Street Culture Meets Extremism: How Muslims Involved in Street Life and Crime Oppose Jihadism

Many studies have examined why individuals with a background in street life and crime are drawn toward extremism. This paper examines why most people with this background reject extremism. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Oslo, we found that Muslims involved in street culture were generally oppose...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Tutenges, Sébastien (Author) ; Sandberg, Sveinung 1977- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
In: The British journal of criminology
Year: 2022, Volume: 62, Issue: 6, Pages: 1502-1517
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Summary:Many studies have examined why individuals with a background in street life and crime are drawn toward extremism. This paper examines why most people with this background reject extremism. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Oslo, we found that Muslims involved in street culture were generally opposed to jihadism because they perceived jihadists as evil people who harm innocents; bad Muslims who defame Islam; and cowards who break the ‘code of the street.’ This opposition resulted in avoidance behaviours, criticism and, sometimes, violence against suspected jihadists. We argue that research on the crime-terror nexus has focussed too narrowly on the similarities between street culture and jihadism, contributing to a distorted image of Muslims involved in street culture as potential terrorists.
ISSN:1464-3529
DOI:10.1093/bjc/azab117