Made in America: ‘Jihad’ takes look at homegrown terrorists
Why are some Americans drawn to radical Islamic terrorism and what can be done to stop them?
Showtime’s “American Jihad” (Saturday at 9 p.m.) drops you down a dark rabbit hole as it explores the lives of several homegrown terrorists, including the Tsarnaev brothers, responsible for the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.
The 90-minute documentary, narrated by Liev Schreiber (“Ray Donovan”), includes vivid footage of the bombs going off on Boylston Street and features interviews with two survivors.
Through talks with family members of some American terrorists and with Jesse Morton, a onetime jihadist who has “de-radicalized,” it seems most of the young people (about 90 percent male) drawn to radical ideology have suffered some sort of trauma or frustration that causes them to question their place and their purpose in the world.
Social media is a powerful lure, and anti-American forces have become adept at manipulating on Twitter, Facebook and various apps. One of the most popular propagandists was Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen who became head of al-Qaeda’s external relations and made a series of videos that engaged and encouraged Americans to take up jihad.
He was the first U.S. citizen killed by a U.S. drone strike, in 2011, but his notoriety continues to grow and influence.
“We killed the messenger. But we did not kill the message,” one expert says.
Julie Boada confesses her naivete about her son, Troy, who said he was going to Kenya to study and teach English. He became a soldier in Somalia, where he was killed.
She finds she cannot speak about her grief because she can’t bear anyone expressing hatred of her son.
John Miller, deputy commissioner of the NYPD, notes how the actions of the Tsarnaev brothers shook the nation. “Who sent them? And the answer is, nobody sent them. They drank the KoolAid on the computer.”
One expert notes there have been about 100 radicalized Americans in the last two years — a number that could be managed, he says, if those around them spoke up to authorities. He imagines interventions convened by religious and secular leaders.
As one father says, “It came into my house, but it’s at your doorstep.”