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Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 9:10 pm
Time: 9:10 pm
Results for religious extremism
3 results foundAuthor: Spalek, Basia Title: Preventing Religio-Political Extremism Amongst Muslim Youth: a study exploring police-community partnership Summary: Counter-terrorism policing in the UK is undergoing a steep learning curve due to the introduction of overt community policing models. As a result, efforts need to be made to examine the extent to which policing efforts are community focussed and/or community-targeted. Accountability towards communities is increasingly a feature or indeed a challenge for policing: community focused, problem-oriented policing requires police to be responsive to citizens‟ demands, and as such, counter-terrorism police officers working with and within communities must also be accountable to them. Accountability is not only about being accessible and visible to communities, it is also about police officers being open about the fact they are counter-terrorism officers. A key aspect of this accountability is information-sharing, and currently police officers are grappling with what information to release to communities regarding terrorism and counter-terrorism related issues, how to go about sharing this and to whom this should be made available. They are attempting to change the secretive culture of traditional counter-terrorism policing to see how this can be made more visible and open. Overt counter-terrorism policing models can be used to gain valuable information from communities that may have, traditionally, been obtained through covert policing strategies. This highlights the real value of an open approach by police and highlights the importance of considering the balance and links between overt and covert approaches. Police-community partnership Our study highlights the importance of relationship building between police officers and community members. It is important to stress that this study suggests that relationship-building in a counter-terrorism context presents particular challenges, and therefore requires added sensitivity. Information-sharing is seen as a key way of building trust. In areas deemed at „high risk‟ of violent extremism – by the authorities or communities - it is likely that both overt and covert policing is taking place. This creates a tension and challenge for community members who may be engaging with overt police officers whilst also believing that they are the subject of covert observation and other operations. Given the sensitivities around counter-terrorism, it may be that police officers working overtly should be specially selected for their skills in engaging with communities. Additionally, police officers may need to consider that counter-terrorism is distinct from other areas of policing due to the historical legacy and wider socio-political context. Community members can play a crucial role in helping to risk-assess those individuals who have come to the attention of the police or other agencies for a perceived vulnerability to violent extremism, for there may be aspects to individuals‟ lives that only community members can witness, understand and evaluate. It is crucial that partnership is pursued as a goal in relation to intelligence/information sharing between communities and police and other agencies. There may be a danger that statutory agencies enter into relationships and agreements with community members that may prioritise the risk and other needs of those agencies rather than the risks and the needs of community members themselves. The need to acknowledge and address the risks to communities as well as state agencies highlights the fundamental connection between state and community securities. This study found multiple layers to risk. One key issue relates to the identification of risk: who decides whether a set of vulnerabilities constitutes risk of violent extremism and how this is managed. In a situation where risk is being assessed by different agencies, it is important to consider whose voice carries most weight and whether there is a danger that community voices are marginalised. Details: Birmingham, UK: University of Birmingham, Religion & Society, 2011. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 3, 2012 at: http://www.religionandsociety.org.uk/uploads/docs/2011_04/1302685819_preventing-religio-political-extremism-spalek-april2011.pdf Year: 2011 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.religionandsociety.org.uk/uploads/docs/2011_04/1302685819_preventing-religio-political-extremism-spalek-april2011.pdf Shelf Number: 127111 Keywords: Counter-terrorism (U.K.)Extremist GroupsHate CrimesMuslimsPolice-Community RelationsProblem-Oriented PolicingReligious Extremism |
Author: Schmid, Alex P. Title: Violent and Non-Violent Extremism: Two Sides of the Same Coin? Summary: In this Research Paper, ICCT Visiting Research Fellow Dr. Alex P. Schmid seeks to clarify some conceptual issues that tend to obscure the debate about how best to counter violent extremism. The main focus of this Research Paper is on obtaining a clearer understanding of what "Islamist extremism" entails in the context of the ongoing debate on allegedly "acceptable" non-violent extremists and "unacceptable" violent extremists. The author discusses a number of conceptualisations of religious extremism in the context of liberal democracies and also distinguishes, inter alia, between merely "not (yet) violent" militancy and principled non-violent political activism in the Gandhian tradition. The author argues that the distinction between "non-violent extremism" and "violent extremism" is not a valid one. The paper provides a set of twenty indicators of extremism that can be used as an instrument for monitoring extremist statements and actions, with an eye to challenging and countering such non-democratic manifestations. Details: The Hague: International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, 2014. 31p. Source: Internet Resource: ICCT Research Paper, 2014: Accessed September 2, 2014 at: http://www.icct.nl/download/file/ICCT-Schmid-Violent-Non-Violent-Extremism-May-2014.pdf Year: 2014 Country: International URL: http://www.icct.nl/download/file/ICCT-Schmid-Violent-Non-Violent-Extremism-May-2014.pdf Shelf Number: 133388 Keywords: Counter-TerrorismExtremist GroupsRadical GroupsReligious ExtremismViolent Extremism |
Author: Schmid, Alex P. Title: Challenging the Narrative of the "Islamic State" Summary: ISIS has brought terrorist propaganda to a new level, targeting its main audiences in nearly two dozen languages with up to 90,000 tweets every day. Governments have generally been at a loss as how to counter the ISIS narrative with persuasive counter-arguments to reduce its attraction for rebellious Muslim youths in Western diasporas and Muslim-majority countries. At the core of ISIS' narrative are themes familiar to most Muslims. ISIS has appropriated and instrumentalised them for its main purpose: to expand the Caliphate proclaimed in mid-2014. In this Research Paper, Dr. Alex Schmid identifies a dozen narrative themes of ISIS and discusses them from theological, historical and other angles in an attempt to show vulnerabilities and point the way towards developing convincing counter-arguments. While the potential of this approach is demonstrated, Dr. Schmid argues that a concerted and systematic approach, based on synergetic, inter-disciplinary teamwork, is required to develop successful counter-narratives and that these need to be tested on audiences with a cultural affinity to ISIS main target groups before being utilised by credible Muslim voices who wish to engage terrorist ideologues and their potential followers with rational and faith-based arguments. The Research Paper concludes with the observation that developing counter-narratives, while necessary, is not enough. It is even more necessary to develop credible alternative narratives - narratives that can give a new sense of purpose, meaning and hope to those who feel that they have no future in their and our societies. Details: The Hague: International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, 2015. 21p. Source: Internet Resource: ICCT Research Paper: Accessed March 10, 2016 at: http://icct.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ICCT-Schmid-Challenging-the-Narrative-of-the-Islamic-State-June2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: http://icct.nl/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ICCT-Schmid-Challenging-the-Narrative-of-the-Islamic-State-June2015.pdf Shelf Number: 138159 Keywords: Counter-Terrorism Extremist Groups Islamic StateOnline CommunicationsRadical Groups Religious ExtremismSocial MediaViolent Extremism |