ANATOMY OF A MOSQUE LEADERSHIP COUP
A Lecture Presentation with Implications for Counterterrorism Investigations
© 2006
(No reproduction in any form is authorized without the author’s explicit written permission)
By
Terri K. Wonder, M.A., A.B.D.
Mass Movements Research Consultant
Doctoral Candidate, University of South Florida
Assistant Editor, The International Journal of Educational Reform
Executive Summary
Mosque leadership coups are significant but often overlooked “early warning” indicators of Islamist terrorist cell activity in a local community.
One of the many sub-topics of her doctoral thesis on Islamist university infiltration, Terri K. Wonder’s research on mosque coups illustrates why law enforcement must regard these events as “signatures” warranting activation of target-zone investigations.
To her knowledge, this is the first time systematic analysis has been undertaken to study this topic and to present findings in an open source forum.
Research suggests that mosque coups signify a terrorist cell’s entry into what in known by the Islamist movement as a “phase of power”—a critical period when radical imams and their freshly instilled boards know they may exert bold community influence, from low-level intimidation of liberal Muslims inside mosques to the commission of terrorism in the society at large.
Realizing that mosque leadership coups were deserving of focused analysis, Terri employed classic case study methodology from the social sciences, combined with trend and pattern analysis for understanding coup dynamics.
In context, mosque leadership coups are presented as one of over eighty indicators Terri has isolated as part of her other research on university infiltration.
Case studies from around the country, Europe, and the Middle East are compared, contrasted, and displayed in matrix template and link chart form. Findings also illustrate connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of militant Islam’s most pernicious non-state actors, and its array of “da’wa” NGOs.
This formal paper presentation is essential for first-line observers charged with counterterrorism investigations.
