After a dreadful terrorist attack, the public fairly quickly receives information about the perpetrators. The perpetrators are usually from the same cultural and religious milieu as the perpetrators of the last terrorist attack, so no one considers that information very interesting. The only bit of information that can be novel/interesting is where they were radicalised.
For Nidal Hasan, it was via the internet. After months of chatting with a well-known terrorist he massacred several of his colleagues. For the Tsarnaev brothers, their radicalization process began by attending the Islamic Society of Boston. It climaxed when they blew up several dozen people finishing the Boston Marathon. For Mohammad Sidique Khan, he travelled to Pakistan for training. His training went towards detonating a bomb at the London Underground, killing several people. I could go on, but I only mention these three because they are the most common avenues of radicalization.
Radicalization is an interesting process and one that the media overlooks to quite a degree. They treat it like an external force that clings onto you and despite your best efforts stays with you until you commit a suicide bombing. Whilst it is true that Islamic countries, Jihadi websites and Radical Mosques do facilitate the radicalization process, they still need a willing participant.
Jihad has an element of choice
It should go without saying, but radicalization has an element of choice. Therefore, it would be more appropriate to say that someone chose radicalization, rather than to say that they were radicalized. On face value this seems to be an issue of semantics, but when you look closer, there is actually a big difference. The former treats the radical as if he was a human being and made the decision to be a radical based on his knowledge of the world, while the latter treats him as automata, who, upon seeing the first bit of radical Islamic propaganda could no longer think clearly for himself.
I think it is vital that people stop thinking of the radicalization process as brainwashing, but rather think of it in the same manner as taking up a new lifestyle. We see a lifestyle we like and we want to emulate it, so we must first learn about it. That is a far more accurate depiction of the radicalization process. A young man (usually) has rejected the lifestyles around him and wants to develop one that is more in tune with his desires, so he starts learning about it. As he learns about it, he gradually begins to practice it until he has fulfilled every step of the new lifestyle.
Contrary to popular belief, many radicals are actually learned people (such as the 9/11 hijackers), but they choose this radical lifestyle because it aligns with their desires. Radicalization doesn’t just happen to us, we either desire it and pursue it, or we don’t.