In 1889, Rudyard Kipling in his famous poem, “The Ballad of East and West,” discusses the complexities of the intersectionality between what is often characterized as a tension between those living in the so-called ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ worlds:

“Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat;”

Despite alarmists on various sides of the ideological and political aisle living in various geographic locations throughout the world advocating to keep an old-world paradigm, communities in the West with diverse sub-communities offer some of the most compelling examples to provide alternate views to this perspective.

To better understand the tactical and strategic goals, of al-Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/Deash) and beyond (i.e. al-Qaedaism), we need to understand its ideological lineage. Accordingly, what we know as al-Qaedaism has not been immaculately conceived, it has a history shaped by various historical conditions.

Since 9/11/01, national and international publics have been compelled to deal with the problem of terrorism. However, when examining the discourse, it is saturated with popular myths and stereotypes, especially related to the challenges of homegrown terrorism. To move beyond 1 popular myths, this paper examines the data-driven findings from the 2016 New America Foundation (NAF) report Terrorism in America After 9/11, and the preliminary findings from a 2 forthcoming study developed by this author and Dr. Muhammad Fraser-Rahim to be produced by the NAF in early 2018, Transforming the Hate that Hate Produced: Examining the Story and Deradicalization work of The Community of W.D. Muhammad.