CONTROVERSIES OF CONVERSIONS: THE POTENTIAL TERRORIST THREAT OF EUROPEAN CONVERTS TO ISLAM Monika Gabriela Bartoszewicz A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2013 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3676 This item is protected by original copyright Controversies of Conversions: The Potential Terrorist Threat of European Converts to Islam. Monika Gabriela Bartoszewicz School of International Relations University of St. Andrews Thesis submitted for Degree of PhD on September 11, 2012. Rodzinie poświęcam. 1 Abstract The conventional wisdom regarding European converts to Islam is based on the premise that the majority lack the necessary religious knowledge and being thus unable to discern between the various interpretations of Islam, they constitute easy prey for radicals. Moreover, the myth of “convert’s zeal” contributes to the belief that being ready to prove their dedication to the new faith and community, converts are ready and willing do to everything, including the most atrocious acts of political violence. This thesis focuses on the question that asks: Under what conditions do converts to Islam coming from indigenous European societies radicalise? In other words, which factors determine both their non-violent (ideological) and violent (with subsequent engagement in terrorism) radicalisation? Consequently, the research aims to examine what the radicalisation mechanisms are that may lead to such an activity, to determine possible regularities and to analyse viable implications pertaining to countering them. The research aims to establish the conditions under which conversion leads to radicalisation and terrorist violence; analyse recrudescent concomitances of causal mechanisms of this phenomenon; explore possible pathways existing between conversion, radicalisation and terrorist violence; identify key variables pertaining to causal pathways and processes; provide hypotheses regarding the radicalisation pathways, and establish a typology that can serve as a basis for further studies. In this way the thesis contributes to the existing body of knowledge on the processes of radicalisation, establishing a base for further studies and enabling others to follow with more nuanced and elaborate theories in order to provide contingent recommendations for policy makers. By dispelling many stereotypes concerning European New Muslims this thesis offers a new, contextual approach to the researched question thus inviting the reader to reconsider the concepts of “convert”, “radicalisation” and “potential”- crucial for analysing the widely expressed assumptions that European converts to Islam are a homogenous “risk group” and a security threat. 2 1. Candidate’s declarations: I, Monika Gabriela Bartoszewicz, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 80.000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September 2008 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD in September 2009; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2009 and 2012. Date: Signature of Candidate: 2. Supervisor’s declaration: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date: Signature of Supervisor: 3. Permission for electronic publication: In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. I have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this thesis: Access to printed copy and electronic publication of thesis through the University of St Andrews. Date: Signature of Candidate: Signature of Supervisor: 3 CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES....................................................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................7 Context.......................................................................................................................................................8 Structure...................................................................................................................................................10 Contribution to Knowledge.......................................................................................................................13 CHAPTER 1.RESEARCHING THE INVISIBLE..................................................................................16 1.1. Noticing the Invisible...................................................................................................................16 1.1.1. Research difficulties...............................................................................................17 1.1.2. Conventional wisdom............................................................................................19 1.1.3. Literature on the subject........................................................................................21 1.2. Research question......................................................................................................................24 1.3. Naming the Invisible....................................................................................................................27 1.4. Accessing the Invisible................................................................................................................30 1.5. Touching the Invisible..................................................................................................................33 1.5.1. Data........................................................................................................................33 1.5.2. Selected cases.......................................................................................................35 1.5.3. Causal mechanism.................................................................................................36 1.5.4. Process tracing.......................................................................................................37 1.5.5. Typology.................................................................................................................39 1.6. The Invisible ethics......................................................................................................................41 1.7. Towards the new theory..............................................................................................................44 CHAPTER 2.BECOMING TO BE.........................................................................................................46 2.1. The Mystery of Conversion.........................................................................................................48 2.2. Theoretical Maze.........................................................................................................................49 2.3. Passive and Active Paradigms....................................................................................................51 2.4. Collective and Individualist Approaches.....................................................................................53 2.5. The Security Gap........................................................................................................................59 2.6. The Four Elements......................................................................................................................62 2.7. Metatheoretical Matrix.................................................................................................................65 4 2.7.1. Islam as Goods, Conversion as Necessity.............................................................68 2.7.2. Islam as Development, Conversion as Enlightenment...........................................69 2.7.3. Islam as Answer, Conversion as Solution..............................................................71 2.7.4. Islam as Salvation, Conversion as Remedy...........................................................72 2.8. Conversion – The Boundary Within and Without........................................................................74 CHAPTER 3. EUROPEAN NEW MUSLIMS: PROMISE OR