The first psychological and systematic analysis of violent radicalisation within the Islamic communities of the UK.

As this historically important work will demonstrate, there is no direct relationship between the religion of Islam and ideologies of terror. Nor is there an automatic correlation between holding radical Islamist views and committing acts of violence. But, since the historic watershed of 9/11, there has been significant growth in the number of UK-born Muslims prepared to take terrorist action against the land of their birth. We are informed by the news media that this is due to ‘radicalisation’ among Islamic youth. But what are these processes, and how have they resulted in a cultural climate where some idealistic young people are prepared to kill – often laying down their own lives – while members of their peer group who hold similar beliefs will never cross that same deadly line? Rejecting notions that young people automatically become killers due to religious or ideological dogma, this groundbreaking work identifies a more complex network of psychological and social processes: social and economic alienation; engagement in radical politics; the extremist dogma of groups such as Hizb-ut Tahrir and al Mouhajiroun; reactions to the international ‘War on Terror’; association with the international jihad movement; and most importantly, overcoming individual conscience to participate in murder.

Dr Jon Cole is a reader in psychology at the University of Liverpool. He has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles on decision making and aggression. Dr Benjamin Cole has co-authored or contributed to several studies of international terrorism, including The New Face of Terrorism: Threats from Weapons of Mass Destruction (with Nadine Gurr), now in its second edition.

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