US officials stated that a number of second generation Somali immigrants are becoming increasingly radicalized, and could pose a threat to security. The warnings come amid the revelation that 20 young American Somali men who returned to their war-torn homeland, have been radicalized by a group linked to al-Qaeda. The FBI is currently examining the links between the youths, who are all American citizens.
Investigators are concentrating on two mosques in the Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota area, where parents and guardians of the youths said the young people attended classes. But investigators say the probe is being expanded to Boston, San Diego, Seattle, Columbus, Ohio, and Maine Authorities began looking into the radicalization of Somali youths after a 27-year old Minnesota citizen blew himself up in one of five coordinated bombings in northern Somalia, organized by al-Shabaab.
Additionally, the FBI is looking into whether the men experienced radicalized teaching at the Minnesota mosques. Intelligence analysts and scholars who have studied the civil war in Somalia say that the young Americans are not drawn by Islamic extremism, or a desire to wage jihad against the West, but instead, are motivated by a strong sense of nationalism to defend their homeland, a sentiment that grew after an invasion by forces from neighboring Ethiopia.
The significance of this turn of events and article points to the deeply intertwined motivations behind the use of religiously inspired terror including war, citizenship, and transnational ties to resources and inspiration. Additionally, this recent investigation into Somali-American youths note that though from an immigrant background, terror activity may in fact, be organized or considered by youths raised and who have citizenship in a Western country.
