AFP: Muslim radicalization gains momentum in US: analysts

An empty room of a house is seen where Pakistani security forces arrested five U.S. nationals with… 

Muslim radicalization gains momentum in US: analysts

By Jim Mannion (AFP)

WASHINGTON — Long-feared by US intelligence, Muslim radicalization is gaining momentum in the United States, hit by a spate of recent cases featuring youths recruited and trained overseas for jihad, analysts say.

The latest case — five US nationals arrested in Pakistan Wednesday on suspicion of plotting an attack — deepened concern that militant Islamist groups are successfully enlisting potential attackers inside the United States, much as they have in Britain.

“We also as a community realize there is a problem,” Nihad Awad told reporters in announcing that his organization, the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), had steered worried parents of the five to the FBI.

He and others insisted the problem involved only a small minority of the Muslim community in the United States, but the implications remain disquieting because of how easily US nationals can move across borders or within the United States. Related article: FBI questions terror suspects

via AFP: Muslim radicalization gains momentum in US: analysts.