Faiza Patel: 'The term ‘radicalization’ simplifies terrorism'

December 4, 2015

There’s no religious conveyor belt to becoming radicalized says Brennan Center for Justice’s Faiza Patel

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Faiza Patel: 'The term ‘radicalization’ simplifies terrorism'

As we learn more about Syed Farook and his wife. Were they in fact terrorists? And by that I mean was their act political in nature, in which 35 innocent victims, stood in for some larger group they despised? The second, perhaps more important, question is whether the couple went through some process that resulted in their heinous actions and whether that process can be identified, and destroyed. Despite headlines you'll see in newspapers and banners you'll see on TV - this is complicated. Part of what makes it complicated is that the process I'm talking about - radicalization - is not clearly understood. And some people who have studied the issue don't like the term itself. They include Faiza Patel. She's the co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice and a contributor for Al Jazeera. Ali Velshi asks her why she's so troubled by the world radicalization


 

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