Popular Muslim preacher Zakir Naik’s NGO involved with ISIS recruitment

Given the trajectory of current events, the next terror attack could be used as justification for restricting the Internet. ISIS has been very successful in using social media to recruit fighters, even among women.

But before this all turns into a government agency, like the TSA, which only gives the illusion of doing something about jihad, consider that the data says the Internet is not the determining factor in radicalization.

In almost every case, the determining factor in making the step to becoming a jihadi was contact with a person.  A face-to-face encounter appears to be crucial in this process.

 “The internet has not been shown to be an actual instigator of radicalization in 99% of the jihadist biographies. To be sure, the internet acts as an accelerator of the process of radicalization in the sense that it makes necessary information (ie technical information) accessible to those who have decided for jihad. However, the internet alone does not provide the defining moment. An individual does not become an attacker simply because he sits in front of his computer and watches how a bomb is constructed. In almost every case of jihadist attacks, there are detectable contacts to a group and/or a spiritual leader or leading operational figure that were more important than internet use.”

“Political Islam: When Faith Turns Out to Be Politics” by Christine Schirrmacher

“Most often the vehicles for exposure to Salafi/Wahhabi interpretations of Islam include family ties or old friendships, social networks, religious movements like the Tablighi Jamaat, political movements like the Muslim Brotherhood, or extremist-like discussions in halal butcher shops, cafes, gyms, student associations, study groups, non-governmental organizations and, most importantly, the Internet. “

NYPD Report Radicalization in the West

Finding a way to neutralizing the influence of these “jihadi midwives” is going to be one of the challenges of this century. Such a technology might have prevented the 22 Indian men from being seduced by Arshi Qureshi into becoming tools for the Islamic State.

As far as the Internet goes, all the warning signs were there online: Zair Naik, the Islamic Research Foundation, Dawood Ibrahim, D-Gang. This was something to stay away from. Don’t shut down the Internet. Instead, use it to expose and discredit people such as Arshi Qureshi, who are a vital link in the jihad pipeline.

IRF man influenced my son, he joined ISIS: Majeed’s mom

Rebecca Samervel | TNN | Mar 12, 2017, 01.27 AM IST

MUMBAI: The Zakir Naik-led Islamic Research Foundation’s Arshi Qureshi had a huge impact on youths in Kerala who joined ISIS in Syria, read statements in the chargesheet filed against him as well as absconding accused Abdul Rashid.

A copy of the chargesheet, filed last month before special judge V V Patil, was handed over on Friday to incarcerated accused Qureshi, a manager with Islamic Research Foundation. He is accused of instigating the group along with Rashid, who was employed with a Kerala school. Qureshi was arrested in the city in August 2016.

The chargesheet includes a statement by the mother of Ashfaque Majeed, one of the youths who fled the country to join ISIS in 2016 with his wife and daughter. Ashfaque’s father, who runs a lodge in Mumbai, had filed a complaint for alleged radicalization of his son by four accused, including Qureshi and Rashid. “Arshi works for IRF, he knows a lot about the right principles of Islam,” Majeed allegedly told his family.

In her statement to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Majeed’s mother said that whenever he used to speak to his friends—some of whom went with him to join ISIS—he would tell them to seek advice from “Arshi bhai”.

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