Nawaz speaks to News Center Maine about extremism
Asif Nawaz, assistant professor of history and international affairs at the University of Maine, spoke to News Center Maine about extremism in light of 19-year-old Mainer attacking three police officers at a New Year’s celebration in New York City. Nawaz said the accused’s age, isolation, and family dynamic made him a prime target for online extremism groups, and more resources need to be implemented at the local level to intervene and help youth who fall into extremism online. “I am not asking you to empathize with a terrorist. I am saying that in order to curb this home-grown radicalization, we need to have a very, very comprehensive look from the bottom up, not top-down; bottom-up change in which a dialogue needs to happen,” Nawaz said.