A Broad Spectrum of Signs of Islamist Radicalisation
PERSPECTIVES ON TERRORISM Volume 14, Issue 3 A Broad Spectrum of Signs of Islamist Radicalisation and Extremism in a Country without a Single Terrorist Attack: The Case of Slovenia by Iztok Prezelj & Klemen Kocjancic Abstract Studies in radicalisation, extremism and terrorism generally focus on the most visible and dangerous groups or attacks, frequently leaving smaller cases overlooked. This article looks at the case of one country that has no publicly known terrorist group and has not experienced a single terrorist attack (Slovenia) and shows that this ‘non-case’ is actually an example of a very broad spectrum of basic and supportive forms of Islamist extremism. The article identifies and studies instances of the transit of foreign Islamists, their finances and arms, provides examples of local foreign fighters and their return, identifies NGOs with radical agendas and attempts at recruitment, as well as threats made to local authorities, training under the cover of a social event, the deportation of extremists, and a foiled terrorist attack. Most of these indicators are linked to Jihadi and Islamist sources of power based in Bosnia. Overlooking and underestimating cases like Slovenia could have serious consequences in terms of prevention and preparedness. Keywords: Islamist radicalisation, extremism, jihadism, recruitment, terrorism, foreign fighters, training, foiled attack, Slovenia, Balkans Introduction The goal of this article is to explore the forms and the spectrum of Islamist radicalisation faced by an EU member state that has not had a single successful terrorist attack on its soil and where no officially recognised terrorist group is actively working against the country. Researchers and analysts normally study cases with the most visible problems (terrorism and radicalisation in our case), yet it sometimes makes sense to look at—and perhaps learn also from—cases where the problem is less apparent.
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