Why do European youth join Daesh? Recruitment methods (6)

Dr Mahmud Abdullah

 Daesh uses numerous methods to draw in new fighters to it. It uses a complete package of social networking sites, such as Twitter; Facebook; Skype, and Youtube, to address the international Internet audience. Daesh also publishes an online magazine, namely Dabiq. It has television channels and a number of internet pages. The organization also posts masterfully-made videos on the internet. One of the journalists described the videos as films that look much like those of Hollywood. Daesh calls these videos “Clanking of the Swords”. The videos document Daesh’s battles, victories and the executions it carries out. They show the organization’s arms and equipment, using very advanced cameras and techniques.

Researcher Mustafa Dabas says Dabiq uses very attractive visual techniques. The magazine, he said, uses more photos than it does words. Photos make up almost two thirds of the content of the magazine, Dabas said.

The pages of the magazine are divided into a group of columns that are separated from each other by photos. Sometimes the photos make the background of the columns. Magazine editors also sometimes spread a photo over two pages of the magazine, which gives the chance for photos to speak loud of the religious or military message the organization wants to deliver (25).

The use of modern digital tools appeals to people who have readiness to become extremists. The same tools help these people follow Daesh fighters closely. This gives them an experience similar to this acquired by these fighters (26). This is why the organization is keen to document its operations on a daily basis. Some foreign fighters of the organization documented their participation in the war in Syria in English so that European audiences can understand this material (27).

The use of media by jihadists is discussed on a massive scale. Al-Qaeda used new media tools to spread its messages before the 9/11 attacks. It produced high-quality videos, enlisting the services of media companies. It also used internet forums to post videos, but to access these videos users had to have a special password (28).

The emergence of Twitter effected change in the way terrorist organizations spread their messages. Twitter allowed these organizations to directly deliver the messages from the battlefields. It also allowed them to post links to new videos and statements. Terrorist organizations used Twitter to publish the photos of the battles, their arms, meetings and those of the people killed in the battles. Most of those who publish this material on Twitter are not foreign fighters. They are not connected to jihadist organizations either. They are only backers of these organizations, which is why they offer psychological and political support to these organizations. They consider themselves credible sources of information about these organizations (29).

Nonetheless, these publishers are massively followed on Twitter. Although most terrorist organizations have official accounts, the audiences of these organizations usually depend on other sources of information about them. The accounts of these publishers are one of these sources. One of the things that brings following to these publishers is that most of them know foreign languages. They master the Arabic language, but can also translate the messages of the terrorist organizations into English, which makes it easy for foreign audiences to understand these messages. The same publishers usually have a sound judgment about the situation in countries where the terrorist organizations are active, such as Syria and Iraq. Because they have information sources, these publishers always see the full picture. They collect the information scattered on the accounts of the fighters of the organizations and then put this information into context. The same publishers can interact with their followers. Terrorist organization fighters do not have time to interact with their followers. The publishers do this job for them. Some of them convince the followers and others correct wrong information (30).

One of the studies dwells on the nature of messages sent by extremists via Twitter. It also focuses on the reasons why these messages draw in new fighters to these extremists. The study divides the content of the messages into the following five categories:

First, religious lessons

They include all the edicts issued by the sheikhs and scholars of the terrorist organizations. They also include excerpts from the Holy Quran.

Second, field reports

These reports include footage of events at the battlefield. They include the activities of the organization and everything connected with the battles.

Third, conversations

These are the conversations the extremists make with friends and social media followers.

Fourth, daily life

Materials published in this regard contain details of the daily life of the fighters. These fighters document their food and post photos with their friends. These materials have nothing to do with the battlefield.

Fifth, threats

This content includes threats that aim to scare enemies. These threats are usually addressed to Western countries and the enemies of these terrorist organizations (31).

Nonetheless, terrorist organizations have two types of discourse: one addressed to the Arab world in which they talk about hostility to the US and its allies, and another addressed to the West in which they focus on the suffering of Muslims. In this last one, terrorist organizations use photos of Muslims killed by Western armies and their allies (32).

Terrorist groups use Facebook as they do Twitter. Most Facebook pages are propagandist in nature. They contain information about conflicts on the ground, photos of people killed in battles, and verses from the Holy Quran and Islamic history, all aiming at motivating their fighters. “Wake Up, Nation” is a French Facebook page in this regard. Some of the other pages are administered by the fighters themselves (33).

There are pages that are specified for religious scholars considered to be terms of reference for Daesh members and sympathizers in Europe. These are scholars with a record that makes them capable of swaying Daesh sympathizers in the European continent. These scholars speak English eloquently. They deliver their sermons in English as well and interact with their audiences through these Facebook pages.

Daesh uses social media to fulfill the following goals:

• Invite the attention of international media
• Throw light on its messages
• Manipulate narratives about it
• Defeat rival media, especially Western and Shiite media and the media of rival organizations
• Highlight its strengths
• Communicate with backers and draw in new supporters
• Scare and deter opponents
• Bring its military capabilities under the spotlight
• Collect money and raise funds (34), which is why the organization targets donators, potential fighters and supporters (35)

Social media plays an important role in the attraction of new fighters for Daesh. Nevertheless, new recruits have to pass through the following phases before they become fighters:

• Persuasion phase

This is the stage in which a new member is drawn in to the organization through a number of allurements, including the dream of founding an Islamic caliphate where everybody is equal. In this phase, the organization also talks about victories scored on the ground. It also talks about the spoils of war which are distributed equally among the fighters. The organization talks extensively also about the victims of war in order to make targeted recruits sympathize with them. The persuasion usually takes place through mediators, who most of the time, are either friends of relatives.

• Examination phase

This phase precedes the travel of the recruit to the self-proclaimed caliphate of the organization or the battlefield. New members have to find somebody who will vouch for them. This aims to ensure that the new members are not spies for any of the rival agencies or organizations. A new member is never admitted into the organization if there is not a credible person who can vouch for him or her. The person vouching for a new member has to ensure that this member is well-versed in the Islamic religion. After this, a new member is investigated for between three months and a whole year.

• Joining the organization

This phase includes a number of stations. New recruits first arrive in the nearest point to the target state. This point is usually in Turkey. Recruits have to take a number of precautionary measures in order to avoid inviting the attention of Turkish authorities. Recruits are then given training in fighting. Most recruits do not have military experiences prior to joining the organization. A group of experienced fighters is always responsible for training the newcomers. Some of these fighters are Russian nationals who fought in the Caucuses. Some of these fighters also formed their owned extremist groups that fought side by side with larger extremist organizations. Some reports also refer to the presence of training camps for the extremists, one of them in Libya, where recruits from Tunisia and Libya receive training (36).