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Matt BluntMark
S.
James
James
F.
Keathley
Van
Godsey
Dircclot,
DPS
Colonel,
MSHP
Dircctor,
MlAc
MiAC
ALERT
November
4,2008
AMERICAN R,ADICAL
ISLAMIC
CONVERTS
(ARtrCS)l
(note:
much of
this
irfornatjon
has
beeilexcerpled
from
a
U.S.
Depatunenl
of
HoDleland
documeDl
thal
is
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL
USE
ONLY/LAW
ENFORCEMENT
SENSITIVE)
Arrerican Radical Islamic Conveil(ARIC)js
a
new term
that the
U.S.
Deparhnent
ol
llomeland
Secu-
rit),
ir
usinoto descr'be
a
loose
knit
group
ofmilitant Muslim converts
olemtirg
throughoul
the
United
States and
probably Missouri.
Other countriesalso host
individuals that shde
the same
or similaride-
ologies.
ARICs
are
potentially
violert
becausethey
believe in
a
radical form of
ls1am
called Salafism,
aud be-cause they
believe
governmentand societyare
hostile
to them or
theirbeliefs.They adopt militantlslamism
for
a
varietyofreasons,
butgenerally
harbor
many
of
the same resentments
towad
the
UnitedShtes
as
t}eir
Muslim-bom
counterpailsbased on:
-U.S. foreignpoticyin
the
Mjddle
Easl,
especially
the
Imq
and
AfghanistcD wrrs.-U.S.
support
for
Israel.
'U.S.
suppoil for
authodtarian regimes
in Arab
and
Muslim
couDtries that
theyview
as
rcpressive and
corupt.
Many ARICs
considertheir
opposiiion
to
be
partof
a
justifled
defense
of lslam,and tendto direct
their
anger
toward
1oca1
symbols
of
authorit),and
American
power,
including
1aw
enforcement
agencies,
mili-
tarybases, and other
institutions
theyperceive
as
being
oppressive
to Muslims.
ARICS are
not
a
unifiedgrcupwith
a
strategic set
of
goa1s,
and
usually
do
nol
have
regularmeetirg
times orplaces.However,they may meet
wilh
and sharethe ob.iectives
of
the
imDediatecommunily,
netwolt,
mosque, organg
lo which
they
belong;often
adopting tbe
politics
andcause
of
whomever
in-
troduced
them
to Isiam
or
of the
militantswithwhorn
the)' interact.
ARICs
typically
sharea
number
of comnon
characteristics,
including:
-
They
aregenerall), men but may
inciudewomen
and even
children, especialll'
teenag9$.-
Tlrey
are usually
in their
twentiesor
early thirlies.
-
Most ARICs
have
criminal
hislodes,
but
a
numbet
ate
"notmal"
college oruniversity
students.-
Many
have received trainiDg
in
the
rnaflial
arLs
and
in
the use
of
firearms.-
Most
have advanced
sldllsin
computersand
inlonnatjot
lechnology
-
Many
have served
in
the U.S.
militarl'.
-
Some have alignedthemselves
with
al-Qaeda
or
other
intematjollalIslamist
militanl
organizalions,
or expressedsupPofl
for
theil
violent pirilosophiesWhile
il
is important
to understand thethreal
Potential
posed
by ARICs,it is
also
importanl
to keep
inmind
the differencesbetween
ARICS
and tltose
Arnericanswhoconverl to
Islam
in
age:ruine
belieftbat
UNCLASSIFIED//LAWENFORCEMENT
SENSITIVE
(U//LES)
it
will
betrer
their']ives.ARICs
represent
a
ninorjly
among AlnericaD
Muslin
converts
iD
lbe Uniled
States.
Groups
with
a
kuown Missouri
presenceor
having Missourimeflbers.
and
ill
which
some membershave aclopted
a
violent
or sal^fist
ideology
are:
Neu, Black
PantherParly
Nation
oflslam
United
Nuwaubian
NationoI
Moo$
Nrtioial
Blacl
UniledFrontVoorrsh
Scien.e Temple
of Alner.cl
Jarnaat al-Fuqra(
aka.
Muslims
of the
Anericas)Ideology
Whiie they
rnay
nol
have
a
single
i.leology, Dany
adhele
to
a
militanl
Sdafivariant
of
SunniIslam.Salafism is
a
fun.lalnentalisl outlook
thal shessesstl-iltgentpersonal,social.and
religious
purification,
and
is believed
to emulate whal
foilowers inleryret
to bethe
early
example
of
the
ProphetMohammed
Salafis
rejecr
westem ideologies such
as
capilalism
andsocial
iustice.
ancl
have
a
lileral
beliefof
theQuranand
hadlth
(sayings
ol
the
Prophel).
They
advocate
recreation
of thegolden
age of
the
first
four
descendants
of
the Prophet, restoration
of
the
caliphate(lslamicgovernnenl
that
leads
aid
unitesthe
Muslim
world),
andcreation
of
a
stalegoverned
by
theil
radicalinterpretatiou ofsharia(Islamiclaw)
These
ilgid
views
appealto those whobelieve
in
a
radical
form ofjihad,
and
a
violent rcstorationof thecaliphate.
The
Madrid tmin
bombings
in
2004and the
Londontenor
atlacks
in 2005werc
cailied
out byconvefis to this
type
of
extremism.
Typicaliy, ARICS
are
not
Muslim
by
bfth,
butare
U
S
citizens.
legal
U
S
residents'
or
illegalimrnj-
grants
who
haveembracecl
salafism.
TheSrealest
majorit)'
ofARICs
are
AfricanAmericans'$'ith
cau-
casians and Hispanics
makng
up the
remainder.Salafismis
also attractlve
lo
those
who
are seeldng
a
way
out of
personal
crisis
or
lrying
toovercome
problems
such
as
drug or
alcohol
abuse.
AfricanAmericans
in
particular
aredrawn
toIslam's notjonof spiritual"leversjon,
"
since
it
may confer
a sense
of Doral superiority
as
well
as
spirituai
empowermeDt.
As
the descelldants
of
slaves
flom
pafis
ofMuslimwest
Africa
who adoptedthe
chdstiail
beliefsof thgir
owners,many
Aflican
Amelicansto-
day
regardreverting
to Islamto be an
assertio!of theirethnic
andcuhural ideDtit),as
well
as
a
symbolic
break
irom
the legacy
of slaver)'
These
lactors
may
explain
wh1'
6any
mnlastream
African-American
Muslim convefis,
as
well
as
many
African-AmerjcanARICs,
also
ideiltjfywith
activisi
Sroupssuch
as
the
Neq, Black
PantberParty, the NalioDoI
Islam,
etc
Recruitment
Typical
avenues
utilized
by
Americans
to
convert
to
radicallslam
are
pdsons'mosquesandstudent
Muslimcommunity
cenlers,and the
Intenet.Prisons
can seryeto connect
militantlslam
atrd
crirniiality.
The
harshpdson enviaonnrenl
is conducjve
to
religiousconvercion,
and tencls
to have
a
profound influencein
shqping
aD
extremisl outlook
and
tlle
adopritn
of
miijtancl',
q41ile
the
preachiilgofu'haljslinou'n
as
"Prison
Islau"
disLorts
I(orailc
teaching
and
prornoles vidence
ancl
gang
loyallJ'.
A
close-kni1
community
and
sense
olbrotherhood
amoDg
Mus-limprisoners
alsoprovjdes
a sense
ofsecuilt)'
and
support-aswell
as
much needed
protection fromprison
gangs-Ior
those who
ma)'feelvulnerable
lD additioD,
Muslirn
pdsoners
often developDetwotks
lhar
contil'ue
{o.uppon
lormel
inmile\.
UNCLASSIFTED//LAW
ENFORCEMENTSENSITIVE
(U/1LES)
Prison
mdicalizationprilnadly
occursthrough
anti
U.S. sermons
provided
b)'
contracl,\'olunleer, orstall
imans,
radlcalized
inmates who
gair religiousiDfluence,
and extrernisl medlaJam
iyyat
Ul-lslam
As
Sqheeh(JIS),
an
IslaDic
leroljst
grouP
u'as
slailed in
1
997
in
zr
Czrlifornla
prisor
bl, I(evin lames.
James andthree other JISDrelrbers
plotted
10
boDbU
S
govemmcnt
and
nilitary
[a
cilities,
and
Israeli institutions in
the
Los Angeles
area
in
the
fall
ol
2005.
ln
an
effort
to convert itscrirninal behavior into
a
foiln
of
service
to
ilsradical
lsiamisl
ageDda:its
nembersalso robbed
1
1gas
slatiois
in
the Los Angeles
area
ir
furtherance
ol
"theduty of
JIS
menbers
to
lalget
for
violent
atlackany enemies
of lslam."
JaDes also authored
a
maniiesto
known
as
the
"JISProtocol"
as
weil
as
other
malerialthar outiines
the
group'sideological
stance aildprovides
taclical
and
operational dilectjon,
to
its rnembers
inside
aDd
oLil-
srde
ofprison.
The
docurnents,which contain
lengthy
criticism ofthe
United Stales,
call on JIS's
fol-
lowers to
wage
vlolentjihad
againstwhat
James
calls
the
"enemies"oflslam,
or
nonbelievers(jnfidels),including
the
United
States.
Moreover,
according
tolocal security
officiaJs. JIS
members were
oon-Dected
to
a
wider militant
cuiture
within
the
Califomiapdson
syslem.
Jose
Padilh,
a
37
yearold
lllspanic
u,ith
a
history
ofpetty cljme
and tjes
b
s[cetgangs.
v"as
rmpris-
oned
iI
2002 by U.S.
authorities
in
Chicago on
terodsrn
charges rclatedto his
allegedassociation
with
tenorist
groups
both in
the
United
Stales
and
abroad.
He convefied
to Islamafter
servingtime
in
the
Florida'sBroward
Counq,
jailin
I
992,
aDd
is bellcved to
have been
radicaiized beforeallegedlyplottiDg
to delonate
.i dirl),
bombRichard
Reid
(theshoebomber tvho
failed)
is
thoughtlo
have been radjcalized
ir
a
British
prisonDuring
thesentencinghearing he openlystated
that
hewas an
lslamic fundamentalist
and
declaredhimself
an
enemy of Uniled
States
aod
was
a
foilower of
Osama
bin
Laden
and
A]-Qaeda
Basedon
a
rccetrl
estimates, numbers
of
islamicprisoners
andparolees in
Missouri range
from
I
4.000
to
almost
I
7.000,
ancl
while
the exlenl oI
radicalizationorconversiot to
!
Sllafi
folm
of Islamis
un-
)ilown-
the
potential
1'or
our
prisonr kl
produoe
ARiCs is
a
matlerof
coDcern
MoEques,
Collegesand
Utriversitl'
Campusesare
another
avenue
for
the
production of ARICs.
While
tbe
majodty
of Amgdcan
mosques
aDd
lslamic
studiescenters do
notfostel
oI espouse
radicallslamism,
therc are mosques and
Islamic
studiescanterswhose
imams
haveprornoted
reli.rious
and
political mili-
taDcy and
the
virrues
of
violence
ir
ciosed
circles,
if
not
openly
Such imams
likely
count on
a
gtoup
of
dedjcated
followerc
10
whom
they can
espouse
theirradical
teachings
iil
the moi€
controlled
enviion-
menl
of study
groups
or
other social settings.
WithiD
these
environments,cleicsand othercharismatic
radicals are best able
to
influence convefts.Mosques and
Study
Centersarc importantplaces u'here
radical
eleme11tscan
atlract
converls
and iDlroduce themto
theil militant
agendas.
Although
ladical
preachers
are oftenhjghlighte.i
for $eir
lole
in
inspiringmilitancy,aspiring militants
do
nol
need
to
lool( toextremisl clerics for
support.
lll
this
sense,
moscluesserve as
social
venueswhere
militants
can
meet
regularly
and developclose bonds,
often lnnetwod(s completel)'separate
from
clerics and
other
worshippers.
This
is the
case
even
in
mainstreaD Muslim
mosques,slncemdicals
may
attendsuch
a
mosquedesplte its
naiusleamoutlook
One
expeil, however,
beiievesthepotential
for radicalizationin American
mosques
is serious
A
De-
cember 2005 issue
of
theJerusalem Posl,references
a
statement
byYehudil
Barsfty,
DirectoroI
the
IINCI,ASSIFIED//LA1I/ ENFORCEMENTSENSITIVE(U/iLES)
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