Australia should be looking at international best practice for early intervention programs targeting young people at risk of joining violent gangs and right-wing extremist groups.
Each individual case of radicalisation has its own characteristics. But the research has highlighted some patterns that may help to explain the dark world that is drawing in some Australian youth.
Far-right movements and parties in Australia will continue to create interest, given their policies and method of operation. Their future longevity, however, is by no means assured.
Saudi citizens supporting Islamic State are not the result of a coherent plan directed by its rulers, but the overflow of a long-standing system used to maintain its domestic legitimacy.
The Islam that causes alarm and protests in the West is not representative of the beliefs and practices of the world’s Muslims. Most are Asian and they are the ones more likely to migrate to the West.
If Reclaim Australia were rallying Muslims, the liberal media would examine its religious inspirations. Yet the media treat its supporters as disgruntled individuals rather than Christian representatives.
Senior Research Fellow, Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at IUPUI and Journalist-fellow, Religion and Civic Culture Center, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Associate Professor in Islamic Studies, Director of The Centre for Islamic Studies and Civilisation and Executive Member of Public and Contextual Theology, Charles Sturt University