Where is radical islam

Radical Islam Rising. Although the West denounces the spread of radical Islam in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and elsewhere in the Muslim world, it tends to overlook the development of Islamic extremism in its own societies. Over the past several decades, groups like al-Qaeda have been supported by thousands of citizens of the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Western democracies.

Rejecting their national identity, they have heeded international calls to "jihad" and formed extremist groups to fight their own countries. This groundbreaking book represents one of the first systematic attempts to explain why Westerners join radical Islamic groups. Quintan Wiktorowicz details the mechanisms that attract potential recruits, the instruments of persuasion that convince them that radical groups represent "real Islam," and the socialization process that prods them to engage in risky extremism.

Throughout, he traces the subtle process that can turn seemingly unreligious people into supporters of religious violence. The author's invaluable insights are based upon nearly unprecedented access to a radical Islamic group in the West.

Half of Muslim Americans say it has become harder to be Muslim in the U. Living in a religiously pluralistic society, Muslim Americans are more likely than Muslims in many other largely Muslim-majority nations to have a lot of non-Muslim friends.

Roughly two-thirds of U. By some of these traditional measures, Muslims in the U. Christians, although they are less religious than Muslims in many other nations. And about half of U. Sunnis and Shiites are two subgroups of Muslims, just as Catholics and Protestants are two subgroups within Christianity. The Sunni-Shiite divide is nearly 1, years old, dating back to a dispute over the succession of leadership in the Muslim community following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in While the two groups agree on some core tenets of Islam, there are differences in beliefs and practices , and in some cases Sunnis do not consider Shiites to be Muslims.

With the exception of a few countries, including Iran which is majority Shiite as well as Iraq and Lebanon which are split , most nations with a large number of Muslims have more Sunnis than Shiites. In the U. Note: This post was updated on Aug. It was originally published Dec. Correction: U. In many ways, Muslim men and women see life in America differently. Muslims are religiously observant, but open to multiple interpretations of Islam. In times of uncertainty, good decisions demand good data.

Please support our research with a financial contribution. It organizes the public into nine distinct groups, based on an analysis of their attitudes and values. Even in a polarized era, the survey reveals deep divisions in both partisan coalitions. Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics.

Pew Research Center now uses as the last birth year for Millennials in our work. President Michael Dimock explains why. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions.

It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Research on the nature of jihadism in the West reveals possible answers. An enormous rally in Jakarta, organised by hardline Islamic militia group the Islamic Defenders Front, appears to have mobilised a diverse group of conservative Muslims in Indonesia. The reality of the November 4 rally in Jakarta is much more complex than growing Islamic radicalism in Indonesia.

Comparisons of foreign volunteers in Syria to the International Brigades of Spain are apt, but not for the reasons you think. At first, it seems like IS has an image perfect for driving recruitment — but in fact, its image has very limited appeal. A lot of people are marginalised or angry, but only a few go on to actually commit violent acts. David Cameron has attacked universities for allowing radical Islam to be spread on their campuses.