Authorities are monitoring over two dozen clusters of Muslim men who have been identified as potential homegrown terrorists. The New York City Police Department revealed this intelligence in a 90-page report called “Radicalization in the West and the Homegrown Threat.”

The report asserts that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were an anomaly, and that the main threat to the United States is posed by homegrown terrorists. Because the threat is an internal one, the report focuses on how to identify and prevent radicalization of Muslim citizens inside the U.S.

The findings are based on 11 case studies that show the developmental patterns of a potential terrorist. The report says, “[T]he transformation of a Western individual to a terrorist is not triggered by oppression, suffering, revenge or desperation. Rather, it is a phenomenon that occurs because the individual is looking for an identity and a cause and unfortunately, often finds them in the extremist Islam.”

Homegrown terrorists pass through four stages: pre-radicalization, self-identification, indoctrination and jihadization.

In all 11 case studies, each terrorist cell had a “spiritual sanctioner” to justify jihad and an “operational leader” to control and motivate the group. Identifying those in the process of radicalization is almost impossible, because they tend to have no legal trouble in their backgrounds, no record of militancy, and appear normal in nearly every respect.

The report generated instant controversy. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly praised the report for giving “a framework to the radicalization process.” Senator Joe Lieberman said the report is a “breakthrough” for antiterrorism efforts.

On the other side, Christopher Dunn from the New York Civil Liberties Union said the report “appears to treat all young Muslims as suspects and to lay the groundwork for wholesale surveillance of Muslim communities without there being any sign of unlawful conduct.” The national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee said the report “uses unfortunate stereotyping of entire communities.”

The complaints all stem from one simple assertion, which is offensive to some, commonsensical to others: The report suggests that potential terrorists are Muslim.

As the threat continues to mount, politically correct leaders condemn religious profiling as the wrong way to combat terrorist plots. Analysts are surprised that, while many attempted attacks on American soil have been disrupted since 9/11, none have succeeded so far. Stratfor maintains that “al Qaeda and jihadists retain the ability to conduct tactical strikes against the United States” and eventually will do so—successfully.

With terrorism posing such an imminent threat, it is the wrong time to allow political correctness to override good judgment. For more information on how political correctness makes the United States more vulnerable to attack, read “How Political Correctness Protects the Bad Guys.”