“If it can happen to my son, it can happen to anyone’s son.”

The recent case of Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, who murdered one soldier and injured another at a Little Rock military recruiting center last year, reflects several trends in the growing danger of extremism on American soil.

The New York Times reports that Mr. Muhammed—née Carlos Bledsoe--was born a Baptist. Shortly after beginning college, he converted to Sunni Islam and dropped out of school. He became increasingly devout, and was active in Nashville’s Somali community where he began wearing Arab-style clothing, gave up alcohol, and changed his name.

He eventually went to Yemen to study Arabic. He overstayed his visa, was deported, and ended up in a U.S. prison.

Mr. Muhammad told his father that while in prison he met Islamic radicals who told him that the American government had forsaken him. “We are your real brothers,” they said…

Among the trends present in this case is the threat of homegrown terrorism. It’s one thing to keep suspected radicals from entering the U.S. It’s another thing altogether when they are citizens and can travel freely within American borders. As David Schanzer, director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland on Security, explained on Newshour

It would be a gem for al-Qaida to have a Caucasian recruit with a U.S. passport. First of all, they could get a tremendous amount of information to al-Qaida about the way we live, about the railroad stations we go in, things like that. And then they can get into the country much more easily than others.

Additionally, what Mr. Muhammed told his father raises the specter of prison radicalization. While chaplaincy in American prisons can be of tremendous benefit to the inmates, there have been cases of Islamist extremists—both chaplains and fellow inmates—who used religion to recruit prisoners to extremist viewpoints.

Mr. Muhammed’s Somali links should also raise an eyebrow, given the challenges of the Somali community with jihadist recruitment in their mosques. There have been a number of cases of American-raised Somali youth who have gone to Somalia to fight in the jihad. One concerned community leader—Osman Ahmed—testified last year at a Congressional hearing that his nephew—who was killed in the jihad—had been brainwashed at his mosque.

Mr. Ahmed’s testimony provides a number of options on how to prevent future recruitment, including encouraging cooperation with law enforcement—something not necessarily promoted by every American Muslim organization. As we deal with the threat, this may be among one of the more difficult obstacles to overcome. As Mr. Ahmed said in his testimony

We have been projected as pariah within the community by these mosque leaders. We are tormented by the fact that our children are missing and imperil. These members are scaring us so that we stop talking to law enforcement.

We should not view Mr. Muhammed as an isolated case. According to his father, “It is owed to the American people to know what happened. If it can happen to my son, it can happen to anyone’s son.”

You can read the New York Times story here.