In the aftermath of the attacks on September 11, 2001, and subsequent terrorist attacks elsewhere around the world, a key counterterrorism concern is the possible radicalization of Muslims living in the United States. Yet, the record over the past eight years contains relatively few examples of Muslim-Americans that have radicalized and turned toward violent extremism. This project seeks to explain this encouraging result by identifying characteristics and practices in the Muslim-American community that are preventing radicalization and violence.
This objective was pursued through interviews of over 120 Muslims located in four different Muslim-American communities across the country (Buffalo, Houston, Seattle, and Raleigh-Durham), a comprehensive review of studies and literature on Muslim-American communities, a review of websites and publications of Muslim-American organizations, and a compilation of data on prosecutions of Muslim-Americans on violent terrorism-related offenses.
A review of these materials has led to recommendations on how the positive anti-terrorism lessons of Muslim-American communities can be reinforced.
