Since 9/11 and especially since the assassination of the Dutch filmmaker and critic of Islam Theo van Gogh in November 2004, second-generation Muslims have come into the center of public attention in the Netherlands. While a small group of radicals have turned away from society to fight the decadent West, democratic active Muslim youth stand for a larger involvement into Dutch society.

In Homegrown Warriors both the radicals and the democratic Muslims voice their views on political choices, Islam, democracy and violence. This study portrays the influence of social factors such as deprivation and exclusion on the radicalisation process. The authors analyse the special position of the second-generation Muslim youth and portray the attraction of extreme ideas. The authors offer a clear analysis of the different causes and different radicalisation processes. Young radical Muslims, who call themselves Salafis, are a less uniform group than is often thought, and their internal conflicts are an important starting point for rolling back extremism.