Panel Discussion: Examining the Extreme: Radicalisation among Muslim Youth – Mediums and Tools

Wed, 03 Jun 2015 18:30 in Discussion Forums

Where: Dialogue Society, 402 Holloway Road, London, N7 6PZ
Date: 3rd June 2015
Time: 18:30

Speaker:

Alex Krasodomski-Jones, Demos
Naveed Sheikh, Keele University
Anthony Richards, University of East London

Abstract

Recent terrorist attacks in places as far apart as France, Tunisia, Pakistan, and Kenya, together with the flow of young people born and raised in the UK to the ranks of ISIS over the past year, have once again brought the topic of religious extremism to the forefront of public consciousness. This panel discussion aims to offer a timely discussion of the mediums and tools used by young people during the radicalisation process in light of recent terror attacks in countries across the world, as well as the rise of the so-called Islamic State across swathes of Syria and Iraq.

Questions

What is the role of internet in the radicalisation process?
How has social media and its use by terrorist groups such as ISIS changed the way in which young people are radicalised?
What are the possible implications for issues of Internet freedom and censorship?
Do public places such as schools and mosques play a role in the radicalisation process?

Biography of Alex Krasodomski-Jones

Alex Krasodomski-Jones is an Associate with Demos’ Centre for the Analysis of Social Media, where he has worked on projects into the use of social media by terrorist groups, including Islamic State.

Biography of Naveed Sheikh

Naveed S. Sheikh holds a First Class BA (hons) in Politics and Modern History from the university of Buckingham, where he completed his degree in two years, received five merit prizes for academic excellence, and graduated with the university’s highest honour, the Edgar Palamountain Medal of Excellence, presented to him by Lady Thatcher in 1997.

He also has an MA in International Relations (with distinction) from the University of Durham, where his master dissertation received the highest mark since the founding of the Department of Politics. He proceeded to enrol for a Ph.D. at the Centre of International Studies at the University of Cambridge, working on a thesis on nuclear non-/proliferation and identity imaginaries. He has held fellowships at Harvard University (2001-02) and Hosei University in Tokyo (2003-04). He joined SPIRE as a permanent lecturer in International Relations in September 2005.

Biography of Anthony Richards

Anthony Richards is a Reader in Terrorism Studies in the School of Business and Law at the University of East London. He has published on a wide range of terrorist related themes including radicalisation and extremism, UK counter-terrorism, British public and Muslim attitudes towards both terrorism and counter-terrorism, homeland security, terrorism and sport, and terrorism in Northern Ireland. His latest article on UK counter-terrorism and extremism has been published in International Affairs (March 2015). He was the lead editor for the volume Terrorism and the Olympics: Major event security and lessons for the future (London: Routledge, 2011) and his book on Conceptualising Terrorism will be published by Oxford University Press in September this year.