Radical Islam Rising: Muslim Extremism in the West [Paperback]

Quintan Wiktorowicz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 2005

Although the West denounces the spread of radical Islam in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and elsewhere in the Muslim world, it tends to overlook the development of Islamic extremism in its own societies. Over the past several decades, groups like al-Qaeda have been supported by thousands of citizens of the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Western democracies. Rejecting their national identity, they have heeded international calls to "jihad" and formed extremist groups to fight their own countries.

This groundbreaking book represents one of the first systematic attempts to explain why Westerners join radical Islamic groups. Quintan Wiktorowicz details the mechanisms that attract potential recruits, the instruments of persuasion that convince them that radical groups represent "real Islam," and the socialization process that prods them to engage in risky extremism.

Throughout, he traces the subtle process that can turn seemingly unreligious people into supporters of religious violence. The author's invaluable insights are based upon nearly unprecedented access to a radical Islamic group in the West. His extraordinary fieldwork forms the basis of a detailed case study of al-Muhajiroun, a transnational movement based in London that supports Bin Laden and other Islamic terrorists. Through its rich empirical detail, this book explains why ordinary people join extremist movements.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A ground-breaking work on the process of radicalization among Western Muslims. Wiktorowicz not only undertook astonishing and difficult fieldwork but brings us a theoretically innovative approach to understanding the case of the Western Muslim 'born-again.' (Olivier Roy )

An important new book by Quintan Wiktorowicz...makes clear that the Salafists operate like a cult....Wiktorowicz researched his book by embedding himself with al-Muhajiroun, an extremist Salafist group based in London. He found that the group preyed on disoriented young Muslims -- not poor or oppressed themselves but confused and looking for meaning. (David Igatieff Washington Post )

Wiktorowicz's study makes several important contributions. In addition to illuminating certain psychological aspects of the radicalization process and tactics used by extremist groups, it pinpoints missed opportunities by British moderates. This book is a must-read for anybody interested in radicalization in the West and how to counter it. (Middle East Quarterly )

Wiktorowicz demystifies radical Islam in the first study to lift the veil around a militant Islamist organization in the West. Through careful empirical evidence, he sheds light on how educated but alienated young Muslims adopt their hate-filled messages and cheer for Bin Laden. A must-read for anyone interested in the sources of terrorism. (Marc Sageman )

About the Author

Quintan Wiktorowicz, a well-known expert on Islamic movements, has taught at Dartmouth College, Rhodes College, and Shippensburg University. He has conducted research on both moderate and radical Islamic movements in Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, and Europe. He is the author of The Management of Islamic Activism: Salafis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and State Power in Jordan, Global Jihad: Understanding September 11 and the editor of Islamic Activism: A Social Movement Theory Approach.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (July 28, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0742536416
• ISBN-13: 978-0742536418
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #690,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Academically rigorous study., May 13, 2007

By 

D. R. King "Complex realist" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Radical Islam Rising: Muslim Extremism in the West (Paperback)

Unlike many of the books available today, Wiktorowicz has written a book that is based on social science, not the faddish headlines of the day. The book will invariably divide readers into two camps; those who are interested in extremism and those who truly want to understand the recruitment and radicalization process.

The book is best summarized by looking at his three central questions:
1. How are individuals drawn into the socialization process where they can be exposed to radical, religious education?
2. How do individuals come to accept and adopt the radical Islamic ideology as their own world view?
3. How does socialization overcome "the free rider dilemma?" In other words, convince individuals to do things that are not in their own self interest, and participate in high risk behavior that could lead to arrest, jail or death?

In the end, the author shows how terrorists capitalize, or if necessary create, "cognitive openings," which are periods in which individuals are willing to question their own long held personal beliefs and consider radical new ideas. Once an individual is convinced that the group's radical goals or the rewards for participation in the group's activities (e.g. eternal paradise) are MORE IMPORTANT than their well beings, you have yourself an operative.

This is a great read for those who seriously want to understand the recruitment and radicalization problem, as well as those who are charged to slow the spread of radicalism.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars obvious conclusion, but fascinating route, December 11, 2006

By 

M. Norris (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Radical Islam Rising: Muslim Extremism in the West (Paperback)

I read this book carefully for a class on crime, immigration and ethnicity. Basically, his whole point can be summed up in one sentence: people who join radical groups are not wide-eyed lunatics, but rational actors operating out of spiritual self-interest. They sacrifice jobs, families and assimilation in the West because they buy into a specific ideology's pathway to heaven. Dude, they want the virgins and this group can offer you the only sure way to get 'em. That's the point of this very academic book. (Seems obvious to me.)

However, it takes you through the sort of the eerie way people come to believe this, which turns out to be interesting. It's very case specific, but also highly applicable to the recruiting methods of all social movements and high-risk activism groups.