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This article makes a connection between certain forms of adolescent psychology, especially when the subject is deculturized and has an unstable identity (rebellion against parents, idealizing heroism, identity “in between,” etc.) and certain ancient and modern sources of forms of radical Islam (warlike passages in the Medinan Surahs that take precedence over peaceful passages in the Meccan Surahs, textual literalism, apocalyptic eschatology, contemporary Wahhabi-Salafi normativization, political hegemony of the Muslim Brotherhood, etc.). It also provides historical context for the dual Islamist ethos of envious fascination with Western material power, coupled with contempt for its morality and the desire to seek revenge for humiliating Western domination. It contrasts forms of cultural Islam, which are generally peaceful, with forms that strive to be “pure,” detached from culture, often with the goal of conquest. It discusses the symmetrical rise of both dominating forms of modernity and supremacist radical Islam. It also opens up some paths to prevention, such as cultivating pride in the local Islam of one's grandparents and in Islamic civilization, building bridges between open forms of Islam and welcoming populations, working with families and taking a transgenerational approach, and cultivating a shared sense of meaning in life through pluralism, love, and joy.