IN THIS ISSUE

At this time when Kenya is grappling with terrorism as the greatest threat to national security, numerous efforts are being put in place to find a long-lasting solution to this challenge. Kenyan authorities led by President Uhuru Kenyatta now acknowledge that the terrorist threat the country faces is by and large fueled by a number of push and pull factors, one such factor being radicalization of youth into religious extremism. As a result, there are now in place both civilian and government efforts to deal with religious radicalization as one of the ways of dealing with the threat of terrorism. So, what does radicalization involve? Experts who have dealt with this issue agree that the religious extremism associated with Islam today includes challenging the influence of Western culture over the Muslim world. The radical groups and individuals that pursue this agenda see themselves as fighting a war to purify the Muslim world and return it to its rightful place as a
preeminent global power..