Many haters of Islam and Muslims often make the ridiculous argument that mosques are somehow inherently “breeding grounds” for extremism in the West. I urge anyone considering this silly argument to consult the massive two-year joint study by Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and the University of North Carolina which found that American mosques are, actually, a deterrent to the spread of extremism. Echoing these findings, a related New York Times article found that many mosque leaders in America had actually put significant effort into countering extremism by building youth programs, sponsoring public forums, and scrutinizing educational materials taught within their mosques.

XREF: Connects to broader literature on countering violent extremism and community-level prevention efforts.

Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Gl…, loc. 582