- Rising Voices Microgrants 2013 - https://rising.globalvoices.org/microgrants2013 -

USA: Combating Islamic Radicalization on Somali American Youth

· Rising Voices

Categories: U.S.A., Conflict & Reconciliation, Blogs

I am proposing combating Islamic radicalization on Somali's youth in Minneapolis. I will address the root causes of Islamic radicalization, the scale and the effects on the Somali community. I will address discussion Islamic radicalization literature, shed a light the existing literature focuses too narrowly on certain aspects on Islam, such as “Jihad”—the Islamic holy war against non-believers or non Muslims, and vulnerable Youth.

Topical focus:

Conflict & Reconciliation [1]

Country:

U.S.A. [2]

What locality or neighborhood will your project focus on?

Minneapolis

Describe the specific community with whom you will be working.

I will work with Somali youths at the age of 15-25 that affected by Islamic redacalism, where about two dozen young Minneapolis men of Somali descent returned to their war-torn homeland, where they are believed to have joined the Islamic terrorist group Al-Shabab.

What kinds of news, stories and other content will be created?

I will create a website blog where Islamic extremism and its stages would be discussed; Individuals will discuss Pre-radicalization, Self-identification, Indoctrination and Jihadization, youth disconnection from the society they lived in, risk of faith reinterpretation, parent’s engagement on their child’s Islamic education activities, preventing a child into the trap of extremism, and youth indoctrination.

What technologies and digital tools do you plan to use in the trainings?

Blogs [3]

Describe the connections that you or your organization have already established that will contribute to the success of the project.

I was working the Somali American community for the past 15years. Some Somali feel disconnected from the society in which they live. In young males especially, this disconnection puts them at risk of coming under the influence of radical Islamists.
Currently, I am a Bush Foundation fellow of 2011-1013 where I work with youths for the issue of Islamic radicalization.

How many participants do you think will be involved in your project?

The number of participants would be 250 youths in the metropolitan area. I will hold several workshops and seminars on this issues where local community tv are invided. On this issue, youths will contact me through my facebook or twitter.

Besides the microgrant funding, what other resources and support are you seeking for your project to ensure its success?

Other resourses and support I will use would be Bush Foundation grant. I am also planning to raise other funds from the community.

Contact name

Tarabi A. Jama

Twitter URL

Facebook URL