(Mis)Understanding Muslim Converts in Canada

1. (Mis)Understanding Muslim Converts in Canada A Critical Discussion of Muslim Converts in the Contexts of Security and Society Presentation of Preliminary Findings May 30, 2014 Researchers: PI: Scott Flower, PhD, University of Melbourne RA: Deborah Birkett, MA, University of Waterloo

2. The shahadah (testimony), in Arabic: Conversion to Islam “There is no God but God; and Muhammad is the Messenger of God”

3. Context: why this research is important • Apparent increase in conversion post-September 11 in the West? • No peer-reviewed empirical research on Muslim converts in Canada • Upsurge in media coverage of Muslims and Islam • Apparent statistical overrepresentation of converts in terrorism • UK, USA, Australia, Canada • How Western security agencies are framing their concern • Categories of potential threat: domestic terrorist activity, foreign fighters, facilitating/influencing others John Nuttall Amanda Korody William Plotnikov Xristos Katsiroubas Aaron Yoon Steven Vikash Chand Image credits on last slide

4. Converts as “securitized” subjects Securitized without evidence No dedicated peer-reviewed journal articles or books Conflation of conversion and radicalization themes (disaffection, Islam as social protest, act of rebellion) “Conversion and radicalization” fallacies “Converts to terrorism” notion (Uhlmann 2008, et al.)– unsupported by the data For radicalized converts, there are usually long time frames Kleinmann (2012): while individual processes (for example, cognitive function or identity issues) “play a much greater role in radicalizing converts” than born Muslims, “radicalization is largely the result of recruitment by militant movements or radical friends and family. Internal mechanisms alone are not sufficient for radicalization.” The vast majority of Muslim converts DO NOT violently radicalize

5. Muslim converts in Ontario Methodology of pilot study • 25 Ontario Muslim converts interviewed • Methods • Surveys sent to 124 mosques and Islamic centres throughout Ontario • Snowballing method of participant recruitment • In-depth, in-person ethnographic interviews • Basic descriptive statistics

6. Some key findings • Study period • February-March 2014 • Geographic distribution • Central and southwestern Ontario • Educational levels • Well educated – 84% had post-secondary education • Religious backgrounds • Roman Catholic, various Protestant denominations, Hindu, Baha’i, and atheist

7. Some key findings (cont’d) • Gender breakdown • 14 women, 11 men • Age statistics • Average current age at time of study: 35 • Average age at conversion: 26-27 • Youngest convert was 12, oldest 69, modal 19 • Average years as Muslim: 8 • nearly a third had been Muslim between 14-21 years; • newest Muslim had converted 10 weeks prior

8. Theoretical framework and our data 7-stage non-linear process model of religious conversion (Rambo, Understanding Religious Conversion, 1993)

9. Concluding remarks • Security in the context of society: Conversion not a predictive indicator • Implications for policy • Further detailed empirical research required

10. Questions? Scott Flower, PhD McKenzie Fellow School of Social and Political Sciences University of Melbourne E: scott.flower@unimelb.edu.au Deborah Birkett, MA Department of Sociology and Legal Studies University of Waterloo E: dlbirket@uwaterloo.ca

11. Image sources • John Nuttall: http://globalnews.ca/news/748592/alleged-canada-day-bomb-suspect-moved-to-a-psychiatric-hospital/ (cropped) • Amanda Korody: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/b-c/accused-terror-suspect-amanda-korody-struggled-with-mental-health-former-friends-say-1.343503 (cropped) • Steven Vikash Chand: http://www.nypdshield.org/public/SiteFiles/documents/NYPD_Report-Radicalization_in_the_West.pdf (cropped) • William Plotnikov: http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/08/20/dagestan/ (cropped) • Aaron Yoon & Xristos Katsiroubas: http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/09/16/canadian-was-a-clear-leader-among-islamist-terrorists-who-killed-11-workers-in-algeria-gas-plant-attack-report/