Interview Following Remarks: Preventing Radical Islamic Extremism

Christian Grisales: Dialogue and better communication was the message at the Ortega and Gasset conference on how to prevent radical Islamic extremism among youth in Europe.

Farah Pandith, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of State for Europe was among the speakers and explains in depth the roots of radicalization in young Muslims and what can be done.

Where do radical ideals begin, does it begin at home with your children?

Farah Pandith: It can start at home; it could start on the web; it can start in mosques; it can start in garage mosques; it can start with a peer that has an interesting idea that some kid wants to learn more about. So it can start from many places. The issue is why does a child decide that they want to learn more about a particular ideology, and I think that's sort of the root of the problem. How do you get into the dialogue at an early enough stage where young people actually can hear the alternative?

Grisales: Growing up in the U.S. as a young Muslim girl, how did you manage to adapt to the two cultures? Was there ever an identity struggle within you?

Pandith: Because I was a minority as a Muslim in a majority Christian society, it allowed me to fit in to my cultural contacts - my American contacts - what it was that was important for me. I was very lucky that I had people around me that were very modern in terms of how they thought about issues of identity.

Grisales: Pandith says, young Muslims in Europe go through identity challenges and are looking for direction. The United States embraces Islam as a religion, but rejects radical Islamic extremism.

Pandith: Islam in America is part of America; we respect Islam in America. Muslims are part of the American fabric as are many other religions, and it is important to continue to keep that fundamental strength behind everything we think about as we think about America.

Grisales: According to police reports, most of the recruitment of young Muslims by terrorist networks occurs via internet with websites that promote a jihadist agenda.

Why should Europe join forces with the U.S. to stop Muslim radicalization?

Pandith: If we do not find a way for these young people to feel at home and not feel marginalized, to figure out who they are, to be able to balance their identity in a way that respects their religion if they choose to; to respect their historic background if they choose to; to balance their identity in such a way that is modern, that is European, that is themselves. We will have a disaster on our hands because others will come in into the narrative and allow them to think differently about who they are, and I don't think that that's something anybody wants. So we have to be thinking about this together.

Grisales: Christian Grisales, U.S. Embassy Madrid, Spain.