Assalamu Alaikum,
Are you the same person who was in Ms. Merbiyyah’s class in 3rd grade by any chance?

About the definition of radicalization. I found it strange that some of the guests mentioned the word violent, illegal, and violence in their definitions. The government uses the term “violent radicalization” because even they know radicalization by itself is not necessarily violent. see: http://thomas.loc.gov/home/gpoxmlc110/h1955_rfs.xml

Even the NYPD Radicalization report says the intent to commit violence does not happen till after a person has been radicalized, And it does not necessarily happen at all for most radicals.

It is interesting to note that Martin Luther King was seen as being a radical by the FBI. See: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/03/31/mlk.fbi.conspiracy/index.html So speaker like Imam Mahdi Bray were correct to say the term can mean different things to different people.

Its obvious that our communal concern is to prevent the violent kind of radicalization. While it is unfortunate the NYPD report suggests that increased religiosity is an initial step in radicalization it does make a good point in saying there is a process at play. The indoctrination stage is clearly the most critical. This is where the weak minded, and easy prey are whispered to (similar to how shaytan whispers). And they are told.. “Your brothers and sisters are dying!” … “You should do something drastic!”…”Protesting to a kafir state legitimizes their existence which undermines Allah’s lone sovereignty, So you can’t protest”… This is where propaganda videos from the internet do the most damage. A young person once told me his friends downloaded the video of the throat being slit of the wall street journalist, Daniel Pearl. I was horrified to know that a group of Muslim youth would collectively watch something that atrocious and become desensitized to something so serious. And how could they not know that such an act is totally wrong and deplorable? Its the justifications that people feel so strongly about that cause them to blur the boundaries that Allah (S) has put in place, ironically in his name.

About Jihad Fever, I found a comment on the NY Times Article, The Jihadi next door to be quite profound: “This is where boredom meets teenage testosterone levels. A news photographer once commented that many of the wars he was covering were being fought by young men who prefer the romance and valor of war to other, less glamorous pursuits in agriculture or industry. Ask most teenage boys whether they want to wear a smock and play servant to fast food or big box shoppers, or carry an automatic weapon and strike fear into the hearts of all they encounter.”

I saw let them go play Call of Duty to drain their intestinal fortitude and then come back to reality. There are 300 Million people in America, arguably there are 4-9 Million Muslims in America. That means less than 2% of the entire population is Muslim. Look at the recent Gallop poll study, over 70% of Americans hold negative views on Islam. So guess what happens every time a Muslim decides to play GI-HAD JOE they go somewhere and do something. And their neighbors are then interviewed.. the common reoccurring statement is given: “We thought they were such good people, I guess we were wrong”. How can someone intentionally hurt the cause of Islam in America and naturally worldwide?

May Allah reward you shaikh Suhaib and crew for hosting this event. It was a great first step to reaching a good ends inshAllah.

Maybe next time we can have some input from the youth themselves. Let the youth speak about the issue that is relevant to the youth.

BarakAllah feekum