Nature Of Religious Groups’ Engagement In Preventing Youth Radicalization In Mombasa County, Kenya

Abstract

- The world is increasingly faced with a threat of extreme violence which is preceded by radicalization processes. In Kenya there has been rapid growth of radicalization in the last two decades. In Mombasa, radicalization of youth has spread given the existing strong structural foundations. The objective of this study was to examine the nature of religious groups’ engagement in preventing youth radicalization in Mombasa County, Kenya. The study adopted a conceptual framework informed by Relative Deprivation and Functionalism theories. A descriptive research design entailing mixed methods focusing on qualitative and quantitative research approach was used. The study was carried out in 3 constituencies of Mombasa County namely; Likoni, Kisauni and Mvita. The study population comprised of radicalized, de-radicalized and non- radicalized youth, police, chiefs and County commissioner, media personalities, civil society organizations representatives, village elders and religious groups. The sample size was 228 respondents comprising 100 non-radicalized youth, 10 religious groups, 42 village elders, sampled using simple random method and 50 de-radicalized youth and 3 radicalized youth sampled using snowballing. Finally, purposive sampling technique was used to get 6 chiefs, 3 parents of the radicalized youths, 3 anti-terror police officers,