Pathways of Individual Radicalisation: The Profiles of Malaysian Muslim Violent Extremism (VE) Detainees and Ex-Detainees 2013-2020

Abstract

Since 2014, the Islamic State (IS) has remained the biggest threat to Malaysia's national peace and security. According to statistics by the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP), as of 2018, 328 youths have been arrested in Malaysia for terrorism-related offenses (E8, 2018). Hence, there is a dire need for an empirical study to identify the pathways of individual radicalization in Malaysia for religious extremist offenders between 2013 and 2020. The methodology adopted for this research is a qualitative approach. The qualitative approach uses content analysis to analyze books, court cases (MLJ), newspapers, articles in journals and DABIQ magazine. To achieve the aims of this study, the deduction of these theories involves three combined approaches: 1) Hogg, Terry, and Adelman’s social identity pathways, encompassing factors such as gender, age, marital status, and residency; 2) Gerwehr, Daly, and Borum’s group recruitment pathways, focusing on group expertise and group role; and 3) El-Muhammady’s belief system pathways, which include cognitive-oriented radicalization, emotive-oriented radicalization, faith-oriented radicalization, and action-oriented radicalization. These varied theories collectively contribute to the construction of the multi-context theories of pathways of individual radicalization in Malaysia. In brief, this new understanding will help develop strategic Malaysian P/CVE NAPs and resilience in youths, and lessen the number of recidivisms among ex-detainees.