Citation

Amit S, Rahman I, Mannan S. J. Polic. Intell. Count. Terror. 2020; 15(3): 228-243.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/18335330.2020.1820070

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

While there is growing research on radicalisation and its countermeasures, in the context of Bangladesh, there is a paucity of academic studies on the role of social media in the radicalisation of university students. This research addresses the gap by using survey data to examine the online behaviour and social media use of the university-going youth in Bangladesh. The study finds that there is very little distinction between accurate Islamic theological understandings and radical interpretations of Islam among university-going youth, and there is a proliferation of social media content that tell tales of subjugation of Muslims since the inception of Islam. Many (geopolitical) conflicts are seen by the youth as a continuation of the narrative of Western imperialism. The research identifies the core of the dissonance and argues that the idea of Muslim subjugation stems from sociocultural influences and is exacerbated by social media use.

Language: en

Keywords

Bangladesh; Radicalisation; social media; terrorism; youth