New Research: Best practices for reintegrating the families of foreign terrorist fighters

An estimated 53,000 individual men, women, and minors from 80 countries traveled from around the world to support Islamic State activities between 2013 and 2019, including hundreds from the United States. Many brought their families with them or started families while in-theater.

Following the collapse of the caliphate, many of these people – including women and minors – are now held in inhumane and dangerous conditions in detainee camps overseas. Across the past two presidential administrations, the U.S. has adopted and advocated for a policy of repatriation for many of these families.

For children and those adults not convicted in the criminal justice system, the work of social reintegration – the processes that aim to foster a sense of inclusiveness and belonging in the community and reduce the risk of engagement or recidivism into violent extremism – is underway.

NCITE – alongside partners at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University – has spearheaded research that aims to build a model for reintegrating these families to life in the U.S.

Click here to download the most recent report.

Watch the Panel

On Tuesday, March 28, NCITE hosted a virtual panel discussion about the reintegration of foreign terrorist fighter families.

The panel consisted of:

Austin Doctor, director of counterterrorism research initiatives, NCITE

Austin Doctor is the director of counterterrorism research initiatives at the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education (NCITE) Center, and a political scientist at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He has served as a non-resident fellow with the Modern War Institute at the United States Military Academy at West Point as well as the National Strategic Research Institute, a Department of Defense University Affiliated Research Center. He earned his Ph.D. from the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia. His research focuses on militants, terrorism, and emerging threats.

Andrew Mines, research fellow, George Washington University Program on Extremism

Andrew Mines is a research fellow at the Program on Extremism, and an investigator with NCITE. His core research focuses on the global Islamic State movement, particularly its networks throughout Iraq, Syria, and the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Andrew holds a B.A. from The University of Chicago, and is currently pursuing a M.A. in Forensic Psychology at The George Washington University.

Omar Mohammed, research fellow, George Washington University Program on Extremism, and founder, Mosul Eye

Omar Mohammed is a historian from Mosul, known until recently only as the anonymous blogger "Mosul Eye." Through Mosul Eye, Omar set out to inform the world about life under the Islamic State in his city. He is the host of the podcast series "Mosul and the Islamic State," which tells untold stories from inside the Islamic State’s reign of terror, the pursuit of justice in its aftermath, and the enduring struggle of the people of Mosul for a better future. Omar is currently teaching Middle East History and Cultural Heritage Diplomacy at Sciences Po University. His focus has now shifted to the advocacy of social initiatives for the people of Mosul, including the international effort to re-supply Central Library of the University of Mosul. At the intersection of media, academia, and civil society, Omar is motivated to develop new networks of collaboration and innovation in humanitarian action. As a historian and lecturer at the University of Mosul, he focuses his scholarly work on conceptual history and research dealing with local historiographies and narratives, micro-histories, and Orientalism. Omar is a regular media commentator on Iraq, has an M.A. in Middle East History from the University of Mosul, and was named 2013 Researcher of the Year by Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. His doctoral research explores history and historians in the 19th and 20th century Mosul. He now lives in exile in Europe.

Julie Coleman, judicial affairs officer, United Nations

Julie Coleman is a judicial affairs officer at the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Prior to joining UNMIK, she was a senior research fellow and lead of the Programme on Preventing and Countering of Violent Extremism (P/CVE) at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), where her work focused on the prevention of radicalization and violent extremism, particularly on the management of radicalization in prisons, and on the rehabilitation and reintegration of Violent Extremist Offenders (VEOs) and returning Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs) and their families. She holds a Juris Doctor and Master of Laws in International and Comparative Law from Duke University, a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of St Andrews, and a Graduate Diploma of Law from the College of Law of England and Wales.