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~~cassius clay~~ · 06-06-2017, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

I guess going back to the post that sparked the convo, you're good.

The low IQ of the radical converts in question can reflect greater factors like you suggest, such as poverty (no access to education) or lack of infrastructure which could lead them to more drastic measures. I think that's why it's so common in war torn or 3rd world countries, and is likely the reason why terrorism has the highest death toll in the least stable Middle East and African countries.

this is a common assumption about islamic extremists, however there have been numerous studies conducted on the issue since 9/11 which suggest the exact opposite: islamic extremists are statistically more likely to be wealthy and well educated than their non extremist counterparts.

i can't post links but here's a few excerpts from the guardian 2016 study on ISIS recruits

Quote:

Recruits to Islamic militant groups are likely to be well educated and relatively wealthy, with those aspiring to be suicide bombers among the best off, a study by the World Bank has found.

The research, based on internal records from the Islamic State group, will reinforce the growing conclusion among specialists that there is no obvious link between poverty or educational levels and radicalisation.

The data, leaked by a disaffected former member of Isis in March, includes basic information on 3,803 foreign recruits from all over the Islamic world and Europe who joined the organisation between early 2013 and late 2014, when the flow of volunteers to the organisation reached a peak.

Quote:

The educational level of recruits from north Africa or the Middle East was significantly greater than that of most of their compatriots, the researchers found.

“A large fraction have gone on to study at university … Recruits from Africa, south and east Asia and the Middle East are significantly more educated than individuals from their cohort in their region of origin,” the report said.

The recruits were also asked by Isis what role they hoped to play within the group. The proportions of those who wanted to be administrators and “suicide fighters” increased with education, the report’s authors noted.

Neither inequality nor poverty was a driver of involvement in violent extremism, and wealthier countries were more likely to supply foreign recruits for Isis, the report found.

“In countries with a large Muslim population, low degrees of religiosity, low levels of trust in religious institutions and strong government and social control of religion seem to be risk factors of radicalisation,” the report said.