups in an attempt to connect them with individuals who understand
and can counsel them without passing judgment.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/world/europe/two-outcomes-similar-paths-radical-muslim-and-neo-nazi.html
"Same Anger, Different Ideologies: Radical Muslims and Neo-Nazis" by Katrin Benhold
3/6/15
9:56am
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