Report: Radicalization Theories Are Misguided

Printer-friendlyPrinter-friendly EmailEmail ShareThis
Date: 
June 2, 2011

The government’s excessive targeting of Muslims in domestic counterterrorism operations since 9/11 is misguided and violates basic human rights, according to a May 2011 report from the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York University School of Law. Targeted and Entrapped: Manufacturing the "Homegrown Threat" in the United States says incorrect assumptions about Muslims, the religion of Islam and the “radicalization” process have led to a surge in surveillance of Muslims that undermine their rights to religious expression, a fair trial and effective remedy when violations occur.

Over the last decade, the use of covert government informants in Muslim American communities, organizations and mosques, according to the report, stem from a series of false assumptions about Muslims and terrorism. These include:
  • Muslims are more likely to become terrorists than non-Muslims
     
  • American Muslims are increasingly being “radicalized” and compelled to commit violence in the name of their religion
     
  • Counterterrorism policies focus on identifying individuals who hold certain ideologies and exhibit certain behaviors indicate a “radicalization”
These unsubstantiated assumptions, combined with former Attorney General Michael Mukasey’s Domestic FBI Operation Guidelines (that are still in effect), permit the collection of private personal information and surveillance without suspicion of any criminal activity.
 
To address these violations, the report recommends the government “reject “radicalization” theories that threaten the rights to freedom of religion, opinion, and expression, and should put an end to the preventative policing and prosecution methods that rely on such theories.” Other recommendations include:
 
  • Pass the proposed federal legislation to ban racial profiling by law enforcement- the End Racial Profiling Act (ERPA)
     
  • Replace the Mukasey Guidelines for Domestic FBI Operations with new guidelines that ensure:
    • law enforcement agencies do not open investigations against individuals without suspicion of wrongdoing
    • law enforcement agencies are not allowed to target individuals and communities through surveillance, informants, or other techniques that are based on race, religion, or national origin, or political and religious beliefs