Author: irfan-yusuf

  If you believe much commentary and political rhetoric about young Muslims, you’d think anyone aged 18 to 30 growing up in a Western country and identifying as Muslim shares a common genetic makeup. Even much of the academic stuff on this topic, especially that emerging from the counterterrorism “industry” (recipient of plenty of research grants and media attention) says pretty much the same. There are a few notable exceptions. One of them is UK scholar Dr Sadek Hamid’s 2016 work, Sufis, Salafis and Islamists: The Contested Ground of British Islamic Activism. The title itself displays a nuance arising...

Imagine this scenario. A dangerous enemy is threatening your community with violence. You have the opportunity to infiltrate that enemy, enter its ranks and manipulate it into action in a self-destructive manner. In doing so, you are risking your personal safety. Your cover might be blown. Members of the enemy may be suspicious of each other, but they are likely more suspicious of a newcomer. Or even of an oldcomer behaving differently. This is the story behind Denzel Washington’s latest movie BlacKkKlansman. Washington’s son plays a rooky detective of African American heritage who infiltrates the viciously racist Ku Klux...