Al Shabaab: Recruitment and Radicalization within the Muslim American Community and the Threat to the Homeland

311 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515

Jul 27, 2011 10:00am

On Wednesday, July 27, 2011, the Committee on Homeland Security will hold the third in the series of hearings on domestic radicalization entitled “Al Shabaab: Recruitment and Radicalization within the Muslim American Community and the Threat to the Homeland.” The Committee will meet at 10:00 a.m. in 311 Cannon House Office Building.

Note: Please note the time change from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Chairman King on the hearing:

“In our first two hearings, the Committee has examined radicalization of Muslim-Americans generally and focused on the problem of radicalization in U.S. prison“At this hearing, the third in a series, we will examine Somalia-based terrorist organization al Shabaab’s ongoing recruitment, radicalization, and training of young Muslim-Americans and al Shabaab’s linking up with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). “In Minnesota, Ohio, and other states, dozens of young Muslim males have been recruited, radicalized, and then taken from their communities for overseas terrorist training by al Shabaab. In a number of cases, the men – including both Somali-Americans and other converts -- have carried out suicide bombings or have otherwise been killed, often without their families even knowing where their sons have gone. There has not been sufficient cooperation from mosque leaders. In at least one instance, a Minnesota imam told the desperate family of a missing young man not to cooperate with the FBI.“There are growing concerns that al Shabaab in Somalia is linking up with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen to better train these radicalized young men in order to attack Americans around the world, as well as launch attacks against our homeland. “This coordinated and ongoing recruitment and radicalization of young Muslim men in the U.S. is a serious and growing threat to our homeland security and simply cannot be ignored.”

 

Witnesses

Mr. Ahmed Hussen

Canadian Somali Congress National President

Mr. Thomas Joscelyn
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies


Mr. William Anders Folk
Former Assistant United States Attorney
District of Minnesota

Mr. Tom Smit

Chief of Police

Saint Paul, Minnesota