He has worked with the CIA as a senior analyst and director of the Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program. He is also the author of several books and articles, and has won several awards and accolades.
As the White House prepares for a major summit discussing how the root causes of terrorism and violent extremism, the Daily Lobo talked with Nakhleh about why people become terrorists, and what governments and communities can do to deal with the problem.
What are the main factors that contribute to a person turning into a terrorist?
“This is a pretty complicated question, and there are many layers to the answer. There are global terrorist groups, regional terrorist groups and then there are individuals who become radicalized whom we call ‘lone wolves,’ who plan attacks.
In my research, I have written a lot of books on the Middle East, political Islam, Islamic activism and radicalization, and I have followed this whole process on how a normal teenager or a young man becomes radicalized, especially in Western society.
It’s important to keep in mind that here in the U.S., unlike in France, Germany or the U.K., we do not have what we call an ‘Islamic problem.’ They have a problem in those countries because generally many Muslims live in ghettos, poor areas and neighborhoods. They tend to be uneducated, unemployed or underemployed, and these are young men and women who are born and raised in those countries.
In fact, the two recent incidents here in the U.S., the three Muslim college students killed in North Carolina, and the attack on a mosque in Albuquerque last year, the response was fantastic in that the community, regardless of religious affiliation, came out in support of the victims.
The conference in Washington that is held this week at the White House is a conference on CVE, Countering Violent Extremism. The purpose is to look at the root causes that make a person or group turn to terrorism.
Basically, you can reduce them to two groups of root causes. One group is policies — that is, in countries like Egypt, Syria, Yemen or Libya — these are regimes that have been dictatorial, autocratic, many of their people are unemployed and human rights are violated. So people get angry. The other root cause is radical religious ideologies that come out of Wahhabism, out of Saudi Arabia and other places.”
Focusing on the political and not the ideological causes, what do you think world governments can do to intervene in areas with marginalized and abused populations, to keep people from turning to violence out of frustration?
“There are three strategies that I think ought to be followed. One strategy on the domestic level, here or in Europe, is to always differentiate between the small minority that commits terrorist actions, and the vast majority of Muslims.
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We’re talking about 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide. If there is, say 0.5 percent who commits terrorism, well what about the other 99 percent?
The first strategy then is to engage different communities within the Muslim world, the mainstream Muslim families, NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and communities who are interested in education, in job creation, entrepreneurship and new technologies. These are the communities that Western countries can engage by providing know-how, good education to help qualify for jobs in our technology-driven century.
The second strategy is that nations need to cooperate to track the real terrorists. Governments need to exchange information to help track and apprehend those terrorists before they can commit their acts.
The third strategy, domestically, is we need to work with Muslim representatives in different cities. New York City has done a good job, Boston, Las Vegas, Chicago; these major cities have reached out to leaders of their Muslim communities and made them part of the solution rather than part of the problem.
You need to engage those communities in order for those groups to identify potentially troublesome or unemployed kids who need help. It’s a partnership between government and representatives of the Muslim communities. We’ve done a good job in this country as compared to other countries. France, Italy and Germany are moving slowly but surely in that direction as well.
Another strategy, although it might be problematic for the U.S. and other governments, is to engage in closer relations with dictators in Middle Eastern countries, whether it’s in Egypt, Bahrain, Syria.
The fact is, we need to encourage those countries to open up their political systems to become more inclusive and bring their populations into the political process. If you exclude people from governing, when you oppress them and violate human rights, or tolerate endemic corruption, the conditions become ripe for radicals to develop.
Our president supported the Arab Spring when it started, but now we have re-established relations with people like Al-Sisi in Egypt and the ruling families and Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf state.
Well, these partnerships are running counter to our ideals of supporting political reform, gradual respect for human rights and transitions toward democracy. So we talk the talk, but our strategy needs to be able to walk the walk.”
There’s been heated debates about many of the political and military interventions led by the U.S. and others in the Middle East, including drone strikes, and whether these are reducing the number of terrorists or actually creating more of them. What do you think?
“Very good question. Unfortunately, in many cases the drone strikes and military operations cause civilian casualties. Those create more anger in the population, whether in Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. That’s one thing we need to keep in mind, that by causing so-called collateral damage, we’re creating a new generation of radicals and terrorists.
The fact is, military operations alone are not the answer. The answer is a broad engagement with these countries, and not just the leaders, but with NGOs and indigenous groups who know their countries best, and who might need help in education, technology, agriculture, job creation, water resources.
We can help those countries in providing basic technologies. That type of intervention, in the long run, is much more beneficial than military intervention alone. It’s the best weapon against radicalization and terrorism.”
In the wake of attacks by Muslims within Western countries, and attacks against Muslims like in North Carolina, what is the best way to help foster peace between Muslim and non-Muslim communities?
“It’s a continuing education problem. The first thing is that government authorities need to get together immediately with members of the community to diffuse the situation, and to address each incident by itself.
That is, not to talk about a whole country-wide problem, but to focus on an individual incident — then reach out to communities, create inter-faith groups and task forces, to act and discuss whenever there is a crisis. Involve all of the community, always be transparent and allow everyone to be a part of the solution.”
Jonathan Baca is the news editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @JonGabrielB.
