The fuel for terrorism is the West's wars in Muslim countries and their civilian victims

Professor Peter Neumann is a lecturer at London's King's College and the American Georgetown University. He deals with terrorism. - Students come to my radicalization courses because they can not understand what motivates people to become terrorists. I ask them a simple question: "Would you defend your family?" - he says. He also lists other questions he likes to ask: "Would you defend your nation?", "How far would you go?", "Would you kill to protect your countrymen?", "Are you ready for them to die?". "People," he says, "usually reply:" Yes. "

The same goes for Islamic terrorists. A few years ago, Neumann wondered why anyone could decide to become a mujahideen and commit an act of terror. He decided to find the answer based on the Facebook entries left by many of the 5,000. The citizens of Western Europe, who joined the so-called Islamic state. This allowed him to follow the process of their radicalization.

Neumann has carefully analyzed what social media has written in 750 Muslims who have decided to join the Islamists in Syria. Particular attention was paid to the arguments used by these people, watching how they changed over time, and which turned out to be convincing. Analyzes began with entries that appeared long before the decision to join jihad. He was more interested in how the minds of people change, and the radicalization process can be seen than what they think at the end.

It was found that almost all of them can be attributed to one of three categories. The first is "defenders" who want to protect others and themselves from the threat. They want to protect the family and the nation. In this case, they are primarily the harm that other Muslims encounter. For example, in Syria. "Think about the kid who was killed, and imagine that it was your baby. The girl is your girlfriend, the woman your mother, and the old sheikh your father. Feel their pain, their wounds, their fear. The Qur'an says that other believers are your brothers. Does this fraternity have no meaning? "- is the argument that goes to them. This particular jihadist celebrates Mohamad Al-Arifi, but is also used by others.

The second group are "seekers". People who feel alienated and seek identity and belonging in Western societies. They find it in the mosque. It's about religions that define their "self" and values.

But there is also the third category - the people who joined the jihad because their colleagues did. Neumann was able to point out the entire group of friends who had undergone a gradual radicalization to join the holy war together. For them decisive is the need for acceptance in the peer group, which is something that almost always induces young people to very stupid actions. Although it must be said that generally not so foolish.

Several conclusions were drawn from the research. The most important are the ways of counteracting radicalization and the frustration of recruitment attempts. The best method, Neumann argues, is to counter the Islamists' narratives and show that they are untrue. This must be done not only in word but also in action, which in this case would mean the reduction of armed activity in Muslim countries. In addition, building open social and national identities in which everyone can find and feel that they belong to them. Closing borders and excluding young Muslims is a fuel for terrorism. Like the wars that the West leads in Muslim countries. And their civilian sacrifices.