Youthful recklessness can explain jihad’s allure

A video released by ISIL shows a militant believed to be Nasser Muthana, a 20-year-old man from Wales. Photo: AFP / Ho / Al Hayat Media Centre

Why have so many citizens of European countries volunteered to fight with the jihadists of ISIL, and how should they be treated when they return home? The advance of ISIL in Iraq and Syria appears to have been halted by a combination of US air strikes and a fightback by the Iraqi army and local militias. But no one expects the conflict to be anything less than a battle that will last years.

European concerns have been aggravated by the release of the latest ISIL propaganda video, which shows a multinational execution squad, in uniform with faces uncovered, about to murder 18 Syrian air force prisoners.

The French authorities have identified two of their nationals. The first, Maxime Hauchard, 22, is from a village in Normandy, France’s quiet agricultural heartland.

Once a churchgoing Roman Catholic, he is now seen with an executioner’s knife in his hand. The second, seen brandishing a pistol, is Michael Dos Santos, also 22, from the Paris suburb of Champigny sur Marne.

Both appear to have been quiet and biddable young men. Dos Santos is described by a neighbour as a “very nice and helpful boy”. Hauchard, now known as Abdallah Al Faransi, is said by his uncle to have “never done a bad thing in his life”.

Hauchard’s journey from quiet country boy to bloodthirsty jihadi is chronicled in a Facebook page, now deleted. He shared an article from SLF, a Tunisian online Salafist magazine, where jihadists are called the comic book superheroes of the modern era. “They fly from their country to unknown lands to wage endless struggle. Like superheroes, they defend the widows, the orphans, the oppressed, the forgotten and the unjustly imprisoned.”

There is a more violent type of PR put out by ISIL, drawing on fantasy images from video games and promising a life of purposeful violence. In the ISIL battle video, The Clanging of the Swords, there are scenes of jihadist drive-by shootings of fleeing Iraqis. The footage is shot from behind the gunman like in a first-person shoot ‘em up game. The difference is that the victims in this case are all too real.

It is estimated that some 2,500 jihadi recruits from western countries have gone to Iraq and Syria, though not all are still there, and dozens are dead. The attraction for young European men –both of Muslim and non-Muslim background – seems incomprehensible to many. But perhaps it is not so surprising.

From my own family, my grandfather ran away from school and volunteered for the British army to fight in South Africa at the age of 15. Army recruiters did not look too closely at boys’ ages then.

Outside the world of sports and gang culture, outlets for young men’s aggression and risk-taking are rare. The manly jobs of the past, which required strength and provided a strong sense of group identity, such as mining or steel working, are rare. Stacking shelves in a supermarket does not provide the same sense of self esteem, or a living wage.

Against this background, ISIL videos open up an enticing vista for a confused young man, one of danger, camaraderie and purpose.

The attractions of joining ISIL are all the stronger when it comes to second generation Muslim immigrants. In their teenage years they may rebel against what they see as the paucity of ambition of their parents, who are quietly settling into an alien land. The adopted homeland seems less attractive to the new generation now that prospects of having a better life than their parents, at a time of high youth unemployment, are dim.

None of this is designed to defend a sectarian army, which believes it has the right to kill anyone who does not share its interpretation of religion. Far from it. No effort should be spared to stop recruits finding their way to ISIL, including closing the Syrian-Turkish border. But the truth is that young men have always been stupid and reckless, and today is no exception.

The immediate question is how to deal with them if they want to return. The British government argues that if only one in 10 or one in 100 returns to wage jihad at home, that is still too big a threat to tolerate. The balance between the need to protect the public and avoiding stigmatising British Muslims is now tipping in favour of the security chiefs. The government has the right to confiscate passports of those thought to be going to volunteer in Syria. But proposals to cancel the passports of those who want to return can work only in the case of dual citizens. It is not legal to make a British citizen stateless.

The government has promised to pass a law under which returning jihadis could be excluded from the country for two years, unless they submit to tough conditions such as being under close supervision while their case is investigated. While this may make sense from a security point of view, it will be seen as singling out young Muslims. The only way to resolve this issue is the rigorous application of the law, with full transparency.

Alan Philps is a commentator on global affairs

On Twitter: @aphilps