Introduction

Navigating one's positionality while researching on terrorism can be particularly challenging when working in regions vulnerable to religiously motivated ideologies on violent extremism, where suspicion and access present barriers to engaging with the participants (Dolnik, 2013; Nielsen, 2014). Even if the researcher shares the same religion as that of the participants and is acquainted with the culture wherein relational aspects could be addressed, the religious identity within an insider-outsider perception remains a barrier, which is a precondition for exploitation in the research process (Mednicoff, 2015). This chapter examines how the researcher's religious positionality matters in studies on violent extremism or terrorism by drawing on reflections from research conducted in Kenya on the radicalisation and recruitment of youth for the al-Shabaab terrorist organisation.

Kenya has been vulnerable to the recruitment of youths by the al-Shabaab terrorist organisation due to its close proximity to Somalia and the large Muslim populations living close to its borders, such as in the country's north-eastern and coastal regions. Al-Shabaab emerged in 2006 as an offshoot of the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia, while its origins can be traced as far back as 1991 in the wake of a destabilised social structure in Somalia (Hansen, 2013). In 2012, the Muslim Youth Centre in Kenya pledged its alliance to al-Shabaab, paving the way for the radicalisation and recruitment of Swahili-speaking Africans for violent military activities in Somalia (Anzalone, 2012). The coastal region of Kenya comprises six counties, and is the hub for economic activities due to its vibrant port and tourism trade. Amidst such a development, however, the region has been marked by poverty and marginalisation due to discriminative policies by successive governments since independence. Studies reveal that the resulting socioeconomic environment that influenced religious-cultural norms inclined towards radicalisation as part of a larger response to stressful collective circumstances (Badurdeen, 2012; IRIN, 2013).

Through an exploration of the concept of positionality, this chapter probes into an array of debates centred round my religious identity and the research process. I use my own experiences of doing research on Islamic radicalisation or extremism with al-Shabaab members in the coastal region of Kenya as a case study. The basis of this chapter is an ethnographic research study that I conducted on the process of youth radicalisation and recruitment by al-Shabaab in the coastal region of Kenya (Mombasa, Lamu, Kilifi and Kwale) as part of my doctoral research.