Momin Khawaja: Mechanisms of Radicalization
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Momin Khawaja: Mechanisms of Radicalization Report to the Office of University Programs, Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security August 2016 National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism A Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence Based at the University of Maryland 8400 Baltimore Ave., Suite 250 • College Park, MD 20740 • 301.405.6600 www.start.umd.edu National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism A Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence About This Report The authors of this report are Clark McCauley, Research Professor of Psychology at Bryn Mawr College, Thomas Quiggin, Senior Researcher at the Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security Studies at Carleton University, and Sophia Moskalenko, research fellow at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). Questions about this report should be directed to Clark McCauley, [email protected]. This report is part of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) project, “Radicalization of Momin Khawaja,” led by Clark McCauley. This research was supported by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s Office of University Programs through Award Number 2012-ST-061-CS0001, Center for the Study of Terrorism and Behavior (CSTAB) CSTAB Project 2.5 made to START to investigate the understanding and countering of terrorism within the United States. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or START. About START The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) is supported in part by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s Office of University Programs through a Center of Excellence program led by the University of Maryland. START uses state‐of‐the‐art theories, methods and data from the social and behavioral sciences to improve understanding of the origins, dynamics and social and psychological impacts of terrorism. For more information, contact START at [email protected] or visit www.start.umd.edu. Citations To cite this report, please use this format: McCauley, Clark, and Thomas Quiggin, Sophia Moskalenko. “Momin Khawaja: Mechanisms of Radicalization,” Final Report to the Office of University Programs, Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Department of Homeland Security. College Park, MD: START, 2016. Momin Khawaja: Mechanisms of Radicalization 1 National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism A Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence Contents Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 The Early Years and Political Awakening: 1979-2000 ...................................................................................................... 5 History Matters.............................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Momin Khawaja – The Early Years (1979-1993) ............................................................................................................. 6 Momin Khawaja – The Return to Ottawa (1993-2000) ................................................................................................. 9 Family Status and Income ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 The Influence of his Father ..................................................................................................................................................... 14 The Influence of his Mother .................................................................................................................................................... 16 The Year 2000: The Turning Point ...................................................................................................................................... 18 Radicalization of Opinion and the Transition to Violent Action: September 2000 to his January-March 2002 trip to Pakistan ..................................................................................................................................................................... 20 The Second Palestinian Intifada ........................................................................................................................................... 20 The 9/11 Attacks ........................................................................................................................................................................ 22 The Invasion of Afghanistan ................................................................................................................................................... 23 The Sense of Double Isolation from both Canadian and South Asian Societies ................................................. 28 Technical Training ..................................................................................................................................................................... 30 The Role of Al Muhajiroun ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 Momin Khawaja’s Justification for Violent Action ......................................................................................................... 33 Overview of the Radicalization of a Foreign Fighter .................................................................................................... 35 Disappointed but Determined: Return from Pakistan in March 2002 until his arrest in March 2004 .......... 36 Supporting Jihad from Canada .............................................................................................................................................. 36 The Invasion of Iraq – 20 March 2003 ............................................................................................................................... 39 The Trip to Pakistan and Terrorist Training Camp ....................................................................................................... 41 The Final Trip to London ......................................................................................................................................................... 43 Understanding Momin Khawaja’s Radicalization to Violent Action ............................................................................ 46 Mechanisms of Radicalization ............................................................................................................................................... 46 The Caring-Compelled Profile ............................................................................................................................................... 48 Implications for Counterterrorism ........................................................................................................................................... 51 Appendix 1. ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 54 Momin Khawaja: Mechanisms of Radicalization 2 National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism A Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence Executive Summary Momin Khawaja is a Canadian citizen serving a life sentence for material support of terrorism. He was arrested in 2004 in connection with a U.K. bomb plot, and the trial record includes hundreds of pages of his emails and blog posts that describe his childhood, high school, college, and work experiences. His own writing thus provides a detailed record of his radicalization to both extreme ideas and extreme action. This report focuses on his first commitment to violent action, when in 2002 he attempted to join the Taliban in fighting Western forces in Afghanistan. He was too late; the Taliban were defeated before he could join them. But his attempt to join the Taliban makes Momin Khawaja an early example of a currently salient problem: a Muslim who leaves the safety of a Western country to join in jihad against Western forces in a Muslim country. Analysis of this early example of a Western foreign fighter indicates that he was self-radicalized to go alone to join the Taliban, that he fits the caring-compelled profile suggested for lone-actor terrorists, and that his strong emotional reactions to the suffering of the Ummah distinguish him from the many Muslims who share his ideas but do not take action. Possible implications for counterterrorism are discussed. Momin Khawaja: Mechanisms of Radicalization 3 National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses