A record-high percentage of Americans are concerned about rising Islamic extremism in the U.S., and UF political science professor Richard Nolan said Americans have a legitimate reason for this concern.
“I think the level of anxiety is premised on a great deal of uncertainty about how to deal with it or, in a sense, what it means in the long run,” Nolan said.
About 53 percent of polled Americans are concerned about the rise of extremism in the U.S., a new Pew Research Center study showed. The survey also found 62 percent of polled Americans are concerned about the global rise of Islamic extremism, the largest percentage since 2007.
Nolan compared the Islamic State — which recently broadcasted the execution of two American journalists and one British foreign aid worker — to the terrorist group al-Qaida. He said the Islamic State has given “sanctuary” to other terror exploits and plans to expand across larger regions.
“Like al-Qaida had that sheltering in Afghanistan, it’s possible that (ISIS) could form some kind of haven and provide that same kind of protection for other groups,” Nolan said.
UF political science chair Ido Oren acknowledged rising American concern but said he doesn’t see Islamic extremist groups as much of a threat to Americans.
“It is not zero,” Oren said. “It is not completely insignificant, but not nearly, in my assessment, as severe as it might be interpreted based on these poll numbers.”
He believes the biggest American threats are U.S. citizens and European Muslims who travel to the Middle East and join such groups. But he doesn’t predict extremism reaching the U.S.
“It is beyond far-fetched,” Oren said.
Sirah Mora, a 20-year-old UF international studies junior with a Middle-Eastern focus, said she believes there is a reason to be concerned, especially because the U.S. is already trying to subdue those groups.
“The more we’re involved, I think, the more it’s a threat here,” Mora said.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 9/23/2014 under the headline "Study: concern toward ISIS grows"]
