Aidi, Hisham. “Jihadis in the Hood: Race, Urban Islam and the War on Terror.” Middle East Report. No. 224 (Autumn, 2002): 36-43.
Internet: http://www.merip.org/mer/mer224/224_aidi.html.
Abstract: Seeking to counter the perception that a fusion of radical Islam and black militancy are creating an internal threat to America, the author provides a historical background for the growing role of Islam in the lives of inner-city blacks, and increasingly Latinos, in America. Muslim charitable organizations are viewed as a positive force, providing much needed economic and social resources. Information is provided on the development of the Nation of Islam and subsequent splinter groups as well as the variety of Muslim and quasi-Muslim faiths which are being embraced. The piece describes how a number of societal factors, including immigration and racial politics, as well as cultural forces, ranging from black nationalism to hip hop music, have come together to fuel the rise of Islam in urban America.

Beckford, James A., Daniéle Joly, and Farhad Khosrokhavar. Muslims in Prison: Challenge and Change in Britain and France. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan, 2005.
Call Number: HV8865 .B42 2005
Abstract: This study’s central aim was to determine how Muslim prisoners were treated within three men’s and two women’s prisons each in France and the UK. The researchers found a greater willingness in British prisons to address Muslim prisoner needs, reflecting Britain’s overall perspective of forging links between government departments and its faith communities. France, however, espouses “laicite,” or complete exclusion of matters of religion from the public sphere. While voluntary agencies have traditionally ensured basic religious rights to Christians, Muslim prisoners are denied any special considerations beyond food alternatives to pork. This is seen to foster a vicious cycle in which the vacuum created by a lack of Muslim chaplains is filled by radically minded prisoners whose activities must be ignored in exchange for their help in maintaining order—a particularly alarming outcome given that the proportion of Muslim inmates reaches as high as 80% in some urban prisons.

Cilluffo, Frank and Gregory Saathoff, et al. Out of the Shadows: Getting Ahead of Prisoner Radicalization. Washington, DC: Critical Incident Analysis Group, George Washington University, 2006.
Internet: http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/ciag/publications/outoftheshadows.pdf.
Abstract: This Special Report looked at prison radicalization as a potentially significant threat to U.S. national security. It found that social factors common to prison inmates provide an ideal environment for radicalization ranging from “Jailhouse” Islam to right-wing extremist groups. Additionally, prison gangs and terrorist organizations are seen as sharing a common interest in criminal enterprise. Compounding issues with regard to Islam are the lack of certifying agencies for the provision of religious services and the use of the Arabic language and script as codes. While many individuals may merely embrace “Prislam” –joining Islam temporarily out of necessity while in prison—others may be recruited into extremist groups either while in prison or during the economically and socially vulnerable time following their release. Resource limitations, lack of systemic intelligence and information sharing, and the significant absence of social science research on this issue are cited as contributing factors. Extremely valuable in its inclusion of an appendix with about 80 Internet links to related reports.

Cuthbertson, Ian M. “Prisons and the Education of Terrorists.” World Policy Journal. Vol. 21, No. 3 (Fall 2004): 15-22. Notes: To obtain, check with Library.
Abstract: Citing two Madrid train bombers who embraced radical Islam and were recruited into the al-Quaeda-linked Moroccan terrorist group Takfir wa al-Hijra while jailed for petty crimes as but a current example, the author makes the case that prisons as “universities for terrorists” is a long-term phenomena with a 30-year history in Europe. The intermingling of prisoners allows terrorist networks to recruit specialists in criminal activities that help fund and run their organizations. With most American and European prison administrators unable to identify the terrorist networks they harbor, he finds it imperative that not only better screening of inmates take place but that promotion of an alternative message of Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance along with large-scale outreach to Muslim prisoners, both in and after leaving prison, be undertaken.

De Borchgrave, Arnaud. “Criminals Recruited for ‘Islamic Army’ in America.” NewsMax.com Wires. Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2002.
Internet: http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/8/20/163711.shtml.
Abstract: Short essay suggesting that a coordinated recruitment campaign by Islamic extremists targeting African-Americans incarcerated in prisons is taking place. Implicates Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Saudi Arabia’s Wahhabi clergy in this coordinated campaign.

Dyer, Carol et al. “Countering Violent Islamic Extremism: A Community Responsibility.” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. Vol. 76. No. 12 (December 2007): 3-9.
Abstract: Article discusses the need to define and understand ‘Islamic extremism’ and explains how the FBI assesses the radicalization process as four stages: preradicalization, identification, indoctrination, and action. A useful chart found in the article portrays this process and provides indicators to help determine when an individual is within a certain stage. The work goes on to discuss the need for community engagement as a counter to the spread of extremist ideology.

Hazim, Hakim. American Realism Revisited: Lethal Minds & Latent Threats. New York, NY &
Shangai: IUniverse, October 2006. Call Number: HV 6432 H39 2005
Abstract: Useful piece in that the chapters “Lethal Minds” and “Virus” highlight the indoctrination process that charismatic militant cult leaders use to radicalize or convert people. The author proposes a “militant cult theory” that will help law enforcement and intelligence services identify members who could pose a threat to regional or international security.

Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security of the Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate One Hundred Eighth Congress, First Session, Oct. 14, 2003. “Terrorism: Radical Islamic Influence of Chaplaincy of The U.S. Military and Prisons.” Serial No. J–108–44. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 2004.
Internet: www.terrorisminfo.mipt.org/pdf/s-hrg108-443.pdf.
Abstract: This hearing was convened in response to the growing dominance of a radical sect of Islam commonly referred to as “Wahhabism” and the relationship of this growth to the fact that certain groups accrediting Muslim chaplains have been linked to terrorist organizations. Witnesses called include Charles Abell (DoD), Harley Lappin (FBOP), John Pistole (FBI), Paul Rodgers (American Correctional Chaplains Association), and Michael Waller (Professor, Institute of World Politics). Transcripts of their testimony and statements are included along with a chart on the “Wahhabi Lobby” showing where money flows between suspect groups and chaplains involved in prison recruiting. Rebuttals are also included from the North American Islamic Trust, Inc. and the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences mentioned in the testimony.

Hegghammer, Thomas. “Terrorist Recruitment and Radicalization in Saudi Arabia.”
Middle East Policy. Vol. 13, No. 4 (December 2006): 39-60. Notes: To obtain, check with Library.
Abstract: The author takes a largely empirical approach by collecting biographical data on Saudi militants who participated in the 2003 terror campaign launched by QAP or Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula. The study took place over a two year period and the author made several trips to Saudi Arabia. In the process, he interviewed family members, former militants, and government sources. Hegghammer was not allowed to speak directly to the participants, but he was able to review some of the government reports that included statements from the militants. He found that there are three types of jihadists: ideologues, fighters, and top commanders. The top commanders are considered “lifestyle jihadists” who typically joined as youths and fought against the USSR in Afghanistan. The author contends that Wahabbism, in and of itself, does not create willing participants for terrorism.

International Crisis Group. “Deradicalisation” and Indonesian Prisons. Asia Report No. 142. Brussels, November 19, 2007.
Internet: http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5170&l=1.
Abstract: Report focuses on Indonesian prison “deradicalization” programs that have been lauded for their success. These programs generally involve introducing radicals to anti-violence messages from former jihadis along with offers of economic aid. The authors point out the difficulty of using efforts-to-date as a model due to the fact they are largely trial-and-error in nature with no single intervention that can produce a rejection of violence across the breadth of individuals with their varying motivations for joining radical groups. Much has been made of the decision whether to isolate or integrate prisoners known to be terrorists from the general population and, while the former is generally preferred, it often lumps together hard-core members with new recruits and is less effective than addressing each terrorist prisoner on an individual basis. Corruption among guards and the prisoners’ own hierarchy, often based on economic considerations, can also undermine efforts. Accordingly, improved prison management is considered critical to the cause.

Khosrokhavar, Farhad. Suicide Bombers: Allah’s New Martyrs. London: Pluto Press, 2005.
Call Number: HV6431 .K568 2005.
Abstract: The author is a professor of Sociology at Islamic Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales in Paris. Professor Khosrokhavar left Iran shortly after the Islamic Revolution there. His book examines the concept of martyrdom from the perspective of militants from Iran, Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt. He draws his conclusions from extensive interviews with jailed Islamist militants. The first study of its type in Europe, the author places martyrs in two camps: those from the modern world and those from the developing world.

Lappin, Harley G. Hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Homeland Security, “Terrorist Recruitment and Infiltration in the United States: Prisons and Military as an Operational Base.” October 14, 2003.
Internet: http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=960&wit_id=2318.
Abstract: This statement by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons is a solid introductory resource; it will give the reader a general understanding of the number of inmates who profess Islam in the US prison system. It is a very concise yet thorough article that outlines what the FBOP is doing to monitor and mitigate the threat of radicalization to inmates.

Maghan, Jess. “The Post-9/11 Prison.” Crime & Justice International. Vol. 20, No. 82 (September/October 2004): 12-19.
Internet: http://www.jmfcc.com/POST911-PRISON-Cji0409-10%20pgs%2012-19.
Abstract: The author argues that post 9/11 approaches to terrorism focus primarily on technological ways to contain and mitigate the threat of terrorism in prisons; he questions this focus and calls for a social science approach. The article characterizes the incarcerated population as a population comprised of people who are prone to violence, unhealthiness, STDs, drug addiction, and overall unmanageability. These traits, he argues, are symptoms of a society in trouble—trouble that the correctional institutions are increasingly being funded to solve but are ill equipped to.

McGee, Thomas B. “Targeting the Islamist Recruiting Base.” Marine Corps Gazette. Vol.92. No. 1 (January 2008): 29-33.
Abstract: Article addresses the dilemma of countering terrorism without driving a permanent wedge between the United States and the Islamic World. The author describes the “push” (religious network) and “pull” (socioeconomic) factors that lead individuals to embrace radical Islamist ideals. Increased U.S. funding for moderate Islamic educational institutions and an easing of visa restrictions for students from Islamic countries are proposed as a way of eliminating the Islamist recruiting base.

Office of the Inspector General, A Review of the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Selection of Muslim Religious Services Providers. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, April 2004: 1-61.
Internet: http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/0404/final.pdf.
Abstract: Response to Senate Sub-Committee hearing request based on concerns that extremist groups linked to terrorism were having undue access to prison inmates for recruitment purposes. As a result, the OIG interviewed the BOP’s ten Muslim chaplains, the BOP detailee to the FBI’s National Joint Terrorism Task Force (NJTTF), and BOP officials responsible for the selection and supervision of chaplains. Additionally, visits were made to a selection of low, medium, and high security prisons. The review found failures of officials in examining whether doctrinal beliefs of chaplains are consistent with its security policies as well as an inadequate exchange of information with the FBI on the BOP’s Muslim endorsing agencies. It additionally found that distinct opportunity existed for volunteers and inmate religious leaders to deliver inappropriate and extremist messages to inmates. As a result, a hiring freeze was put in effect on any new Muslim chaplains until a detailed list of recommendations, including changes in screening and supervision policy, could be addressed.

PBS Home Video. America at a Crossroads: Homegrown: Islam in Prison. DVD. Color.
60 Minutes. Washington, DC: WETA, 2007. Call Number: BP163 .H65 2007
Abstract: Investigates the question of whether radicalization of Islam is taking place in the U.S. prison system and to what extent this implies a breeding ground for terrorist activity. The video uses as a case in point the four men charged in August 2005 with conspiring to commit terrorist attacks against military and Jewish religious sites—the only documented case of a terrorist plot hatched in prison. The leader of the group, Kevin James, and his cohort, Levar Washington, became Muslim in prison and recruited others to the JIS Assembly of Authentic Islam, a group promoting violence. Blame has been placed on the lack of screening of imams in prison for radical and violent views but attorneys for the accused argue that individual circumstances and a lack of rehabilitation services in prison are more likely responsible for shaping the actions of individuals they deem hardly worthy of being considered a terrorist threat.

Popeo, John W. “Combating Radical Islam in Prisons Within the Legal Dictates of the Free Exercise Clause.” Criminal and Civil Confinement. Vol. 32, No. 135 (December 2006): 135-159.
Internet: http://www.nesl.edu/journal/vol32/1/Popeo.pdf.
Abstract: This work assesses the First Amendment constitutionality of prison directives set forth by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) in 2004 regarding the hiring and supervision of chaplains and other religious employees. These guidelines were spurred by Department of Justice (DOJ) concerns regarding the rise of a variety of “Prison Islam” in which religion is used to promulgate views that threaten both prison and national security. While deviations are constitutionally valid with regard to the Free Exercise Clause and national security legally qualifies as a compelling state interest, the author finds that certain OIG proposed regulations might be deemed unconstitutional should they be challenged under the stringent legal test of using “the least restrictive means” to further that interest.

Rupp, Eric. America’s Prisons: Radical Islam’s New Recruiting Ground? A Test of the Infiltration-Conversion-Radicalization Hypothesis. MA Thesis. Chicago, Il: Roosevelt University, December 2006. Call Number: BP 165 .R97 2006
Abstract: The author starts from the position that “It is known that Islamic extremists have infiltrated European prisons for the purpose of identifying, converting and radicalizing inmates. Furthermore, some radicalized prisoners have been subsequently recruited into Islamic terror organizations, only to later carry out terror operations against Western targets.” He then investigates the conclusion of certain researchers, who often use the cases of Jose Padilla, Richard Reid, Warith-Deen Umar and Abdurahman Alamoudi as evidence, that American prisons must be similarly infiltrated for the same purposes. His thesis uses these same cases to test this contention or what it refers to as “the Infiltration-Conversion-Radicalization hypothesis.” It concludes that, while there may be validity to the hypothesis, none of the four cases examined support this theory.

Ryan, Johnny. “The Four P-Words of Militant Islamist Radicalization and Recruitment: Persecution, Precedent, Piety, and Perseverance.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. Vol. 30, No. 11 (November 2007): 985-1011.
Abstract: The article promotes a ‘single interpretative framework’ for looking at Islamist militant declamations. The essay is divided into sections on Islamist militancy, comparisons to Irish Republican militancy from 1969 onward, and a conclusion. The P-words (Persecution, Precedent, Piety, and Perseverance) are identified as the foundation from which radicalization and recruitment are derived. This research has direct applicability to better understanding radical Islamic prison recruitment processes. Heavily end noted and written in academic prose.

Schwartz, Stephen. “Islam in the Big House: How radical Muslims took over the American prison system.” The Weekly Standard. (April 26, 2006): 1-2.
Internet: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/120venul.asp.
Abstract: Highlights the fact that the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences (GSISS), currently under federal investigation for ties to terrorism, were the main certifying group for Muslim chaplains. As a result, it is believed that many of the Muslim clerics serving in America’s jails and prisons overtly or covertly espouse Wahhabism which teaches hatred of all non-Wahhabi Muslims, including Shia Muslims and Sufis, in effect establishing an Islamic radical regime in the prison system.

Siegel, Pascale Combelles. “Radical Islamic and the French Muslim Prison Population.”
Terrorism Monitor. Vol. 4, Iss. 15 (July 27, 2006): 1-3.
Internet: http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?issue_id=3815.
Abstract: In 2005, Renseignements Généraux or RG, the domestic intelligence agency in France, determined that, out of its 188 prisons, 66 of them had inmates that were actively involved in radical Islamic proselytism. The French government made some changes to its approach in dealing with the threat of radicalization to inmates after this study. This report examines what France is doing to curb the threat of extremism there.

Silverberg, Mark. “Wahhabism in the American Prison System.” Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania. May 6, 2006.
Internet: http://www.jfednepa.org/mark%20silverberg/wahhabi_america.html.
Abstract: This article focuses on the influence of Saudis in training chaplains and imams here in America. It also suggests that the Saudis have targeted underprivileged African Americans for conversion through education, whether in jail or on the outside. To support the conversion effort, Silverberg gives an example of a generously funded mosque and education center that the Saudis built in South Central LA. According to the author, the investment in Wahabbism exceeded $8,000,000.

Compiled by Dr. Robert J. Bunker, Hakim Hazim, and Pamela L. Bunker, 2/08