The Muslim Public Affairs Council, a Los Angeles-based Muslim civil rights organization, wants to introduce an intervention program to divert young American Muslims away from violent extremism.
The initiative is the first of its kind in the United States.
“The propensity for [the program] is higher now than before,” said Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council. He cited the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, new bloodshed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and “U.S. policies that lead to the suffering of Muslims" as reasons for why some youth would be drawn to extremism.