Introduction

Abstract

The rationale behind this book is to provide a practitioner’s insider perspective on a convert community’s approach to tackling violent extremism during the early 1990s and up until 2009. The significance of conducting this research can best be illustrated by reference to practitioner authors in another field of study, namely, education, and their attempts to gain credibility by articulating theoretical frameworks that inform successful and established practices. Whitehead and McNiff observe:

while practitioner research is generally held in high regard for its contributions to quality practice, it is not held in equal regard for its potential contributions to quality theory. Part of the reason is that its methods for assessing quality have not yet been fully worked out, and in some cases not even addressed.

(Whitehead and McNiff 2009: 1)