Western foreign fighters in the conflict in Syria and Iraq: a critical reflection on the role of Muslims’ identity and integration in the West
Date
2016-04-20
Authors
Hashemirahaghi, Seyedmehdi
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Abstract
The current conflict in Syria and Iraq has attracted a large number of foreign fighters (FFs) from Western countries. The main question of this thesis is why these countries do not have a similar pattern for their proportions of FFs. This thesis explores this question in nine Western countries with varying proportions of FFs: Finland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, England, Canada, Australia, and America. Through a case study of Islamic State’s online FF recruitment campaign, it will be shown that common religious identity is the main part of the group’s recruitment message. However, comparing the identified countries on factors related to Muslims’ identity and integration uncovers that common Muslim identity itself is not capable of answering the question; instead, it is Muslims’ integration into their surrounding societies that correlates with proportions of FFs from identified countries.
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Keywords
Foreign Fighters, The Islamic State, Integration, Identity, ISIS, ISIL, Civil War, Syria, Iraq, Western Countries