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Abstract
Recently many scholars have focused their attention on the dynamics of radicalization, de-radicalization, and disengagement, yet most studies are based on indirect and/or data which is difficult to verify. An exception comes from Italy, where authorities have recently benefited from the insights of two former members of an al Qaeda-affiliated Tunisian network. The two have voluntarily described to authorities the process and factors that led them to their radicalization and encouraged them to abondon the network. Based on thousands of pages of their unpublished confessions, the article provides a case study of radicalization that is rich in detail and uniquely reliable.
Notes
For an excellent and recent overview of the literature, see Anja Dalgaard-Nielsen, “Violent Radicalization in Europe: What We Know and What We Do Not Know,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 33, no. 9 (2010): 797–814; and Magnus Ranstorp, “Introduction,” in Magnus Ranstorp, ed., Understanding Violent Radicalisation: Terrorist and Jihadist Movements in Europe (London: Routledge, 2009), 1–18.
See, for example, Edwin Bakker, Jihadi terrorists in Europe, their characteristics and the circumstance in which they joined the jihad: An exploratory study (Clingendael Institute, 2006); Marc Sageman, Understanding Terrorist Networks (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004); Petter Nesser, Jihad in Europe: A Survey of the Motivations of Sunni Islamist Terrorism in the Post-Millennium Europe (Norway: Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, 2004); Michael Taarnby, Recruitment of Islamist Terrorists in Europe: Trends and Perspectives, report funded by the Danish Ministry of Justice, submitted January 14, 2005; Rik Coolsaet, ed., Jihadi Terrorism and the Radicalisation Challenge in Europe (London: Ashgate, 2008); and Robert S. Leiken, “Europe's Angry Muslims,” Foreign Affairs, July/August 2005.
See, for example, Magnus Ranstorp, ed., Mapping Terrorism Research (Oxford: Routledge, 2006); and Andrew Silke, “Holy Warriors: Explaining the Psychological Processes of Jihadi Radicalization,” European Journal of Criminology 5, no. 1 (2008): 99–123.
Interview with Marc Sageman, Arlington, VA, October 2010; John Horgan, Walking Away from Terrorism: Accounts of Disengagement from Radical and Extremist Movements (London: Routledge, 2009), 15–17.
For an exception, see, for example, the various works of Farhad Khosrokhavar and, in particular, Suicide Bombers: Allah's New Martyrs (London: Pluto Press, 2005); and Horgan (see note 4 above).
See, for example, Omar Nasiri, Inside the Jihad: My Life with Al Qaeda, A Spy's Story (New York: Basic Books, 2006); Aukai Collins, My Jihad: One American's Journey Through the World of Usama Bin Laden (New Delhi: Manas Publications, 2006).
See, for example, the critique of Nasiri's book written by former French intelligence official Claude Moniquet by the telling title “Omar Nasiri” Book: An Anti-French Manipulation (available at: http://www.esisc.org/documents/nasiri.pdf).
Interview with Elio Ramondini, prosecutor in both cases, Milan, September 2010.
Sentence against Arman Ahmed and others, Corte d'Assise of Milan, December 20, 2007.
Horgan (see note 4 above), 15–17.
Marcella Andreoli, Il Telefonista di Al Qaeda (Milan: Baldini Castoldi Dalai, 2005); Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 15 and 16, 2003.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 15, 2003.
Andreoli (see note 11 above), 15.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 16, 2003.
Ibid.
Jelassi's testimony before the First Criminal Assise, Tribunal of Milan, May 19, 2004.
Detention order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Said Ben Abdelhakim Cherif and others, Tribunal of Milan, June 4, 2007; sentence against Arman Ahmed and others, Corte d'Assise of Milan, December 20, 2007.
DIGOS Milano report on Lazhar, undated.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 16, 2003.
Andreoli (see note 11 above), 20.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 16, 2003.
Ibid.
Detention order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Said Ben Abdelhakim Cherif and others, Tribunal of Milan, June 4, 2007.
Andreoli (see note 11 above), 18.
DIGOS, report on the searches at the ICI, September 15, 1997 and DIGOS memorandum on the ICI, May 20, 1994.
DIGOS note on ICI, November 9, 1996; Paolo Biondani, “Alla Sbarra gli Estremisti Islamici,” Corriere della Sera, December 13, 1995.
DIGOS note on ICI, November 9, 1996.
Evan F. Kohlmann, Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network (Oxford: Berg, 2004), 19–23.
See, for example, the indictment of Mohamed Ben Belgacem Aouadi and others, Tribunal of Milan, April 4, 2005 (N.5236/02 R.G.N.R.).
David S. Hilzenrath and John Mintz, “More Assets on Hold in Anti-Terror Effort; 39 Parties Added to List of Al Qaeda Supporters,” Washington Post, October 13, 2001.
Indictment of Abdelhalim Hafed Remadna and others, Tribunal of Milan, November 21, 2001.
Indictment of Tarek Maaroufi and others, Tribunal of Milan, April 2, 2001.
See, for example, the indictment of Lased Ben Heni and others (Tribunal of Milan, October 1, 2001), or the verdict against Essid Sami Ben Khemais and others (Tribunal of Milan, May 13, 2002).
Jelassi's testimony before the First Criminal Assise, Tribunal of Milan, May 19, 2004.
Ibid.; Detention order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Said Ben Abdelhakim Cherif and others, Tribunal of Milan, June 4, 2007.
Guardia di Finanza (Financial Police), Informativa of the Lombardy office to Sostituto Procuratore Luigi Orsi, November 21, 2001; DIGOS Varese, request of search of premises, July 13, 2000; Jelassi's testimony before the First Criminal Assise, Tribunal of Milan, May 19, 2004; detention order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Said Ben Abdelhakim Cherif and others, Tribunal of Milan, June 4, 2007.
Sentence against Arman Ahmed and others, Corte d'Assise of Milan, December 20, 2007.
The camp was run by the head of the Tunisian network in Italy, Abu Dujana, a long-time resident of Bologna who was later detained in Guantanamo Bay.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 17, 2003.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 19, 2003.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 15, 2003; custody order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Mohamed Ben Belgacem Aouai and others, Tribunal of Milan, May 17, 2005.
Sentence of Ben Khemais Essid Sami, Tribunal of Milan, February 22, 2002; custody order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Mohamed Ben Belgacem Aouai and others, Tribunal of Milan, May 17, 2005; sentence against Arman Ahmed and others, Corte d'Assise of Milan, December 20, 2007.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 23, 2003.
Interview with Italian official, Milan, July 2010.
Sentence against Mehdi Kammoun and others, Tribunal of Milan, May 17, 2002.
Detention order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Said Ben Abdelhakim Cherif and others, Tribunal of Milan, June 4, 2007; interview with Italian security official, Milan, July 2010.
Custody order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Mohamed Ben Belgacem Aouai and others, Tribunal of Milan, May 17, 2005.
Detention order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Said Ben Abdelhakim Cherif and others, Tribunal of Milan, June 4, 2007.
Custody order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Mohamed Ben Belgacem Aouai and others, Tribunal of Milan, May 17, 2005.
Sentence against Arman Ahmed and others, Corte d'Assise of Milan, December 20, 2007; detention order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Said Ben Abdelhakim Cherif and others, Tribunal of Milan, June 4, 2007.
Mark Sedgwick, “The Concept of Radicalization as a Source of Confusion,” Terrorism and Political Violence 22, no. 4 (2010): 479–494.
Charles E. Allen, “Threat of Islamic Radicalization to the Homeland,” testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, March 14, 2007, p. 4. For the purposes of this article radicalization is intended as “violent radicalization,” that is, using the definition embraced by the European Commission, “the phenomenon of people embracing opinions, views and ideas which could lead to acts of terrorism” (EU Commission, 2005). Scholars often distinguish between violent and cognitive radicalization. Cognitive radicalization is the process through which an individual adopts ideas that are severely at odds with those of the mainstream, refutes the legitimacy of the existing social order, and seeks to replace it with a new structure based on a belief system that is completely different. Violent radicalization occurs when an individual takes the additional step of employing violence to further the views derived from cognitive radicalism. For further analysis of the difference between cognitive and behavioral radicalization, see, for example, The Radical Dawa in Transition: The Rise of Islamic Neoradicalism in the Netherlands (Amsterdam: AIVD, 2007); and Froukje Demant, Marieke Slootman, Frank Buijs, and Jean Tillie, Decline and Disengagement: An Analysis of Processes of Deradicalisation, Amsterdam, IMES Report Series, 2008, 12–14.
See, for example, Ryan Evans and Peter Neumann, Islamist Militant Radicalisation in Europe: A Critical Assessment of the Literature (London: International Center for the Study of Radicalisation, April 2009); Causal Factors of Radicalisation, report by the Transnational Terrorism, Security & the Rule of Law Consortium, April 2008, available at: http://www.transnationalterrorism.eu/tekst/publications/Causal%20Factors.pdf (accessed September 21, 2009).
Recruitment and Mobilisation for the Islamist Militant Movement in Europe, study carried out by King's College London for the European Commission, December 2007, available at http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/fsj/terrorism/prevention/docs/ec_radicalisation_study_on_mobilisation_tactics_en.pdf; Magnus Ranstorp, “Introduction” (see note 1 above); and Horgan (see note 4 above), 1–19.
Andreoli (see note 11 above), 25.
Andreoli (see note 11 above), 26.
Jitka Maleckova, “Impoverished terrorists: Stereotype or reality?” in Tore Bjørgo, ed., Root Causes of Terrorism (London: Routledge, 2005).
Sageman (see note 2 above); Bakker (see note 2 above).
Detention order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Said Ben Abdelhakim Cherif and others, Tribunal of Milan, June 4, 2007.
Andreoli (see note 11 above), 48.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 25, 2003.
Quintan Wiktorowicz, Radical Islam Rising: Muslim Extremism in the West (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005), 20.
Sageman (see note 2 above).
Aidan Kirby, “The London Bombers as ‘Self-Starters’: A Case Study in Indigenous Radicalization and the Emergence of Autonomous Cliques,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 30, no. 5 (2007): 422–424.
Detention order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Said Ben Abdelhakim Cherif and others, Tribunal of Milan, June 4, 2007.
Jelassi's testimony before the First Criminal Assise, Tribunal of Milan, May 19, 2004.
Ibid.
Quintan Wiktorowicz, Radical Islam Rising: Muslim Extremism in the West (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005), 160.
Detention order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Said Ben Abdelhakim Cherif and others, Tribunal of Milan, June 4, 2007.
Ibid.
Jelassi's testimony before the First Criminal Assise, Tribunal of Milan, May 19, 2004.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, October 30, 2003.
Radicalisation Processes Leading to Acts of Terrorism, report prepared by the European Commission's Expert Group on Violent Radicalisation, May 15, 2008.
Andreoli (see note 11 above), 49.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 16, 2003.
Dr. Zanovello's report to the Tribunal of Milan, 34.
Jelassi's testimony before the First Criminal Assise, Tribunal of Milan, May 19, 2004.
Detention order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Osama Mostafa Hassan Nasr, Tribunal of Milan, April 4, 2005.
Interview with Italian officials, Milan, June 2006; DIGOS report, “Al Muhajiroun 1,” Milan, April 2, 2001.
Jelassi's testimony before the First Criminal Assise, Tribunal of Milan, May 19, 2004.
Es Sayed was reportedly killed by American forces in Tora Bora, Afghanistan, in December 2001.
Dr. Zanovello's report to the Tribunal of Milan, 53–59; interview with Dr. Zanovello, Padua, September 2010; sentence against Arman Ahmed and others, Corte d'Assise of Milan, December 20, 2007.
Dr. Zanovello's report to the Tribunal of Milan, 53–57.
Interview with Dr. Zanovello, Padua, September 2010.
Dr. Zanovello's report to the Tribunal of Milan, 34.
Jelassi told Dr. Zanovello that the imams and sheiks inside the Viale Jenner mosques had told him that death as a martyr would have been “less painful than a mosquito bite” and that, once dead, he would have reincarnated in the body of a 33-year-old and would have had sexual intercourse with virgins who would have aroused them by “talking dirty.” In substance, everything that was forbidden in life was given to the martyr in the hereafter.
Dr. Zanovello's report to the Tribunal of Milan, 35.
Jelassi's testimony before the First Criminal Assise, Tribunal of Milan, May 19, 2004.
Ibid.
Sageman (see note 2 above).
Interview with Elio Ramondini, prosecutor in both cases, Milan, September 2010.
See, for example, Tore Bjørgo and John Horgan, eds., Leaving Terrorism Behind: Individual and Collective Disengagement (London and New York: Routledge, 2009); Froukje Demant, Marieke Slootman, Frank Buijs, and Jean Tillie, Decline and Disengagement: An Analysis of Processes of Deradicalization, Amsterdam, IMES Report Series, 2008; Omar Ashour, The De-Radicalization of Jihadists: Transforming Armed Islamist Movements (New York: Routledge, 2009), 5–6.
John Horgan and Kurt Braddock, “Rehabilitating the Terrorists?: Challenges in Assessing the Effectiveness of De-radicalization Programs,” Terrorism and Political Violence 22, no. 2, (April-June 2010): 280.
Tore Bjørgo and John Horgan, “Introduction,” in Tore Bjørgo and John Horgan, eds., Leaving Terrorism Behind: Individual and Collective Disengagement (London and New York: Routledge, 2009), 3, 27–28.
Horgan (see note 4 above), 17.
Stuart A. Wright, “Leaving New Religious Movements: Issues Theory, and Research,” in David G. Bromley, ed., Falling From the Faith: Causes and Consequences of Religious Apostasy (London: Sage, 1988), 152; Naureen Chowdhury Fink and Ellie B. Hearne, Beyond Terrorism: Deradicalization and Disengagement from Violent Extremism (New York: International Peace Institute, October 2008); Marc Galanter, Cults: Faith, Healing and Coercion (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989); and Renne Garfinkle, “Personal Transformations: Moving From Violence to Peace,” United States Institute of Peace Special Report, April 2007.
Detention order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Said Ben Abdelhakim Cherif and others, Tribunal of Milan, June 4, 2007.
DIGOS Milan report on Lazhar Tlili, undated.
Detention order (Ordinanza di applicazione della misura della custodia cautelare in carcere) against Said Ben Abdelhakim Cherif and others, Tribunal of Milan, June 4, 2007.
Demant, Slootman, Buijs, and Tillie (see note 92 above).
Interview with Elio Ramondini, prosecutor in both cases, Milan, September 2010.
Andreoli (see note 11 above), 187–188.
Andreoli (see note 11 above), 186.
Andreoli (see note 11 above), 187.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 26, 2003.
Andreoli (see note 11 above), 187.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, October 30, 2003.
Jelassi's testimony before the First Criminal Assise, Tribunal of Milan, May 19, 2004.
Andreoli (see note 11 above), 188.
Ibid.
Interview with Italian security official, Milan, July 2010; interview with Gianluca Maris, Milan, July 2010.
Sentence against Bechir Ben Hassan Ben Bechir Zaied and others, Permanent Military Tribunal, Tunis, January 30, 2001.
Interview with Gianluca Maris, lawyer for many of the defendants in the Milan trials, Milan, July 2010; interview with Italian security official, Milan, July 2010.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 15, 2003.
Transcript of Jelassi's interrogation, Tribunal of Milan, September 16, 2003.
For the case of the Red Brigades and other left-wing militant organizations, see Donatella della Porta, “Leaving Underground Organizations: A Sociological Analysis of the Italian Case,” in Tore Bjørgo and John Horgan, eds., Leaving Terrorism Behind: Individual and Collective Disengagement (London and New York: Routledge, 2009), 66–87; for the mafia, see Dalla Mafia allo Stato. I Pentiti: Analisi e Storie (Torino: EGA/Gruppo Abele, 2005).
One major legislative problem consisted of the fact that the law had been written for Italian citizens and therefore authorities faced some challenges when trying to provide a new identity to Lazhar and Riadh, who were Tunisian citizens living illegally in Italy. This situation led Lazhar to threaten to stop his cooperation. By 2010 most problems seem to have been resolved. Interview with Lazhar's attorney, Davide Boschi, Milan, July 2010; Giuseppe Guastella, “Il Pentito di Al Qaeda: ‘Abbandonato’,” Corriere della Sera, September 30, 2009.
Interview with Italian security officials, Milan, July 2010 and Rome, June 2009.
Law 34, February 18, 1987; Aritcle 1.
Interview with Elio Ramondini, prosecutor in both cases, Milan, September 2010.
Mohammed Bouyeri is the Dutch-born member of the Hofstad group who killed Theo van Gogh in 2004; Mohammad Sidique Khan is the Leeds-born suicide bomber who led the 7/7 attacks; Omar Hammami is the Alabama-born convert who has reportedly raised the ranks of al Shabaab in Somalia.