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Date: November 22, 2024 Fri
Time: 11:54 am
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Results for islamophobia
8 results foundAuthor: Githens-Mazer, Jonathan Title: Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: A London Case Study Summary: The perils of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime threaten to undermine basic human rights, fundamental aspects of citizenship and co-existing partnerships for Muslims and non-Muslims alike in contemporary Europe. Routine portrayals of Islam as a religion of hatred, violence and inherent intolerance have become key planks for the emergence of extremist nationalist, anti-immigration politics in Europe - planks which seek to exploit populist fears and which have the potential to lead to Muslim disempowerment in Europe. Sections of the media have created a situation where the one serves to heighten the unfounded claims and anxieties of the other - such that politicians from Austria to the Britain, and the Netherlands to Spain, feel comfortable in using terms like "Tsunamis of Muslim immigration", and accuse Islam of being a fundamental threat to a "European way of life". While in many cases, the traction of this populist approach reflects an ignorance of Islamic faith, practice and belief, there are many think-tanks which are currently engaged in promoting erroneous depictions of Islam and Muslim political beliefs through unsubstantiated and academically baseless studies, and a reliance on techniques such as 'junk-polling'. Prior to researching Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime in London, we worked with Muslim Londoners to research the contested notion of what is widely termed by academics and policy makers as "violent radicalisation" (Githens-Mazer, 2010, Lambert 2010). To a large extent it was that prior research experience that persuaded us to embark on this new project. That is to say, there is an important link between the two areas of work which we should explain at the outset. Since 9/11 Muslim Londoners, no less than Muslims in towns and cities across Europe, have often been unfairly stigmatised as subversive threats to state security and social cohesion, sometimes characterised as a fifth column (Cox and Marks 2006, Gove 2006, Mayer and Frampton 2009). We do not suggest that this stigmatisation did not exist before 9/11, still less do we argue that it revolves solely around the issues of security and social cohesion, but we do claim that the response to 9/11 - 'the war on terror' - and much of the rhetoric that has surrounded it has played a significant part in increasing the public perception of European Muslims as potential enemies rather than potential partners and neighbours. From our perspectives and experience, both academic and practitioner, the rise of Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime is morally abhorrent and needs to be countered. Muslim communities in the UK and Europe have important contributions to make to the local communities and broader societies in which they live. Yet to date, these communities, and Islam more broadly, are often the subject of misunderstanding and vilification. Whereas Islamic legal and political traditions have, at key points, inspired and informed Western political and intellectual traditions, and Muslims in Europe have historically made, and especially today continue to make, important contributions at every level of British and European society, portrayals of their religion and identity still often seem to focus on terrorism, intolerance, and issues such as the veil. While such portrayals are unjust and empirically untrue, they still appear to academically, politically and popularly inform perceptions of Islam in Britain and Europe. This insidious phenomenon runs the very real risk of driving deep divisions through European societies, and of alienating friends, neighbours and political partners. Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: a London case study represents an initial and introductory first report for the newly formed European Muslim Research Centre (EMRC). Initial and introductory because this is a long-term ongoing project, and what follows here is only the tip of the iceberg. We are particularly pleased to be presenting the report at the London Muslim Centre (LMC) in Whitechapel on 28 January 2010. In important respects both the venue and location are symbolic. At the end of the nineteenth century and again in the twentieth century Whitechapel has been at the hub of resistance to anti-Semitic and anti-racist violence (Catterral, 1994; Malek 2006). Most famously in the 1930s in opposition to Oswald Mosley's fascist Blackshirts (Dorril, 2007), and again in the 1970s and 1980s in opposition to the National Front (NF), Londoners united in Whitechapel to defeat the sectarian street violence that invariably accompanies fascist, neo-Nazi politics (Hann and Tilsey 2003). After analysing our research findings we anticipate that Londoners will once again need to unite in Whitechapel against a violent, sectarian threat during the next decade. Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim Hate Crime: a London case study is therefore our first contribution to what we anticipate will again be a successful long-term grass roots campaign against the politics of hate. The extremist nationalist politics that once targeted Jews and Asians in East London is now unambiguously aimed at Muslims (BNP 2006, 2009). Suffice to say Whitechapel is now home to many poor Muslim families in the way that it once was home to poor Jewish families. LMC is at the hub of numerous good citizenship initiatives in Whitechapel and surrounding areas and serves local Muslims and other local citizens well (Jameson 2009, Green and Silver 2009). The LMC itself binds together different sections of London Muslim communities, and stands as a key site of social, cultural and political organisation - an Islamically inspired form of political organisation which is occasionally portrayed as a threat by key commentators and policy makers. Not only does our research challenge this kind of analysis of Islamically inspired political organisation, it suggests that Muslim Londoners and their neighbours and allies will need to overcome mainstream as well as extremist bigotry before they can claim any kind of success. This is why we have set aside the next ten years to monitor and facilitate progress. For us, the method to counter Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hate crime is clear: education. By creating an unimpeachable body of academic work, and by creating mechanisms to empower Muslim communities to put forward their positions – now and in the future, we hope to help dispel the ignorance that has thus far fuelled the populist appeal of Islamophobia and the hate crimes it spawns, and challenge those individuals and organisations that seek to pursue agendas that demonise and alienate European Muslims. At its most basic, the European Muslim Research Centre (EMRC) will seek to engage these kinds of falsehoods, and seek to explore, teach and examine the nuances of Muslim contributions in the European context. As an interdisciplinary centre, such a focus will mean contributing to debates about the role of Muslims and Islam from the perspectives of politics, history, law, business studies/economics, sociology, anthropology, literature, English, cultural studies, theology and the sciences. In this way, we hope to take academically sound research and introduce it as a corrective to the current debates over the role of Muslims in contemporary European society. Finally, we have contributed in recent years to what has become a dense and over-populated field of study: radicalisation, counterradicalisation and de-radicalisation. Nearly 100% of this crossdisciplinary study is focused on Muslims and it has the tendency, both intentionally and unwittingly, to problematise Muslims and their faith. It is our hope that this report will encourage scholars to return to a wider view of the problem of political violence - one in which the 'radicalisation' of convicted members of a violent extremist nationalist milieu such as ex-British soldier Terence Gavan receive as much detailed scholarly attention as convicted British Muslims who lacked Gavan's sophisticated bomb making skills. Details: Exeter, UK: University of Exeter, European Muslim Research Centre, 2010. 61p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 14, 2018 at: https://lemosandcrane.co.uk/resources/Islamophobia_and_Anti-Muslim_Hate_Crime.pdf Year: 2010 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://lemosandcrane.co.uk/resources/Islamophobia_and_Anti-Muslim_Hate_Crime.pdf Shelf Number: 117759 Keywords: Bias-Motivated CrimesHate CrimesHuman Rights AbusesIslamophobiaMuslimsRadicalization |
Author: Ali, Wajahat Title: Fear, Inc.: The Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America Summary: On July 22, a man planted a bomb in an Oslo government building that killed eight people. A few hours after the explosion, he shot and killed 68 people, mostly teenagers, at a Labor Party youth camp on Norway’s Utoya Island. By midday, pundits were speculating as to who had perpetrated the greatest massacre in Norwegian history since World War II. Numerous mainstream media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic, speculated about an Al Qaeda connection and a “jihadist” motivation behind the attacks. But by the next morning it was clear that the attacker was a 32-year-old, white, blond-haired and blue-eyed Norwegian named Anders Breivik. He was not a Muslim, but rather a self-described Christian conservative. According to his attorney, Breivik claimed responsibility for his self-described “gruesome but necessary” actions. On July 26, Breivik told the court that violence was “necessary” to save Europe from Marxism and “Muslimization.” In his 1,500-page manifesto, which meticulously details his attack methods and aims to inspire others to extremist violence, Breivik vows “brutal and breathtaking operations which will result in casualties” to fight the alleged “ongoing Islamic Colonization of Europe.” Breivik’s manifesto contains numerous footnotes and in-text citations to American bloggers and pundits, quoting them as experts on Islam’s “war against the West.” This small group of anti-Muslim organizations and individuals in our nation is obscure to most Americans but wields great influence in shaping the national and international political debate. Their names are heralded within communities that are actively organizing against Islam and targeting Muslims in the United States. Breivik, for example, cited Robert Spencer, one of the anti-Muslim misinformation scholars we profile in this report, and his blog, Jihad Watch, 162 times in his manifesto. Spencer’s website, which “tracks the attempts of radical Islam to subvert Western culture,” boasts another member of this Islamophobia network in America, David Horowitz, on his Freedom Center website. Pamela Geller, Spencer’s frequent collaborator, and her blog, Atlas Shrugs, was mentioned 12 times. Geller and Spencer co-founded the organization Stop Islamization of America, a group whose actions and rhetoric the Anti-Defamation League concluded “promotes a conspiratorial anti-Muslim agenda under the guise of fighting radical Islam. The group seeks to rouse public fears by consistently vilifying the Islamic faith and asserting the existence of an Islamic conspiracy to destroy “American values.” Based on Breivik’s sheer number of citations and references to the writings of these individuals, it is clear that he read and relied on the hateful, anti-Muslim ideology of a number of men and women detailed in this report—a select handful of scholars and activists who work together to create and promote misinformation about Muslims. While these bloggers and pundits were not responsible for Breivik’s deadly attacks, their writings on Islam and multiculturalism appear to have helped create a world view, held by this lone Norwegian gunman, that sees Islam as at war with the West and the West needing to be defended. According to former CIA officer and terrorism consultant Marc Sageman, just as religious extremism “is the infrastructure from which Al Qaeda emerged,” the writings of these anti-Muslim misinformation experts are “the infrastructure from which Breivik emerged.” Sageman adds that their rhetoric “is not cost-free.” These pundits and bloggers, however, are not the only members of the Islamophobia infrastructure. Breivik’s manifesto also cites think tanks, such as the Center for Security Policy, the Middle East Forum, and the Investigative Project on Terrorism — three other organizations we profile in this report. Together, this core group of deeply intertwined individuals and organizations manufacture and exaggerate threats of “creeping Sharia,” Islamic domination of the West, and purported obligatory calls to violence against all non-Muslims by the Koran. This network of hate is not a new presence in the United States. Indeed, its ability to organize, coordinate, and disseminate its ideology through grassroots organizations increased dramatically over the past 10 years. Furthermore, its ability to influence politicians’ talking points and wedge issues for the upcoming 2012 elections has mainstreamed what was once considered fringe, extremist rhetoric. Details: Washington, DC: Center for American Progress, 2011. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 6, 2011 at: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/08/pdf/islamophobia.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United States URL: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/08/pdf/islamophobia.pdf Shelf Number: 122652 Keywords: Extremist GroupsHate Crime (U.S.)Islamophobia |
Author: Hassan, Riaz Title: Islamophobia, social distance and fear of terrorism in Australia: A preliminary report Summary: Immigration and the accompanying ethnic, religious and cultural heterogeneity are the building blocks of modern Australian society. Australia's democratic political system has provided the vital and enduring framework for its development as a prosperous, politically inclusive and socially cohesive society which leads the world on many aspects of social development. An important feature of Australia's political culture is its reliance on objective and reliable information about its social structures in order to frame and develop appropriate public policies for the economic and social advancement of its people. In this regard public institutions such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australian universities and the media play a vital and critical role. Australia's democratic system is committed to freedom of membership of religious, ethnic and cultural groups. For many groups, ethnic, cultural and religious group memberships have also been central to the experience of disadvantage in Australia as demonstrated in the case of Indigenous Australians. This report deals with the experience of Australian Muslims. The contact between Muslim fishermen from Indonesia's Sulawesi region and Indigenous Australians dates back to the early eighteenth century but the arrival of Muslims in large numbers is a recent phenomenon. In the past two decades the Muslim population has increased significantly due to immigration and natural increase. According to the 2011 Australian Census there were 476,290 Muslims in Australia of whom about 40 per cent were born in Australia and the rest came from 183 countries, making them one of most ethnically and nationally heterogeneous religious communities. With 2.2 per cent of the Australian population, Islam is now the third largest religion in Australia. According to recent Pew Research Centre demographic projections, by 2050 the number of Australian Muslims will increase to 1.4 million or 5 per cent of the population, making Islam the second largest religion. A number of studies have noted that migrant status and membership of minority religious and cultural groups is central to understanding the experiences of disadvantage in Australia. Muslims are a particularly striking example of how a growing cultural subpopulation experience disadvantage. As noted in a previous report of the International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding (2015),Australian Muslims are educationally high achievers, but underemployed and underpaid (Australian Muslims: A Demographic, Social and Economic Profile of Muslims in Australia 2015). This is a preliminary report on the findings of a survey of the perceptions of key religious and cultural groups, with a special focus on Muslims, by a representative sample of 1000 Australian adults. It focuses on their perceptions of Muslims and other religious and ethnic groups with special reference to Islamophobia, social distance and terrorism and how these vary by key demographics, respondent's direct experience with the other groups and other variables. A more detailed report of the findings will follow. This report offers a new metric of social distance that can be applied to key religious and ethnic groups. In relation to Australian Muslims it explores the pattern of Islamophobia and worries about terrorism. This study offers a methodological framework for future larger studies of religious and ethnic relations in Australia and their impact in terms of social and economic disadvantage for subpopulations. Details: Adelaide: International Centre for Muslim and non-Muslim Understanding, University of South Australia, 2015. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 27, 2016 at: http://www.unisa.edu.au/Global/EASS/MnM/Publications/Islamophobia_report.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Australia URL: http://www.unisa.edu.au/Global/EASS/MnM/Publications/Islamophobia_report.pdf Shelf Number: 137664 Keywords: Ethnic GroupsFear of CrimeImmigrantsIslamophobiaMuslimsReligionTerrorism |
Author: Maslaha Title: Young Muslims on Trial: A scoping study on the impact of Islamophobia on criminal justice decision-making Summary: The report was funded by Barrow Cadbury Trust as part of the work of its Transition to Adulthood (T2A) programme and the Young Review. The Young Review, published in December 2014, identified an over-representation and a disparity in both treatment and outcome for young African, Caribbean, mixed origin and Muslim men at every stage of the criminal justice process. The report described the treatment of Muslim prisoners as being the result of "at best a lack of cultural competence and at worst prejudice and racist stereotyping." In support of recommendations from The Young Review that a range of practical and powerful tools be developed for future providers to intervene early and reverse this disproportionality, Barrow Cadbury commissioned Maslaha to undergo a scoping exercise to ascertain how criminal justice professionals can be more effective in responding to offending by young Muslim men who come into contact with the criminal justice system (CJS.) Although there has been positive change in policy and practice in recent years in relation to young adults, which includes 'lack of maturity' being considered a mitigating factor in prosecution and sentencing decisions, the growing disproportionality of young BAME men in the system, has raised the question of whether other factors might need to be taken into account. During the course of this scoping exercise we interviewed individuals at a range of bodies and agencies including representatives and employees of: - Probation services - The Law Society - Criminologists - Regional police forces - Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) - Voluntary sector organisations and projects working with young black and/or Muslim men in the CJS. Discussion groups in London and Leicester with young Muslims who have experience of the criminal justice system. This report summarises themes emerging in the interviews, followed by a series of recommendations proposing interventions which we believe could lead to criminal justice professionals having a broader understanding of a young Muslim's life. This could have the potential to deliver more appropriate strategies for responding to offending by young Muslims, in the same way that considering maturity as a mitigating factor improves effectiveness in relation to young adults generally. Details: London: Maslaha, 2016. 19p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 13, 2016 at: http://www.maslaha.org/sites/default/files/images/Young_Muslims_on_Trial%20%281%29_0.pdf Year: 2016 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.maslaha.org/sites/default/files/images/Young_Muslims_on_Trial%20%281%29_0.pdf Shelf Number: 139009 Keywords: IslamophobiaMuslimsPrejudiceRacismYouthful Offenders |
Author: Council on American Islamic Relations Title: Civil Rights Report 2017: The Empowerment of Hate Summary: The Council on American-Islamic Relations' Civil Rights Report 2017: The Empowerment of Hate assembles a wealth of data to offer a larger and more comprehensive reflection of the civil rights implications of Islamophobic bias in the United States. Islamophobic bias continues its trend toward increasing violence. In 2016, CAIR recorded a 57 percent increase in anti-Muslim bias incidents over 2015. This was accompanied by a 44 percent increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes in the same period. From 2014 to 2016, anti-Muslim bias incidents jumped 65 percent. In that two-year period, CAIR finds that hate crimes targeting Muslims surged 584 percent. Details: Washington, DC: The Council, 2017. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 13, 2017 at: http://islamophobia.org/images/2017CivilRightsReport/2017-Empowerment-of-Fear-Final.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United States URL: http://islamophobia.org/images/2017CivilRightsReport/2017-Empowerment-of-Fear-Final.pdf Shelf Number: 145470 Keywords: Civil Rights Abuses Hate Crimes IslamophobiaMuslims |
Author: Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Home Affairs Committee Title: Hate Crime: Abuse, hate and extremism online Summary: Hate crime 1. Hate crime is defined as any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a personal characteristic. Hate crime can be motivated by disability, gender identity, race, religion or faith and sexual orientation. The inquiry 2. We announced this inquiry into hate crime and its violent consequences in early July 2016. Our decision to undertake the inquiry followed the murder of Jo Cox MP in June in the lead-up to the EU referendum. There was also evidence of an increase in the number of attacks on people from ethnic minorities and of non-British nationality, including on their community centres and places of worship, immediately following the referendum. In addition, our inquiry into antisemitism was already under way, which was raising serious questions about how to address wider issues around the actions of those holding extremist or fixated views. It therefore seemed particularly timely and necessary to launch this inquiry. 3. We have received a large volume of written evidence. We have taken oral evidence on a wide range of issues including Islamophobia, misogyny, far-right extremism, the role of social media in hate crime and the particular issues faced by Members of Parliament in relation to hate crime and its violent manifestations. Our witnesses have included academics, community organisations, social media companies, police forces and their representative organisations, the principal Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, and Ministers. We are grateful to everyone who has contributed to the inquiry. 4. The announcement by the Prime Minister on 18 April that she would seek a General Election on 8 June means that we have not had time to consider our conclusions on the wide range of issues raised during the inquiry. We hope that the Home Affairs Select Committee in the next Parliament is able to consider this evidence further and propose wider recommendations on tackling hate crime and some of the central issues that emerged in our hearings, including far-right extremism and islamophobia. We are publishing this short report in the meantime to address one aspect of our inquiry - the role of social media companies in addressing hate crime and illegal content online - on which we have taken considerable evidence and where we want our conclusions to inform the early decisions of the next Government, as well as the immediate work of social media companies. 5. We also wished to record our deep sadness about the tragic death of Jo Cox MP and we hope that in the next Parliament the Home Affairs Committee will also look further at the risks from hate, abuse and extremism in public life. Details: London: House of Commons, 2017. 34p. Source: Internet Resource: Fourteenth Report of Session 2016-17: Accessed May 16, 2017 at: https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmhaff/609/609.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmhaff/609/609.pdf Shelf Number: 145484 Keywords: ExtremismExtremist GroupsFar-Right ExtremismHate CrimesIslamophobiaOnline VictimizationSocial Media |
Author: Fox, Emma Title: Profiting from Prejudice: How Mend's 'IAM' Campaign Legitimised Extremism Summary: An initiative branded as a campaign to fight Islamophobia in fact provided a platform for extremism across the public and charity sectors, according to a new report from the Henry Jackson Society. The report says that Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) exploited the legitimate concerns of people who want to fight hatred and discrimination against Muslims to push an alarmist and divisive 'us vs. them' narrative - including literature which warned that the UK was heading towards the ethnic genocide of Muslims. MEND also offered 'training' for students and encouraged them to raise money for the organisation. Profiting from Prejudice: How MEND's 'IAM' Campaign Legitimised Extremism catalogues the events which took place in November 2017 under the banner of Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM), run by MEND. It finds that the campaign gave a platform to extremism-linked individuals, with some events hosting people with a high-profile extremist history - including incitement to violence, sympathy with convicted terrorists and support for corporal punishment against Jews, homosexuals, minority Muslim sects and 'disbelievers'. Despite the fact that the UK's national Counter-Extremism Strategy requires local authorities to ensure that "publicly-owned venues and resources do not provide a platform for extremists and are not used to disseminate extremist views", the report finds that the majority of IAM events took place on public property - from schools to university campuses - without challenge. Some of the schools involved, including two in Waltham Forest, have a history of hosting high-profile extremist speakers. IAM events also played host to various parliamentarians, academics and activists, lending the initiative - and MEND - added legitimacy. A report from the Henry Jackson Society published in 2017 found that MEND were "Islamists masquerading as civil libertarians" - but engagement with the organisation by figures such as Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn continues to enable MEND's prominence on mainstream platforms. The report contains several recommendations to reduce the impact of non-violent extremist groups in the public and civil society sectors, including: Events hosted at public institutions featuring a speaker linked to extremism should be recorded - and panels should always be balanced, with extremist-linked views challenged by other speakers. Universities' risk mitigation procedures, required under Prevent, should be more transparent in order to highlight why extremist groups continue to appear unchallenged on campus. A guidance framework should be drawn up for politicians, the police and civil society to raise awareness of how extremist groups operate - and ensure a unified stance against those who threaten social cohesion. Details: London: Henry Jackson Society, 2018. 67p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 27, 2017 at: http://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/HJS-Profiting-from-Prejudice-Report.pdf Year: 2018 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/HJS-Profiting-from-Prejudice-Report.pdf Shelf Number: 149592 Keywords: ExtremismExtremists GroupsHate CrimesIslamophobiaMuslimsPrejudice |
Author: Wilson, Tom Title: Mend: "Islamists Masquerading as Civil Libertarians" Summary: Compiling years' worth of evidence, the report, Mend: "Islamists Masquerading As Civil Libertarians", demonstrates how Mend meets the government's own definition of extremism, even while local authorities, police, teachers and MPs have been working with this organisation. Our findings include: How Mend meets the government's own definition of extremism, even while local authorities, police, teachers and MPs have been working with this organisation. It reveals how Mend has regularly hosted illiberal, intolerant and extremist Islamist speakers, while also pushing a message that risks being inflammatory and making British Muslims feel further alienated from wider society. Mend and key figures in the organisation have also attacked moderate Muslim groups. Mend has openly sought to undermine counter-terrorism legislation and counter-extremism efforts, in addition to having its own links to extremists. Despite this, the group received public funding from Tower Hamlets council to review part of the borough's counter-radicalisation Prevent programme. Several of the organisation's employees and volunteers, including senior figures, have publicly expressed a range of disturbing views on terrorism and anti-Semitism. This has included expressing support for terrorists overseas, dismissing recent terror attacks in the UK, promoting anti-Semitic conspiracies and even calling on British Mosques to hold prayers for "the Mujahedeen". Details: London: Henry Jackson Society, 2017. 87p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 28, 2018 at: http://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/HJS-Mend-Report-2.pdf Year: 2017 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://henryjacksonsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/HJS-Mend-Report-2.pdf Shelf Number: 149596 Keywords: ExtremistsIslam IslamophobiaRadicalizationTerrorists |