CTR Vantage: The Luqman Abdullah Shooting and Cause Celebre Islam

The Center for Terrorism Research (CTR) at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies is proud to present its second issue of CTR Vantage. This issue examines the Oct. 28 shooting of Detroit imam Luqman Abdullah by FBI agents. Abdullah and his followers represented an ideological fusion of fundamentalist Islam, black nationalism, and common criminality. But this unique fusion, which we dub “cause célèbre Islam,” is far broader than Abdullah, with a traceable ideological foundation based on the heritage and experience of African-Americans. It is a movement that will remain on the radar of those who are concerned about the possibility of homegrown terrorism; yet it is also a movement that is under-examined.

CTR studies terrorist movements and the ideologies that drive them, and seeks to identify how major trends in these areas will affect terrorism and counterterrorism efforts in the West. We intend CTR Vantage to provide law enforcement, members of the intelligence community, academics, researchers, and other counterterrorism practitioners with enhanced knowledge of the terrorist threat to the West through the publication of in-depth themed issues.

The next issue of CTR Vantage, which will publish after the Thanksgiving holiday, will assess the current status of the white supremacist movement in the United States.

To the read this issue of CTR Vantage please click on the graphic above or click here.