"Mr. Morton’s affiliation is groundbreaking, as this is the first time the perspective of a U.S.-born former Islamist extremist will be inserted into the American arena," program director Lorenzo Vidino said.
Morton, whom The New York Times described as one of the "most prolific recruiters for Al Qaeda," was previously known as Younus Abdullah Muhammad and helped form an extremist group called Revolution Muslim. Several of his recruits are now fighting for ISIS.
Morton will have a role at George Washington's Center for Cyber & Homeland Security, a nonpartisan think tank, completing writing and research. Before hiring Morton, the university worked with FBI officials and the lawyers who prosecuted him during a yearlong vetting process, according to the Times. [...]
But prison, especially the library, caused him to find value in tolerance and democracy through thinkers like John Locke and Jean-Jacque Rousseau, according to CNN. He deradicalized and became an informant for the FBI, which helped reduce his time in prison. Morton was released in 2015 after serving less than three years in prison.
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