The handful of Canadian, American, European and Australian Muslims found to be going to conflict hotspots in Iraq and Syria is enough to have raised alarm concerning what is being described as the ‘foreign fighter phenomenon’. This phenomenon is disturbing, given its potential to escalate the perceived threats of home-grown terrorism, increased Islamophobia, and a potential tightening of immigration policies across the Western world.
As part of our ongoing research at McGill University on social cohesion challenges confronting Muslim diasporic communities in multicultural societies like Canada in the post-9/11 context, we recently organised a seminar focusing on this issue of Muslims born in the West, and why they become involved in the ongoing conflicts across the Muslim world.
Chris Anzalone, a researcher at McGill’s Institute of Islamic Studies, was one of the speakers at this event. He rightly pointed out that despite recent attention on Muslims from the West traveling to engage in militant activism in Somalia, Iraq, Mali, Algeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Chechnya and Syria, the mobilisation of foreign fighters to participate in conflicts abroad is nothing new. Lord Byron, the famous English Romantic poet, Davy Crockett, the “king of the wild frontier” and Vidal Sassoon, the British Jewish founder of a hair care product empire, were also foreign fighters. Another scholar, affiliated with the University of Toronto, further highlighted differences in motivations of current Muslim foreign fighters. These may include a sense of ‘armed humanitarianism’ to go help Syrian civilians being massacred by the Assad government, for example. Foreign fighters can even be motivated by more nationalist sentiments, as in the case of some of the US and Canadian Somali youth, who traveled to Somalia to fight against the Ethiopians.
Moreover, the reasons for foreign fighting can shift once on the ground due to heavy ideological indoctrination by certain armed groups like Al-Shabab, Jabhat al-Nusra, or the Islamic State. Individuals who travel abroad wanting to become foreign fighters can also experience a shift in their goals and become convinced to return home and attempt to perpetrate violence in their own home countries. It is this group which Western governments are afraid of the most.
Addressing this problem is, however, not easy. The ongoing ‘war on terror’ seems to have not only escalated conflicts in the Muslim world, but also hampered prospects of social integration of Muslims living in the West, especially the youth. Not surprisingly, the average age range of militants in Europe, Canada and the US ranges from the twenties to the early thirties.
Although Western media coverage often portrays foreign fighters in an essentialist and stereotypical manner, yet how and why Muslim youth become radicalised and involved in conflicts abroad varies. A recent study on militancy in Canada found that it was not uncommon for the individuals accused or convicted of being involved in militancy to be recent converts. Many of those who turn to militancy come from troubled backgrounds. They also seem to have limited knowledge about Islam, including its diverse historical, literary, theological and legal heritages, which fuels their radicalisation.
Instead of strengthening a culture of surveillance, which could further antagonise and isolate Muslim youth, Western governments should put more effort into exploring means to redress their social isolation, identify means for them to contribute more constructively to multicultural societies and even engage them in constructively alleviating the suffering surrounding conflicts across the Muslim world, rather than becoming embroiled in them.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 11th, 2014.
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COMMENTS (7)
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The question ought to be: Why are Muslims (in their native countries and Western countries) are more likely to be radicalized than Buddhists, Shinto, Hindus, Jains, Confucists, Parsis, and other religious minorities? If immigrants from non-European, non-Christian countries face similar challenges in adopted countries that are often cited as reasons for radicalization of Muslims, wouldn't we see similar proportions of disaffection and alienation in those groups, too? Why not do a better screening of potential immigrants? (Citizenship rules also need to be revisited by host countries.)
Whatever good the non-muslims ever did for, or gave to, the muslims, it all ended up increasing their jealousy and hatred towards the non-muslims and their desire to glorify islam and its delusional past.
Muslims have an inferiority-fear coupled with a superiority-complex and a cowardice which they try to "overcome" by resorting to machoism, bravado and violence and grand propaganda and delusions about muslims' history."Some imaginary arab tribal god promises me greatness and superiority, and I don't achieve it, so what do I do?... I blame and hate the non-believers."
That is the muslim situation.
Comparing those fighting for Is with other foreign fighters is very strange. Those brought up in west with system of government which allows all views and religions to coexist and then decide to fight for a movement which is most intolerant, does not allow other viewpoints, in fact kills non Muslims and want to cleanse the country from open minded people is worrying indeed. This article will only encourage others to join such backward and intolerant movement called IS. People living in Muslim countries do not know how these people join the IS have changed attitudes. People are saying why do we welcome such people, give them protection just put a knife on our backs when they grow up. When Japan attacked Pearl harbour, USA put all japenese living in US in camps , separated from the rest of society. I hope things do not move to that extreme. The author uses the words: handful of fighters, to show as if their numbers are insignificant. That is wrong and the intention for using this word is totally unacceptable.
@ani: You just echoed my thoughts.
I want ask the author what steps Muslim youth living western countries have taken to reduce their isolation? I find in my home country of Australia we find that Muslims who have migrated to Australia to escape tyrannical regimes refuse to mix with locals. Even their religious leaders refuse to have a more than passing English language capability and speak in Arabic when interviewed by the local media. They have also shown that their loyalties are not to Australia but a distant land and therefore they only live on welfare without contributing to the mainstream society. They have found that in Denmark where Muslims amount to around 2% of the population use up 40% of welfare funding. Muslim women are only child bearing machines and use up child support systems. The welfare money earned is then used up to send overseas fighters. Muslim men and women accentuate their difference from Anglo Australians by wearing clothes they wore in the Middle-east. In my opinion ending isolation is in their hands by showing loyalties to the nations they have adopted by migrating there.
This problem is not a recent phenomenon. The author conveniently places the onus on the Western governments which often provide asylum, free education, healthcare, unemployment benefits and what not. People who have been living for decades having fled their war-torn nations have been observed to not have learnt the local language. Conscious effort to integrate should be made by the people who receive help from the governments, it should not be the onus of governments. Kindly take some responsibility on your shoulders as well.
Something in Islam attracts people from troubled backgrounds. There are lots of prison converts to Islam in the west.