Is 'the internet' to blame people becoming radicals?

Great Debates
1

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The Netherlands’ intelligence service warned Thursday that radical Islamic ideology is spreading to thousands of young Dutch Muslims through Internet sites and online chat rooms.

The agency, known by its acronym AIVD, identified the potential threat in an overview of domestic fundamentalist Islamic movements compiled for the Home Affairs Ministry in the wake of the country’s first terrorist attack.

The publication comes nearly two months after the murder of film director Theo van Gogh, who was shot and stabbed to death on a busy Amsterdam street. A letter pinned to his chest with a knife threatened politicians and other “infidel nonbelievers.”

The 60-page report said a variety of sources of radical Islam pose a threat to the country, ranging from Salifist mosques openly preaching anti-Western, antidemocratic ideas to an underground political movement backing violent jihad, or Islamic holy war.

“Europe and the Netherlands have been confronted with extreme violence,” the report said, referring to Van Gogh’s murder Nov. 2 and the train bombings in Madrid, Spain, last March 11.

The spread of radical Web sites as an alternative to traditional outlets of Islamic teaching, such as mosques, makes it harder for authorities to isolate potential threats, the report said.

“Especially the youth have found their way to Web sites of radical Islamic spiritual leaders,” it said. “These Web sites increasingly contribute to the radicalization of Muslim communities in the Netherlands.”

The report lists 20 guidelines for reducing the threat of radicalization, such as promoting positive role models and the emancipation of Islamic women. But it warns against focusing on terrorist groups and ignoring social problems that lead some young people to militancy.

The agency also sees problems in “dawa” movements, which are not violent but promote radical Islamic ideology. Among them are al-Takfir, which seeks to convert immigrant Muslims in the West back to the fundamentalist Islam of the 7th century.

from http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20041223-1404-netherlands-radicalislam.html [among others]

So; If the internet is the problem, what can we do about it?

2

Link to the cited report (61-page PDF file… sorry… in Dutch…)

It is actually titled “the diverse threats to democratic society posed by radical islam”.

The WSJ has done many pieces on the subject lately, the latest was just today: EU Faces Home-Grown Terror Threat (paid registration required). That article also contains links to their earlier pieces.

To answer the question, IMHO of course, no, I don’t think the Internet is a particularly important causal factor, and insofar as it is, it would be one of the most difficult things to do “something” about.

3

Radicalism predates the Internet by … well, forever. As far as I can see, the Internet has changed society in two main ways:

First, it makes it easier for tiny percentages on the fringes to find others who share their views. Not just politics but any unpopular belief or interest. Sexual paraphilias in particular have exploded since the web made discussion and photo sharing possible between anyone who can do a web search.

Second, it allows a grass-roots level of organization that was too expensive, too slow or too cumbersome to do before. An article in my local paper gives me a good example. Observers have uncovered a chartered jet service that the CIA is apparently using to shuttle prisoners around the world for interrogation. Multiple sightings of prisoners being loaded about private jets with identifiable numbers, and data searches that turned up paper companies with fraudulent employee IDs have been reported. This would have scarecely been possible before the Net era.