Forensic linguistic expertise in trials on religious extremism

The paper describes the state of forensic linguistic expertise for the purpose of detecting signs of extremism. The author discovers inefficient theoretical presumptions that are used as a basis for linguistic analysis of religious texts (e.g., essentialist definitions, the concept of criteria). It is argued that the theory of definitions and the concept of criteria result in the expert's making legal decisions, which falls beyond the scope of their duties and competence. Another discussion in the paper concerns the expedience of employing specialists in psychology and religious studies as assistants in forensic linguistic expertise. The author analyses the conclusions of possibility, which are common in experts' statements, and characterises them in terms of empirical content.

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