Feelings of anxiety among radical Muslim youths in the Netherlands: A psychological exploration

This article focuses on feelings of anxiety among radical young Muslims, not just as a result of radicalism and terrorism but rather as an important cause of both. In contrast to many other publications which mainly deal with the radicalization of Muslim youths without taking into account their pers...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archive for the psychology of religion
Main Author: Ljamai, Abdelilah (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: SAGE Publishing 2020
In: Archive for the psychology of religion
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Netherlands / Teenagers / Muslim / Extremist / Anxiety
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AE Psychology of religion
BJ Islam
KBD Benelux countries
Further subjects:B De-radicalization
B Victimhood
B Radicalism
B feelings of guilt
B hate and revenge
B Amsterdam case study
B feelings of fear and anxiety
Online Access: Volltext (kostenfrei)
Description
Summary:This article focuses on feelings of anxiety among radical young Muslims, not just as a result of radicalism and terrorism but rather as an important cause of both. In contrast to many other publications which mainly deal with the radicalization of Muslim youths without taking into account their personal experience, the feelings of fear and anxiety expressed by radical young Muslims are central to this research. On the basis of an ongoing case study of 23 young Muslims who have participated in a lengthy de-radicalization program in Amsterdam since 2009, an attempt has been made to gain insight into the interaction between radicalization processes and feelings of anxiety among this target group. The case study suggests that the three forms of anxiety expressed by radical Muslim youths, namely, (1) fear of victimization, (2) fear caused by guilt feelings, and (3) fear of being controlled by hatred and revenge, are related to the three phases presented in the “staircase model to terrorism.” This research into the various forms of anxiety experienced by radical young Muslims provides a concrete starting point for the de-radicalization process.
ISSN:1573-6121
Contains:Enthalten in: Archive for the psychology of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0084672420933350