Voice of a Practitioner in Nigeria – Fatima Akilu

In this episode, Shannon N. Green speaks with Mark J. Penn, President and Managing Director of the Stagwell Group and member of the CSIS Commission on Countering Violent Extremism. Mark discusses the findings of CSIS's Global Perceptions of Violent Extremism Survey, which was conducted in eight key countries. During this conversation, Mark talks about how diverging perceptions of violent extremism's causes and manifestations have shaped the conversation surrounding CVE today.

In this episode, Shannon N. Green interviews James A. Lewis, Senior Vice President and Director of CSIS's Strategic Technologies Program. Jim discusses the role of social media and the internet in violent extremists’ recruitment and radicalization efforts. Jim also shares his views on the nexus of human rights and security in the fight against violent extremism and offers unique models for stopping the spread of extremist ideologies.

For this session, Shannon N. Green interviews Jesse Morton, Research Fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, and a reformed former extremist who was once a prominent radicalizer in the West. Jesse discusses how his own path towards deradicalization informs his research into the allure and spread of violent extremism. He also shares his unique insight into the "push" and "pull" factors of radicalization, including political polarization and hate speech.

In this episode, Shannon N. Green interviews Andrew Shearer, CSIS’s Senior Adviser on Asia-Pacific Security, director of CSIS's new project on alliances and American leadership, and former National Security Adviser to Prime Ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott of Australia. Andrew shares his unique perspective on American and Australian approaches to countering violent extremism, the need for comprehensive strategies to address terrorism, and the emerging challenge of returning foreign fighters.

In this session, Shannon N. Green interviews Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, clinical psychologist and creator of THE 99, a comic book series featuring Islamic superheroes who embody the 99 attributes of Allah. Through the highly-acclaimed series THE 99, Dr. Al-Mutawa endeavored to portray an alternative, more positive view of Islam. During this conversation, he discusses the importance of language, the competition for “mind space,” and his own role in the fight against violent extremism.

For this episode, Shannon N. Green speaks with Edit Schlaffer, Founder and Executive Director of Women without Borders and Sisters Against Violent Extremism. Having trained over 1,500 women in preventing and recognizing the signs of radicalization across the globe, Edit discusses her work in strengthening families and closing trust gaps to reduce the threat of violent extremism. During this conversation, Edit talks about how women, particularly mothers, are the missing building block in the international security architecture.

In this session, Shannon N. Green interviews Dr. Gary Slutkin, Founder and CEO of Cure Violence. Dr. Slutkin discusses Cure Violence’s unique public health approach to violence reduction and how such an approach could be applied to more effectively prevent the transmission of extremist ideologies. His experience as an epidemiologist, academic, and practitioner provides an alternate view of the nature of violent extremism and suggests proven health-based strategies to stop its spread.

In this episode, Shannon N. Green interviews Rabia Chaudry, Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow at the United States Institute of Peace. Rabia discusses her research on the intersection of religion and extremism in Pakistan and Sri Lanka. She also addresses domestic CVE efforts and her work providing cultural competency training to law enforcement, correctional, and homeland security officials, and offering national security and CVE training to Muslim communities and institutions. Finally, Rabia touches on her advocacy work in American Muslim communities, particularly related to Adnan Syed, whose case was chronicled in Serial, the most popular podcast of all time.

For this episode, Shannon N. Green sits down with Mossarat Qadeem, Founder and Director of the PAIMAN Alumni Trust, and partner of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL). Mossarat shares her experience as a practitioner countering violent extremism at the grassroots levels in some of the most conflict-affected areas of Pakistan. She talks about the importance of building trust at the community-level and the contributions women can make to peace and security – locally and globally.

In this session, Shannon N. Green interviews Dr. Fatima Akilu, Executive Director of the NEEM Foundation, psychologist, and partner of the Women’s Alliance for Security Leadership (WASL). Fatima discusses her role as the founder of the Nigerian government’s deradicalization program for former members of Boko Haram, the importance of psychological and social programming to provide youth with positive alternatives to violent extremism, and the nexus of development and security at the community level. Her unique perspective as a psychologist – and as a woman in a field dominated by men – provides deeper insight into the future of countering violent extremism.