George Washington University hired a reformed Islamic extremist who recruited for Al Qaeda

CNN

George Washington University has hired Jesse Morton, a reformed Islamic extremist, to work as a fellow in its Program on Extremism.

"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.

The university believes that his background provides the opportunity for important change.

"We haven't figured out how to reach that individual who's going down the path of radicalization," Seamus Hughes, the deputy director of the Program on Extremism, told CNN. "Jesse has been in that world and got out of that world."

Morton now says he feels deep regret for his actions as a recruiter and aims to make amends in any small way possible.

CNN"As many people as may have traveled, or may have committed criminal acts, because of my words, I hope that I can deter just as many," he told The Times. "I may never be able to repair the damage that I have done, but I think I can at least try."

Morton was born in Pennsylvania and turned to extremism after an abusive childhood. While spending time in jail on drug-related charges, he met an Islamic extremist and started his indoctrination process, CNN reported.

In 2008 he cofounded Revolution Muslim along with Joseph Leonard Cohen (who called himself Yousef al-Khattab). In 2010, Morton fled to Morocco after another individual involved in Revolution Muslim was arrested.

Morton was eventually arrested in Morocco and extradited to the US to serve 11 years in prison, CNN reported.

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.

Still, Morton is working to overcome the remorse he feels as a result of his work with Revolution Muslim.

"I suffer from a tremendous amount of guilt," he told CNN. "I have seen things that people have done and to know that I once sympathized and supported that view — it sickens me."

Since launching in June 2015, George Washington University's Program on Extremism has become a valuable source of research and analysis on both violent and nonviolent extremism. Currently, the program is interviewing radicals and former radicals, especially those convicted for terrorism activities related to 9/11, to hear their stories and the possible triggers for radicalization, according to Vidino.