The De-Radicalization Process of Terrorist Organizations: The Libyan Case

One of the most interesting and important phenomena yet to have received appropriate treatment in research literature is the de-radicalization process which several Islamic terrorist organizations have undergone and are still undergoing. In the past decade we have been witness to attempts made by Muslim regimes to cope with the phenomenon of radicalization by formulating a policy and action strategy whose objective is to encourage a de-radicalization process. This approach has developed over the past decade and is attempting to provide an answer to all the elements of radicalization and its sources of development. Within this there are various and diverse methods of approach for coping with radicalization, thus far with no proven significant success. This document wishes to examine the de-radicalization process undergone by the well-known Libyan terrorist group – the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) as of November 2006. Its peak was in September 2009 with the publishing of a new book written by members of the group during their stay in the Libyan prison. The book represents a turning point in the group’s way of thinking and in its path, constituting a new phase in the war on terrorism.