Understanding American Muslim Converts in the Contexts of Society and Security: Phase 1
Abstract
The proposed project is a ‘large n’ control group study of Muslim converts in the US that seeks to generate new ethnographic and quantitative datasets through fieldwork and surveys. These new datasets will facilitate the development of a testable theory and model that explains and to some degree predicts Muslim convert radicalization. The approach provides an empirical basis for the development of effective responses to the threat of convert radicalization. ? The project will analyze the data using innovative qualitative and quantitative analytical methods (including content and social network analysis) to decipher the patterns of conversion and radicalization among Muslims converts. A scientific control group approach supports the development of an empirically based, interdisciplinary theoretical framework entitled the Conversion-Radicalization Continuum (CRC). The CRC is based on the integration of theories of religious conversion and the Conceptual Framework for Addressing Psychological Process in the Development of a Terrorist devised by Taylor and Horgan (2006). ? The CRC captures and measures the factors that influence Islamic conversions through the collection of detailed ethnographies and scaling of this data into a conversion process model. It includes a large sample of Muslim converts who have not engaged in radical, militant or extremists activities following their conversion, and a smaller sample of Muslim converts who have engaged in such activities post-conversion (includes interviews with about 50 US converts convicted on terrorism charges serving time in Federal prisons). This approach enables a better understanding of the links between Islamic conversion and radicalization by systematically isolating the factors of conversion that subsequently evolve as levers of radicalization. It also supports a sound analytical and policy approach by government for addressing convert involvement as Foreign Fighters overseas and domestically in ‘homegrown’ terrorism.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jun 03, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141612019
Entities
People
- John Horgan
Organizations
- Georgia State University
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy