American researcher examines origins of radical Salafi trend in his country

Ahmed Lamlom

The movements of the Salafi trend in the United States draw the attention of academics in political science, history and terrorism; most see this trend as amorphous and complex.

George Hitchens, a researcher at George Washington University’s Anti-Extremism Program, published a new report entitled “Salafism in America: History, Assessment and Extremism,” in which he spoke about the origins of this radical Islamist movement in the United States.

Hitchens divides this trend into three groups. The first is not interested in politics and is conservative in behavior. She is interested in showing her religiosity in her behavior, appearance and personal life, and the members of this group tend not to encounter modern life.

The second group, the Salafi activists, who share the Brotherhood’s lack of patience to see Muslim states rule by regimes inspired by other beliefs, are not organized like the Brotherhood, but are influenced by the group’s beliefs.

The third group is the terrorist Salafis, who believe that the only appropriate response to the existence of non-religious regimes in the Muslim world is violence, and the three groups are questioning the democratic institutions that give power to people.

In his report, Hitchens says that the three groups of Salafism have flourished in the United States in recent decades, with changes in favor of each group separately, and that important individuals have moved among these groups.

The report also addresses some of the Salafi Americans, including Ali al-Tamimi, who was born in Washington, spent several years in the Middle East and returned to the United States. He received his doctorate in biology and was jailed in 2005 for terrorism, including the recruitment of militants to wage war against America and help the Taliban. In the point of view of Hitchens, Tamimi represents an important example of how to turn a normal person gradually to become a preacher of terrorism.