‘New Terrorism’ and Crime Prevention Initiatives Involving Muslim Young People in the UK: Research and Policy Contexts

Abstract

This article draws upon a research study exploring engagement and partnership work between Muslim communities and the police within the context of ‘new terrorism’. First I set out the waysin which ‘new terrorism’ discourse has influenced security agendas and the impacts of securitisation policies on Muslim communities: here I argue that there is a danger that Islamic beliefs and practices can be stigmatised. I then consider the issue of researching Islam and Muslim communities within the context of ‘new terrorism’, and discuss the importance of building trust between the researcher and the researched, and the particular challenges associated with trust-building in a ‘new terrorism’ context. Lastly, I consider the relevance of grassroots-level, ‘street’-based, contexts involving Muslim young people for the prevention of terror crime. I suggest that local Al-Qaeda (AQ) recruiters and others potentially involved in terror crimes can exploit wider global events to generate powerful emotions among young people in the UK in order to promote violent causes; that some important preventative work with Muslim young people is being undertaken in the UK by individuals who understand the push-and-pull factors facing young people within local contexts in the UK; and that in order to counter AQ recruitment in contexts characterised by social and economic deprivation, at ‘street level’, it is important for those working with young people deemed at risk to possess street know-how and credibility. This is important given that there has been considerable debate regarding whether existing religious leaders exercise authority within Muslim communities and with Muslim young people in particular. The findings of the study I report here suggest that it is important for prevention work involving communities to involve those community members who have credibility with those young people deemed at risk.