ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how some young Muslims in the diaspora might find the radical Islamist meta-narrative compelling. The principle means of disseminating the radical Islamist meta-narrative to the diaspora is through new technology. The chapter examines a range of explanations for Muslim youth radicalisation. This included psychological hypotheses of uncertainty and other states. Sociological accounts often suggest that Muslim youth radicalisation is an outcome of experiencing Islamophobic prejudice in the prevailing moral panic, in a context sharpened by lack of socio-economic opportunities. Gender distinction is observable in the radicalisation patterns of Muslim youth in the diaspora. Islamists pledge support for the principle of militant jihad, so it is not the case that Islamism has nothing to do with jihad. The construction of a Muslim youth identity in the West is more ambivalently framed than for youth in Muslim-majority countries.
