Islam, Extremist Rhetoric, and Online Radicalization

People say, "Oh, Islam is peaceful, Islam is..." They change Every so often, the media will promote some lunatic spewing egregious nonsense in the name of Islam, and such individuals serve two specific purposes. Number one, these people are used to make Islam and Muslims look insane, which serves the purpose of those

whose agendas benefit when Muslims are seen as a threat or enemy.

And secondly, while the vast, vast overwhelming majority of Muslims condemn and see through this nonsense, they still can be used to radicalize people who don't know any better, and this is a reoccurring strategy.

For example, back when I was a new Muslim over 15 years ago, it was these guys.

Yusuf Al-Qatab was pivotal in creating a wave of homegrown American jihadists over the past three years.

The website he ran, Revolution Muslim, and online messages inspired several would-be radicals. Younes Abdullah Mohammed.

We will fight you and destroy you if we have to.

Morton also helped found Revolution Muslim, a website that the FBI says encouraged Muslims to support Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, and other violent Jihadi groups.

Hmm, well whatever happened to the first guy?

Now he is saying it was all wrong. Well, people were scared of you guys.

And they sh- They truly were ... and they should be. I- it was an idiotic thing, looking back at things now.

What about the second guy? He's a free man with a decent paying job at a George Washington University think tank in the nation's capital. Morton is out of jail early because he cooperated with authorities in the US and overseas.

He worked undercover to gather intelligence on those who still trusted the man they saw in those videos. He helped train law enforcement to recognize people on the path he was on, and helped analyze the behavior of suspected terrorists with insights only someone like him could have.

What about some of the people that were radicalized by this sort of rhetoric?

Muthana ran away, joining the Islamic State in Syria in 2014, and their representative says Muthana was brainwashed by online propaganda.

In the interview, she says, "I know I've ruined my future and my son's future, and I deeply, deeply regret it." Brit Shamima Begum also wants to come home. She was just 15 when she and two friends fled Britain to become Jihadi brides in 2014. Now with a brand new baby, she says she didn't understand what she was getting into.

Yeah, so make sure that you don't fall for this nonsense.

There's a reason such people themselves don't even live in Muslim countries.

There's a reason the overwhelming vast majority of Muslims are also appalled by this sort of rhetoric, and it's because it doesn't represent Islam. And while this sort of talk sounds tough against non-Muslims, in the end, this type of rhetoric causes Muslims to suffer the most.