For several years now, the radicalization of young people has been making headlines. This phenomenon can be linked to the far-right movement, as we saw on May 30 in Shawinigan during a demonstration calling for a “White Québec,” or revolve around other forms of radicalism, including Islamist movements.
Whenever a young person is involved in an act of radicalization, especially an extreme one, society wants answers: Where was the family? What did they see, or refuse to see? But in reality, it is not so much the family that is in the firing line. It is the mother.
For nearly ten years, I have been researching radicalization prevention policies in Europe, North Africa and North America. My research, conducted in Québec, Tunisia and Italy, has brought me in touch with families, community workers, social workers, law enforcement officers, teachers and other stakeholders.
It is based on more than 160 interviews, many years of field observation and analysis of public policies, institutional reports, professional training materials and other documents produced in the field of prevention.
The maternalization of politics
As early as 2024, researcher Fatima Ahdash of Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar denounced what she calls the “familialization” of radicalization and terrorism, referring to the growing emphasis placed on Muslim families in prevention policies, even though their experiences remain largely absent from research.
During my recent research, another observation has become apparent. While institutional discourse constantly invokes the “family,” the responsibilities associated with prevention rest primarily on Muslim mothers. They are systematically presented as the ones best placed to detect early warning signs of radicalization, recognize changes in their children’s behaviour, intervene at the right moment and, at times, alert authorities.
Behind the appeal to the family, then, lies a targeted mobilization of the maternal figure based on the assumption that mothers are naturally closer to, more attentive to, and better able to protect their children.
My research suggests we are witnessing more than a simple “familialization” of prevention. A more specific process is emerging where social, political and security responsibilities are gradually being shifted onto mothers. I call this the “maternalization of politics.”
Social sciences and feminist studies have long demonstrated that motherhood is not merely an intimate or biological experience. It is deeply politicized, shaped by norms, expectations and power relations that define what a mother should be, do, feel and embody. The historically constructed figure of the “good mother” varies according to era, social context, social class, race, religion and even migration status.
Caught between conflicting demands
Feminist research has shown for several decades that certain forms of motherhood are subject to more intense scrutiny than others. Sociologist Coline Cardi, a Black feminist lawyer, sociologist and theorist, Dorothy Roberts and other feminist researchers have shown that in Western societies, working-class mothers, mothers of colour, immigrant mothers and Muslim mothers are more frequently subjected to institutional scrutiny and pressure to prove they are “good mothers.”
Muslim mothers occupy a particular place within this dynamic. As motherhood and feminist studies researcher Sophia Ahmed has shown, they are often caught between conflicting demands, perceived both as women who need protection or emancipation, and as figures associated with potential security risk.
My doctoral dissertation shows that, in addition to this, the expectations placed on Muslim mothers extend far beyond western contexts alone. Whether they live in Europe, North America or in predominantly Muslim societies, mothers are frequently held up to demanding norms that cast them as being responsible for their children’s behaviour, upbringing, morality and future.
(AP Photo/Helmy Ben Salah)
Policies to prevent radicalization do not create this responsibility; they are based on an already established conception of motherhood, one that assumes mothers are naturally best placed to understand, protect and guide their children.
When people say ‘families,’ they mean mothers
It is precisely for this reason that mothers occupy a central place in prevention schemes. While these policies are officially aimed at “families,” it is often mothers who are approached first. They are asked to spot changes in behaviour, interpret signs deemed worrying and intervene before a situation is perceived as problematic.
What appears to be a recognition of their educational role becomes a particularly heavy burden to bear, as it places them at the crossroads of family, social, religious and security-related expectations.
Regardless of whom I interviewed during my research, the figure of the mother consistently took centre stage.
Community workers spoke of her vital role with children. Teachers highlighted her ability to spot changes in behaviour. Law enforcement officers described her as the key point of contact when a situation became a cause for concern. Fathers frequently referred to her when it came to understanding, monitoring or supporting children.
This central role runs through all ten years of my research. Through observations, prevention activities, meetings with professionals in the field and discussions with families, the maternal figure was consistently at the forefront.
Mother knows best
Engagement programmes were aimed at families, but the activities and conversations were often designed with mothers in mind. Institutions referred to the wider support network, but expectations centred on mothers.
This special role is based on a widely held belief: that the mother is “the one who knows.” She is the one who knows her children best, who notices the slightest changes, who understands what others miss and who can intervene before it is too late.
Throughout the interviews, this image emerged everywhere. Professionals drew on it. Family members echoed it. The children themselves often described their mother as the one who bore the burden of everything: the worries, the responsibilities, the conflicts and the efforts needed to maintain family harmony.
But this idealization comes at a price. If the mother is portrayed as the one who sees everything, she also becomes the one who should have seen. If she is the one who protects, she also becomes the one who did not protect enough. The higher the expectations, the heavier the burden of responsibility.
An idealized image of motherhood gradually transforms into an almost impossible demand: to be capable of anticipating, understanding and preventing social, political and security issues that go far beyond the family sphere.
Beyond radicalization, this research invites us to reflect on a broader question: What are we asking of mothers? Why do we continue to expect them to bear, almost single-handedly, the weight of problems that concern society as a whole?
