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11/10/2015 Why Are Young Westerners Drawn to Terrorist Organizations Like ISIS?
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Why Are Young Westerners Drawn to Terrorist
Organizations Like ISIS?
September 10, 2015 | Trauma And Violence, Cultural Psychiatry, Disaster Psychiatry
By Omar Sultan Haque, MD, PhD, MTS, Jihye Choi, Tim Phillips, and Harold J. Bursztajn, MD
Linked Articles
The relatively sudden rise of the terrorist group ISIS in the Middle East The Ultimate Violation of “Do
has surprised many in the West. Equally surprising is that financially No Harm” at Fort Hood
stable foreigners from the West are overrepresented among ISIS Fort Hood and DOD
Independent Review
fighters.1 As helpless observers of the inhumane and disproportionate
violence that ISIS has exacted on the people of the Middle East and the The Fort Hood Aftermath—
Army Accountability Review
rest of the world, it is easy to wonder: what could possibly be the appeal
and Psychiatrists
of such a murderous, intolerant, and authoritarian organization to so
Immigration and Post
many young people in the West?
Adolescent Psychology of
This question is easier to answer when imagining the motives and Young Terrorists
rationales of locals in Iraq and Syria. Perhaps these locals join in what they believe to be a The Making of a Homegrown
Terrorist
righteous cause. They may want to fight their perceived enemy in a global war, just as many
Americans join the US Armed Forces to fight ISIS and other perceived enemies. But what could Psychiatric and Societal
Impacts of Terrorism
possibly compel otherwise financially stable young Westerners (nonMuslim as well as Muslim) to
leave their families, friends, and home culture, and take up an uncertain future by joining a terrorist Why Are Young Westerners
Drawn to Terrorist
organization like ISIS?
Organizations Like ISIS?
It’s not about poverty or religion
Clearly, poverty is not causing people to join ISIS, neither is religion. The vast majority of the West’s
50 million Muslims do not join terrorist groups.2 Even among those with radical Islamic beliefs, only a very few act on those beliefs
and join a terrorist organization.3 Background beliefs do not explain the motivation that compels people to join such groups—even
as fundamentalist organizations go, ISIS is particularly extreme. It has been roundly condemned by many prominent Islamic
institutions across the world as illegitimate, in violation of Islamic Law, and as not a part of Islam; it has even been rejected by the
quite radical group AlQaeda.4
The true answer is more disturbing and psychological, and has little to do with evil psychopaths finding their true home in ISIS, or of
innocent youths being brainwashed into mindless soldiers. Rather, it involves the interaction of conscious and unconscious
processes with unique features of ideologies like ISIS, and existential (but not material) vulnerabilities inherent in contemporary
American life. One way to summarize our answer is that as an ideology, ISIS provides existential fast food, and for some of the most
spiritually hungry young Westerners, ISIS is like a Big Mac amidst a barren wasteland of an existence. Much of the worldview of ISIS

appears intellectually vapid and brittle, even silly when seriously considered as religious or philosophical propositions. Just as a
person can get lost, a religious movement can also get lost in a forest of bad ideas. But most people do not get a PhD in philosophy
of religion before deciding what to believe. The heart’s longings lead the mind, and the existential filler of ISIS nourishes the
desperate and vulnerable soul, however much one is surrounded by material comfort.
http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/traumaandviolence/whyareyoungwesternersdrawnterroristorganizationsisis 1/8
11/10/2015 Why Are Young Westerners Drawn to Terrorist Organizations Like ISIS? | Psychiatric Times
Who actually joins ISIS? Not psychopaths or the brainwashed, but rather everyday young people in
social transition, on the margins of society, or amidst a crisis of identity. According to anthropologist
and psychologist Scott Atran who has studied the motivations and demographics of terrorists, it is
mostly youth in transitional stages in their lives—immigrants, students, those between jobs or
girlfriends, or those who left their homes and are looking for new families. For the most part they
have no traditional religious education and are “born again” to religion. They are selfseekers who
have found their way to jihad in myriad ways.5
Why join ISIS?
Have you ever purchased junk food when tired, irritable, and jetlagged at an airport? For lonely
young people in transition, ISIS provides a quick fix to the perennial problems of human life.
Vulnerable people don’t tend to fact check when existential relief is easily and cheaply attained with
little effort. Specifically, the relief in question concerns the human desire for identity, certainty, social
connection, meaning, the optimal amount of freedom, and glory.
At crucial developmental periods in adolescence and early adulthood, the formation of one’s identity
is a primary concern, and a riddle to be solved. These years are a time for figuring out who one is,
where one belongs, what one values and finds meaningful, and what one can become and prove to
the world.6 These years are also a time of increasing awareness of an exciting yet frightening
internal world with conscious and unconscious conflicts around envy, competition, selfcontrol, and
selfesteem.7 For youths on the margins of Western society, and in transition from one community to
the next, this process of identity formation can become a hopeless task. When one has become a
fringe member of one’s home community in America during crucial phases of identity formation, it is
very tempting to join what appears to be a righteous struggle against one’s oppressive community.
Even superficial Internet exposure (much less direct marketing) can convince the young that they too
may participate in a worldhistorical narrative in which the enemy of America is a beacon of hope for
solidifying their emerging self. This may evolve into a counterphobic attitude toward the society in
which they feel helplessness, with a full embrace of a cult of death such as ISIS.8
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This article describes the reason for any young man to join any a gang. We need to set up programs that combat
loneliness and boredom, provide social connection with the community and with a good peer group, and help youth
have a better self identity.
patti @ Wed, 20150930 19:15 reply
A timely and thoughtful article on the over determination of a dangerous male rite of passage for some. I would add
David T. Courtright's "Violent Land: Single Men and Social Disorder from the Frontier to the Inner City" (1996, Harvard
University Press) which combines the sociology of our own American past and present, as well as an emphasis on a
shared gender vector, and then begin to wonder together about the projective processes afoot in international large
group processes that might contribute to confusion and imbalance about real nature of the variables in the search for
solutions.
J. Tyler Carpenter, Ph.D., FAACP
james Tyler @ Mon, 20150928 10:08 reply
A timely and thoughtful article on the over determination of a dangerous male rite of passage for some. I would add
David T. Courtright's "Violent Land: Single Men and Social Disorder from the Frontier to the Inner City" (1996, Harvard
University Press) which combines the sociology of our own American past and present, as well as an emphasis on a
shared gender vector, and then begin to wonder together about the projective processes afoot in international large
group processes that might contribute to confusion and imbalance about real nature of the variables in the search for
solutions.
J. Tyler Carpenter, Ph.D., FAACP
james Tyler @ Mon, 20150928 10:08 reply
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/03/whatisisreallywan...
As the authors of the above article suggest,the ISIS is based on authentic scripture and the values and prophecy therein
sudhakar @ Thu, 20150924 05:03 reply
I think it may be more help to suggest that, rather than the "soul," the "psyche," the "spirit" or the "higher self" (whatever
this or any of these might be) which ever seeks expansion/gratification/stisfaction/fulfillment/acknowledgement/glory
through identifying others as inherently different from and threatening/hostile to it, and which wishes to identify with and
bond together with other, apparently likeminded people in an identifiable group in order to discredit/attack/destroy a
common enemy, it is the “ego,” or "egoic mind" (whatever this may be) which does so.
If any of the authors would be willing to offer us any definition of “soul,” even if only as used in this essay, I would be
very keen to read it, please.
(I also wonder what, if any, definitions UNESCO or any other UN agency might offer for “psyche”, for “mind,” for “mental
illness” or for “sanity” or “insanity.”)
As it is, the authors seem to misapply the term “soul” in a hackneyed or colloquial sense (as in "souldestroying work"),
rather than seriously acknowledging, as which, if any, psychiatrist ever nowadays does?, that, if, indeed, we are all
souls, then presumably we are immortal and indestructible, albeit temporarily individually embodied, ones (and that
there may be souls or spirits which associate with no bodies our senses or machines can yet consistently/reproducibly
detect).
I think we need a new universal declaration of human rights, perhaps a declaration of interdependence. And, this time
around, in any preamble, we’ll probably need to try to explain how, if at all, we humans are equal what Lifeasweknow
it is all about.
I am willing to offer some ideas and would welcome any help. And, while I am serious right now (being short on sleep), I
do believe that, in general, when we are laughing, we get it, and when not, we probably usually don’t, Seamus
Heaney’s poem, From the Republic of Conscience, being a notable exception.
https://www.amnesty.ie/RepublicofConscience
Wishing you love and laughter,
Tom Kelly.
tom @ Tue, 20150922 01:59 reply
Thank you all for your comments and questions!
Omar @ Mon, 20150921 16:48 reply
Thank you all who have shared their reflections on this article. Jennifer's comment captures much of where we are
today;"... Still hard to imagine people viewing this as something positive to get involved in..."
I hope that our article will continue to encourage curiosity and a deeper exploration of why some young Westerners
have found ISIS attractive. No doubt that there will be a spectrum of motivations as individuals vary and often have
conflicting motivations. More psychodynamically informed forensic interviews of returnees may help if they can proceed
with an awareness of the pitfalls of coercion, projection, and selfserving misattribution.
Harold @ Mon, 20150921 11:49 reply
This was interesting; however, loss and disconnection rather than the allure of glory seemed to be a central factor in
many of these recruits' lives. Perhaps ISIS recruiters are astute at offering attention to those who feel alienated and lost,
which would attract those floundering on the margins in the West and offer a tangible goal to distract the youths from
their existential pain. Goals sure beat hopelessness and despair and ISIS offers a sense of community and routine
sorely missing in some people's lives. Borderline stagnation is alleviated by merging with a cause that resonates with
the suffering people's internal rage and distress. Like attracts like; the traumatised will resonate with each other in a
manner others fail to comprehend.
Christine @ Mon, 20150921 06:29 reply
The cite of things such as hamburger maker's brands in an article about terrorism is indigestible.
The same that from the Napoleon Russian campaign and form the 'Amerika Bomber' projects, it was or it should have
been realized that it's impossible invading these countries with any chance of success, the growth of wild terrorism
actions and groups in some regions perhaps has roots outside involved countries, for example, it's easy destroying
archeological sites in the name of strict rules about images and cults, but obviously, it's the perfect occassion to obtain
art that can be sold to international collectors at high prices, and you know that some times, art burglars act on request.
The same sea crime may have connections with international attorneys businesses, if a country has a suspected
enemy, an easy way to get rid of it is promoting there an internal conflict that will destroy the aggression power of the
potential enemy, and for countries that want having a 'fifth column' elsewhere, choosing among refugees, or indicating
their agents/friends to escape is a way to obtain insider's support in a more or less close future, and don't forget: 'Let's
forget about tomorrow, for tomorrow never comes'. Thanks, + salut
Jose @ Fri, 20150918 18:48 reply
Good effort by the author to find a cause, why young westerns joining ISIS? Reasons are more than what the authors
think. We all know in our heart why this ISIS got created and attracted youngsters.
Saquib @ Wed, 20150916 02:19 reply
What about the role of duplicity of elders who teach the children from early childhood onwards that the Western way of
life is evil yet want to continue to live there? It may be hard for the younger generation to maintain two sets of "clothes"
one for the public appearance and one at home.
Dr. T.S. Bhat
sudhakar @ Tue, 20150915 19:43 reply
In primate studies, the period of maximum vulnerability, especially for males, is the time of transition from one's troop of
origin to another group. Up to 50% of individuals may die during that transition, until they find another troop in which to
mate and to give and receive care. The stage of life that you describe so well seems to mirror this fundamental,
apparently genetically regulated period of development, when aggressive and other urges disconnect individuals from
their initial attachments and cause them to seek new ones, at great peril.
Julia @ Tue, 20150915 13:38 reply
I agree, however, homo sapiens have evolved enough to be able to use the limbic system, as part of the human
spiritual experience. Religion is very primal in it's teaching and I believe that the continuing production of
testosterone (even the thought of violence , aggression and anger cumulates in over production of testosterone)
with its expression of aggression, violence, anxiety,and, anger in cyclic form, highjacks the limbic system in males
primarily and destroys any neuroconnectivity which may genetically be there before birth. The social and
environmental aspect is that females are evolved and nurturing by nature, but carrying the burden for the nurturing
of our societies going unnoticed, underappreciated, being lead aggressively or in subtleness to poor self worth, self
esteem, anger, violence and aggression in a self fulfilling prophecy of their own. Like a moth to a flame. The
counter is to be so self introspective to combat those beliefs about yourself that is an impossibility with the constant
bombardment of outside influences and often from the people closest to the person in question. The realization of
that before you die is hardly achievable because addiction and disease and war may take over before one even
gets to that awakening. Most never do..
Brenda E @ Tue, 20150915 15:09 reply
Terrorism begins within....and is perpetuated by fear and anxiety instilled in human beings not only demonstrated by the
patriarchal religious in the middle east, but also in our western culture however sophisticated the patriarchal structures
of business and religion. This is the fitful frenzy of male power needing exert itself to survive and respond to the fear of
dying and denial at the same time. There are other ways of surviving, but repeat the same old mistakes in the same old
way until we all cease to exist one way or another in a self fulfilling prophecy. It could be through addiction in ANY form,
or disease or war. True spiritual survival requires total use of one's mind, body and soul. We have the capacity.
Brenda E @ Tue, 20150915 13:16 reply
If you like this article you might like to read the fictionalized account of a real American girl seduced over the internet
into ISIS that I wrote published this July Bride of ISIS which can be found here. http://www.amazon.com/BrideISIS
WomansHomegrownTerrorismebook/dp/B00...
Anne @ Fri, 20150911 11:58 reply
Excellent article and very interesting. Still hard to imagine people viewing this as something positive to get involved in.
jennifer @ Thu, 20150910 11:10 reply
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