Does Paris attack prove Islamic State is attracting younger followers?
Witness reports in France saying gunmen may be teenagers suggest Isis’s new recruiting techniques seem to be working
Jason Burke
Sunday 15 November 2015 14.36 GMTLast modified on Sunday 15 November 2015
One of the most appalling details related by witnesses of the violence in Paris on Friday night is that several of the killers could have been extremely young, possibly only 18, or even 15, years old. This image of teenagers – still of school age, wielding automatic weapons to kill scores of people – is deeply shocking.
So far, the only attacker who has been fully identified was 29 years old, and it is unclear if the witnesses’ descriptions of other terrorists is accurate. But their apparent youth would fit an emerging picture of those attracted to Islamic State’s ideology and – perhaps more importantly – the twisted “gangsta-jihadi lifestyle” some believe it offers.
One trend of recent years in Islamic militancy has been the shift from foreigners launching an attack in the west – such as the 9/11 attacks – to so-called “homegrown” extremists. We still don’t know where all the Paris attackers came from, and this is hugely important in determining the nature of the threat going forward.
But another trend is the youth of those involved in militancy. A decade ago in the UK, the presence of a schoolboy in an extremist network was seen as extraordinary. Many remarked on the presence of a 19-year-old among the suicide bombers who attacked London in 2005. Since then, however, teenage terrorists and fighters have become unexceptional.
If it is often older militants who engage in violence in their home countries; the average age of Europeans heading to Syria to fight with Isis appears significantly lower than that of the volunteers who travelled to Afghanistan to train with the Taliban or al-Qaida. Hundreds are barely old enough to vote.
Why is this? One reason is practical. Al-Qaida and most of its affiliates have always been based in remote places, such as western Pakistan, that are hard to reach, and harder to leave. You needed to be committed, connected and resourceful to get there, and be prepared not to come out. Communication was limited, food bad, accommodation worse, celibacy assured and the risk of capture, injury or death was high. MI5 overheard British volunteers who made it to Pakistan complaining of boredom and chronic stomach upsets. Such a journey was not something undertaken on the spur of the moment by an impulsive teenager and his friends.
In contrast, taking part in what was famously described as a “five-star jihad” in Syria required much less commitment. Reaching and leaving the conflict zone has been, until recently, relatively easy. The suspected mastermind of a Belgian Isis-linked cell that plotted a complex attack earlier this year dubbed himself a “terrorist tourist” in a clip found on his mobile phone. The internet works, allowing Skype calls home and real-time ‘respect’ from peers on social media.
Isis also appeals to teenagers in a way that al-Qaida, led by an ascetic, bespectacled 64-year-old does not. The older group’s videos usually involve a lengthy monologue in Arabic reminding Muslims of their various jihadi duties and little else. Isis propaganda films targeting western teenagers comprise short clips resembling a cross between a video game and a trailer for an action movie.
The propaganda also promises weapons, camaraderie and excitement. Publications such as the multilingual Isis magazine, Dabiq, emphasise sexual opportunity too, either through marriage to another volunteer or rape. All is relayed peer to peer by thousands of supporters, many of whom are extremely young themselves.
Once inside Syria, or Isis, or another militant group or network, a new dynamic takes over. Volunteers are exposed to a new and very different environment. Some become hardened, conditioned, and eventually prepared to murder ordinary people on a Friday evening in a peaceful city in their homelands or elsewhere. Others do not. But what no one yet knows is what proportion of the thousands of young Europeans who have made their way to Syria or Iraq will return to take up arms to kill and maim. Further details of the identities of last week’s attackers will help answer this vital question.
النتائج (
العربية) 1:
[نسخ]نسخ!
هل يثبت اعتداء باريس "الدولة الإسلامية" هو اجتذاب شوهد الأصغر؟وتفيد تقارير الشاهد في فرنسا قائلا أن المسلحين قد يكون المراهقون تقنيات لايزيس توظيف جديدة يبدو أن العملبورك Jasonالأحد 15 نوفمبر 2015 تعديل جمتلاست 14.36 في الأحد 15 نوفمبر 2015 واحدة من أبشع التفاصيل المتصلة بالشهود أعمال العنف في باريس مساء الجمعة أن العديد من القتلة قد يكون صغيراً جداً، ربما فقط 18، أو حتى 15، سنة. هذه الصورة للمراهقين – لا يزال في سن المدرسة، يحملون أسلحة أوتوماتيكية بقتل عشرات الناس – من صدمة عميقة.حتى الآن، كان المهاجم الوحيد الذي تم التعرف على كامل 29 عاماً، ومن غير الواضح إذا كان وصف الشهود من الإرهابيين الآخرين دقيقة. ولكن سوف يصلح شبابهم الظاهر صورة ناشئة عن تلك التي تنجذب إلى أيديولوجية "الدولة الإسلامية" – وربما أكثر الأهم – الملتوية "أسلوب العصابات الجهادية" ويعتقد البعض أنه يقدم.اتجاه واحد في السنوات الأخيرة في التشدد الإسلامي قد التحول من شن هجوم في الغرب – مثل هجمات 9/11 – لما يسمى "محلية" المتطرفين الأجانب. أننا لا نزال نجهل حيث جاءت جميع المهاجمين باريس من، وهذا أهمية كبيرة في تحديد طبيعة التهديد الذي تسير إلى الأمام.ولكن هناك اتجاه آخر هو الشباب الذين اشتركوا في القتال. في المملكة المتحدة، وقبل عقد من الزمن كان ينظر وجود تلميذ في شبكة متطرفة العادة. ولاحظ العديد على وجود 19 عاماً بين الانتحاريين الذين هاجموا لندن في عام 2005. ومنذ ذلك الحين، إلا أن سن المراهقة الإرهابيين والمقاتلين قد أصبحت مستبعدة. إذا كان هو غالباً كبار المسلحين الذين يقومون بأعمال العنف في بلدانهم الأصلية؛ متوسط عمر الأوروبيين التوجه إلى سوريا للقتال مع إيزيس يبدو أقل بكثير من أن المتطوعين الذين سافروا إلى أفغانستان لتدريب مع حركة طالبان أو تنظيم القاعدة. مئات من العمر ما يكفي بالكاد التصويت.لماذا يعتبر هذا؟ سبب واحد عملي. -تنظيم القاعدة ومعظم الشركات التابعة لها كانت دائماً في الأماكن النائية، مثل غرب باكستان، التي يصعب الوصول إليها، وصعوبة في مغادرة. تحتاج أن تكون ملتزمة ومتصلة والحيلة للوصول إلى هناك، وتكون على استعداد لا للخروج. كان الاتصالات المحدودة، الغذاء سيئة، وأسوأ أماكن السكن، أكد العزوبة وخطر التقاط أو الإصابات أو الوفيات كان مرتفعا. MI5 يزعزع سمع المتطوعين البريطانيين الذين جعلت باكستان يشكون من الملل والمعدة المزمنة. هذه رحلة لم يكن شيئا اتخذها على مومينت سبور طبيعة مراهق متهور وأصدقائه.In contrast, taking part in what was famously described as a “five-star jihad” in Syria required much less commitment. Reaching and leaving the conflict zone has been, until recently, relatively easy. The suspected mastermind of a Belgian Isis-linked cell that plotted a complex attack earlier this year dubbed himself a “terrorist tourist” in a clip found on his mobile phone. The internet works, allowing Skype calls home and real-time ‘respect’ from peers on social media. Isis also appeals to teenagers in a way that al-Qaida, led by an ascetic, bespectacled 64-year-old does not. The older group’s videos usually involve a lengthy monologue in Arabic reminding Muslims of their various jihadi duties and little else. Isis propaganda films targeting western teenagers comprise short clips resembling a cross between a video game and a trailer for an action movie. The propaganda also promises weapons, camaraderie and excitement. Publications such as the multilingual Isis magazine, Dabiq, emphasise sexual opportunity too, either through marriage to another volunteer or rape. All is relayed peer to peer by thousands of supporters, many of whom are extremely young themselves.Once inside Syria, or Isis, or another militant group or network, a new dynamic takes over. Volunteers are exposed to a new and very different environment. Some become hardened, conditioned, and eventually prepared to murder ordinary people on a Friday evening in a peaceful city in their homelands or elsewhere. Others do not. But what no one yet knows is what proportion of the thousands of young Europeans who have made their way to Syria or Iraq will return to take up arms to kill and maim. Further details of the identities of last week’s attackers will help answer this vital question.
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