Zeyno Baran , senior fellow and director of the Center for Eurasian Policy at the Hudson Institute , argues a more appropriate term is '' Islami '' st '' extremism '' to distinguish the religion from the political ideology that leads to extremism : Islam , the religion , deals with piety , ethics , and beliefs , and can be compatible with secular liberal democracy and basic civil liberties . Islamists , however , believe Islam is the only basis for the legal and political system that governs the world 's economic , social , and judicial mechanisms . Islamic law , or sharia , must shape all aspects of human society , from politics and education to history , science , the arts , and more . It is diametrically opposed to liberal democracy . With the value placed on freedom of religion in the United States , religious extremism is a difficult and divisive topic . Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser , president and founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy , testified before Congress that the United States is " polarized on its perceptions of Muslims and the radicalization that occurs within our communities ... One camp refuses to believe any Muslim could be radicalized living in blind multiculturalism , apologetics , and denial , and the other camp believes all devout Muslims and the faith of Islam are radicalized ... " In between the two polarities is a respect for the religion of Islam coupled with an awareness of the danger " of a dangerous internal theo-political domestic and global ideology that must be confronted – Islamism . " " The single biggest change in terrorism over the past several year has been the wave of Americans joining the fight – not just as foot soldiers but as key members of Islamist groups and as operatives inside terrorist organizations , including al-Qaeda . " American citizens or longtime residents are " masterminds , propagandists , enablers , and media strategists " in foreign terror groups and working to spread extremist ideology in the West . This trend is worrisome because these American extremists " understand the United States better than the United States understands them . " There is a lack of understanding of how American Radical Jihadists are propagated . There is " no typical profile " of an American extremist and the " experiences and motivating factors vary widely . " Janet Napolitano , former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security , stated that it is unclear if there has been an " increase in violent radicalization " or " a rise in the mobilization of previously radicalized individuals " . Terrorist organizations seek Americans to radicalize and recruit because of a familiarity with the United States and the West . The evolving extremist threat makes it " more difficult for law enforcement or the intelligence community to detect and disrupt plots . " Some American extremists are actively recruited and trained by foreign terrorist organizations and others are known as " lone wolves " that radicalize on their own . The Fort Hood shooter , Major Nidal Hasan , is an American of Palestinian descent . He communicated via email with Anwar al-Awlaki , but had no direct ties to al-Qaeda . Al-Qaeda propaganda uses Hasan to promote the idea of " be al-Qaeda by not being al-Qaeda " . Abdulhakim Muhammad , an American citizen , shot a military recruiter in Little Rock , Arkansas in June 2009 after spending time in Yemen ; he was born Carlos Bledsoe and converted to Islam as a young adult . Faisal Shahzad is a naturalized American citizen from Pakistan and received bomb training from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan ; his plot to detonate a bomb in New York 's Times Square was discovered only after the bomb failed . Zachary Chesser converted to Islam after high school and began to spread extremism over the internet . He was arrested attempting to board a flight to Somalia to join the terrorist group al-Shabaab
New York 's Times Square
2010 Times Square car bombing attempt
Jihadist extremism in the United States