Violent Extremism

Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Programs

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have inappropriately skewed the threat of violent extremism and domestic terrorism solely against Arabs and Muslims, ignoring other violent radical groups. The fatally flawed Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) paradigm: pilot programs, the “Don’t Be a Puppet” web-based program aimed at high schools students, the Shared Responsibility Committee ‘s (SRCs), government policies, practices, and legislation; are aimed at and/or effectively continue to target Arabs and Muslims under the premise that they are inherently predisposed to committing acts of violence, acts of terror. This is racial and religious profiling, and targeting of individuals without individual assessment and satisfying the legal burden of probable cause.

Click here to read ADC’s Grant Guidelines for DHS related CVE Funding

The CVE program’s identified risk factors for radicalization and/or susceptibility to engage in violent extremism are broad and over inclusive, and not grounded in science. The current CVE framework is based on theories that have been repeatedly disproven. One such assumption is the “radicalization theory,” which suggests that there is an identifiable path or blueprint that an individual follows on the road to becoming an extremist and ultimately committing an act of violence. Another assumption deals with the concept of “indicators.”16 According to this assumption, there are distinguishable signs an individual exhibits that would suggest he or she is on a  path to committing a violent crime. Academics and policymakers have long discredited these assumptions; yet, current CVE programs are based on the assumption that these theories are true.

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