The NYPD (as well other local law enforcement agencies) and the FBI advocate stage-based models for radicalization which put Islam at the “front and center of their analysis.” On the other hand, the DHS and NCTC have shied away from this stagist approach, emphasizing the complexity of the process. They have also suggested that while Islam can be used to justify acts of terrorism, radicalization is not caused by Islam. While all sides within the national security establishment agree with the theory of radicalization and the need to apprehend “Muslim terrorists,” they disagree about practical implementation. Here we see a similar dichotomy between the conservative wing of the law enforcement apparatus and what we might call a “realist” wing, similar to that which exists in the foreign policy establishment.

XREF: Parallels the conservative/realist split in foreign policy establishment that the source itself notes.

Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politi…, loc. 490