RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
And we're going to hear now about a man whose job it is to fight terrorism. He begins work today at the White House, and he's an expert on how people become radicalized. That's considered critical right now, because in several recent terror attacks in the United States, al-Qaida and its affiliates have recruited Americans to launch them.
NPR's Dina Temple-Raston has the story.
DINA TEMPLE-RASTON: In the past two years, dozens of American citizens and residents have been arrested on terrorism charges. In some cases, it's been young Muslims traveling overseas to train for violent jihad. In others, they actually tried to launch terrorist attacks.
Homegrown terrorism is now one of those things that keeps U.S. officials awake at night. Now there's someone new at the National Security Council who won't be getting much sleep. He's a former professor named Quintan Wiktorowicz, and he's an expert on how some people become terrorists.
Dr. CHRISTINE FAIR (Assistant Professor, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service): A number of years ago, before he went into government, he did some of the most path-breaking work, not only looking at who was susceptible to being radicalized, but most importantly, who was the most resistant to being radicalized.
TEMPLE-RASTON: That's Christine Fair. She's an expert on terrorism and radicalization at Georgetown University.
Dr. FAIR: And the findings that he came up with based upon his work really shattered some of the stereotypes that we have about Muslims and radicalization.
TEMPLE-RASTON: As part of his research, Wiktorowicz interviewed hundreds of Islamists in the U.K. What he found out was that, contrary to popular belief, very religious Muslims were the people who ended up being the most resistant to radicalization.
Dr. FAIR: And this has stayed with me, forever, in my work in Pakistan. It really was revelatory for me.
TEMPLE-RASTON: It turns out, it was the people who did not have a good grounding in the religion who were the most likely to be attracted by radical Islam.
Mr. PETER NEUMANN (Director, International Center for the Study of Radicalization at King's College, London): My name is Peter Neumann. I'm director of the International Center for the Study of Radicalization at King's College, London.
TEMPLE-RASTON: Neumann has known Wiktorowicz for years, and got to know him better when Wiktorowicz was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in London three years ago. His job there was to see if he could learn from the British about how they dealt with radical Islamists and apply those lessons to the United States.
Neumann says that while in the U.K., Wiktorowicz reached out to a wide range of Muslim leaders - from moderates to extremists.
Mr. NEUMANN: He's very successfully mobilized a broad coalition of very different people in London, that are all coming together in order to oppose extremism and terrorism. No one else before has accomplished that.
TEMPLE-RASTON: It is on this point that Wiktorowicz apparently ran into trouble in the U.K. His coalition of Muslims was controversial because it included people some conservatives found too extreme. Neumann says that was part of the strategy.
Mr. NEUMANN: Quintan Wiktorowicz's approach has quite deliberately been to say that I want the tent to be as broad as possible. As long as they are opposed to extremism and terrorism, I want everyone to be part of that coalition.
TEMPLE RASTON: At the White House, his title will be senior director for global engagement. Terrorism experts say Wiktorowicz brings so much to his new job it could change the way the Obama administration deals with Muslims in America.
Right now, counter radicalization in the U.S. largely depends on law enforcement - on things like FBI outreach to Muslim communities. Neumann says that's been lacking.
Mr. NEUMANN: One of the important things about counter-radicalization is that perhaps 10 percent of it is law enforcement and intelligence, 90 percent of it are things that have relatively little to do with that.
TEMPLE-RASTON: He says counter-radicalization also has to include things like politicians visiting Muslim communities, a consistent message, and education about Islam among Muslims themselves, so they can better resist radical recruiters.
How Wiktorowitz will apply what he learned in Britain here is unclear. His first official day of work at the White House is today.
Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News.
(Soundbite of music)
MONTAGNE: You're listening to MORNING EDITION from NPR News.