August 17, 2007

LA TIMES: Growing Threat in U.S. From Small Groups of Radicalized Muslims

LGF links a report from the NY Police Dept. that analyzes how Muslims may become radicalized and devoted to violence.

Yesterday the LA Times published additional information related to this subject:

After more than a decade of warning that the greatest threat of homegrown terrorism for the United States came from individual lone-wolf radicals, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies have begun focusing on what they say is a greater threat -- small, anonymous groups of disaffected men who radicalize one another and turn to violence.

Federal officials say that most of the domestic terrorist threats now under investigation involve such groups, though they continue to rank Al Qaeda as the greatest danger globally.

Known among counter-terrorism officials as BOGs, for "bunch of guys," or GOGs, for "group of guys," the cells may offer greater opportunities for detection and infiltration than the lone-wolf threat because they are more numerous and most members are amateurs.

And even the LA Times didn't try to hide the key detail: the small groups of guys they are finding, are Islamic.

To illustrate the small-group threat, authorities cite the case of Derrick Shareef, a young Muslim convert. Shareef was arrested near Chicago in December on suspicion of plotting to use hand grenades to attack holiday shoppers.

Originally, authorities described Shareef as a loner. Now, they say that he was plotting with another American Muslim convert who allegedly had ties to terrorists in the United Kingdom. The two were discussing a variety of targets and tactics, including sniper attacks on U.S. troops and assaults on military recruiting stations, a federal prosecutor said at a July 28 court hearing.

..."It's an international phenomenon," according to one U.S. intelligence official, who said such cells were being monitored in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and elsewhere.

"There is no useful profile to assist law enforcement or intelligence to predict who will follow this trajectory of radicalization. Rather, the individuals who take this course begin as 'unremarkable' from various walks of life," the NYPD said in a report released Wednesday.

"It is a phenomenon that occurs because the individual is looking for an identity and a cause and unfortunately, often finds them in extremist Islam," the report said.

..."I am from America, and this tape is to let you guys know, who disbelieve in Allah, to let the enemies of Islam know, and to let the Muslims alike know, that the time for jihad is now," Shareef said in a martyrdom video, according to the affidavit.

It's notable and praiseworthy that a MSM publication such as the LA Times would print such an article -- one that presents the facts, and does not leave out the M-word.

What can be done about the situation discussed in the Times' article? The key is to observe that radical mosques do not give specific directions to commit acts of violence; that is, they don't, as the Mafia did, have leaders who identify specific targets for attack. Instead, these mosques act by general direction, filling their members with rage toward the non-Islamic society around them in general -- as well as with an approval of violent acts. The results that are now being documented, are that a number of the members of such mosques are itching to commit violent acts, and some of them proceed to do so.

Quoting from the NYPD report:

The jihadist ideology combines the extreme and minority interpretation [jihadi- Salafi] of Islam with an activist-like commitment or responsibility to solve global political grievances through violence. Ultimately, the jihadist envisions a world in which jihadi-Salafi Islam is dominant and is the basis of government.

...Two key indicators within this self-identification stage that suggests progression along the radicalization continuum are:

• Progression or Gravitation Towards Salafi Islam

• Regular Attendance at a Salafi mosque [emphasis in original]

As these individuals adopt Salafism, typical signatures include:

o Becoming alienated from one's former life; affiliating with like-minded individuals

o Joining or forming a group of like-minded individuals in a quest to strengthen one's dedication to Salafi Islam

o Giving up cigarettes, drinking, gambling and urban hip-hop gangster clothes.

o Wearing traditional Islamic clothing, growing a beard

o Becoming involved in social activism and community issues

This is the precise nature of the cancer. These mosques produce killers who go out and violently attack the people around them.

In short, these Salafi mosques are filling their members with hate in a way that is documented to produce murderers. These mosques must be shut down. We must develop the legal structure which will permit us to shut down such mosques, for the safety of our nation.