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

Abstract

<jats:p> 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. </jats:p>

Motivational dynamics of German Salafist jihadists: A multi-methodical in-depth study of three paradigmatic cases

“…Anxiety is a factor that is seldom considered in radicalization dynamics. Related to the three phases of the staircase model of terrorism ( Moghaddam, 2005 ), Ljamai (2020) identified three different kinds of fear relevant to the radicalization process, namely, fear of victimization, fear caused by guilt feelings, and fear of being controlled by hatred and revenge. In this case study, we went beyond the pathways of radicalization and included the time before Salafist activism, as well as after disengagement in our analysis.…”

Islamophobia as a Form of Radicalisation

“…Regularly, many of them are confronted with negative stereotypes, discrimination and even hate crimes, which are on the rise (Zempi & Awan, 2019). Furthermore, terrorist attacks in the West by Islamist terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda or Islamic State (IS) (Soehl, 2019) and the unfunded belief that Islam is a 'backwards' religion (Mondon & Winter, 2019) have caused a growing acceptance of Islamophobic discourses, where Islam is believed to be incompatible with the West's secular, liberal and democratic values (Soehl, 2019;Mondon & Winter, 2019), and to be the antithesis of Western values (Ljamai, 2020). This 'us and them' thinking is more prevalent in polarised societies, where the 'other' is more likely to be stigmatised, and even dehumanised, with Muslims being labelled as parasites, Trojan horses, disease or terrorists (Pavetich & Stathi, 2021;Ljamai, 2020;Koomen & Van Der Plight, 2016).…”

“…Furthermore, terrorist attacks in the West by Islamist terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda or Islamic State (IS) (Soehl, 2019) and the unfunded belief that Islam is a 'backwards' religion (Mondon & Winter, 2019) have caused a growing acceptance of Islamophobic discourses, where Islam is believed to be incompatible with the West's secular, liberal and democratic values (Soehl, 2019;Mondon & Winter, 2019), and to be the antithesis of Western values (Ljamai, 2020). This 'us and them' thinking is more prevalent in polarised societies, where the 'other' is more likely to be stigmatised, and even dehumanised, with Muslims being labelled as parasites, Trojan horses, disease or terrorists (Pavetich & Stathi, 2021;Ljamai, 2020;Koomen & Van Der Plight, 2016). This stigmatisation and dehumanisation, along with an aggressive political discourse on Muslims, creates a hostile atmosphere in which inter-group tensions and extremist thinking can become worse or more vicious if Muslims are continuously associated with threat, going as far as to morally 'legitimise' hate crime (Zempi & Awan, 2019;Pavetich & Stathi, 2021).…”

“…In a 2009 Dutch study, Dutch Muslim teenagers reported having experienced discrimination, which indicates they were seen as dangerous, criminal, aggressive and as potential terrorists, resulting in them being closely monitored and shunned (Kamans et al, 2009). When in a minority position, most Muslims experience discrimination, prejudice and hostility because of their (perceived) religion (Aroian, 2011;Ismail, 2015;Ljamai, 2020;Shain, 2020;Soehl, 2019;Tineo et al, 2021). In the US, Muslims are the group most targeted by hate crime (Aroian, 2011).…”

Youth Narratives of Moderate Islam: Study of Islamic Philosophy For Indonesian Millennials

“…Numerous radical groups have attempted to influence millennials, a situation that must be carefully monitored due to the youth of their targets (Muhanna-Matar 2017;Theriault 2019;Ljamai 2020;Marquardt 2020;Ballesté 2021;IVANOV & SIRYUKOVA 2021;Jacot et al 2021;Zhu, Chan & Chou 2021). Young people are in the midst of searching for and actualizing themselves, and thus are easily swayed to adopt mindsets that run against Indonesia's national philosophy, Pancasila, by promoting intolerance and radicalism.…”