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Journalism of Courage
Yesterday, a Mumbai-bound Northwest Airline flight from Amsterdam turned back after the crew grew suspicious of some passengers. Later, an official of the US government is reported to have 8220;unofficially8221; said that the passengers were passing cell phones among themselves while the airliner was taking off: 8220;It was behaviour that the average passenger wouldn8217;t do8230;8221; Spotting a terrorist isn8217;t easy. But if we were to try spot one, it would serve us better to know that the key to his identity doesn8217;t lie in stereotypes.
Take the case of the last big terror story that played itself out at Heathrow on August 10. Three out of the 23 people arrested in connection to the plot to blow American airliners over the Atlantic are not born muslims but converts. A story on one of the suspects arrested, Don Stewart-Whyte, in the British daily The Sun was headlined 8220;Born a Christian8221;. The 19-year-old son of a late Tory politician is said to have converted to Islam last year. For many Britons, this is one of the most unsettling aspects of the case. But for many specialists of terrorism in Europe, this comes as no surprise.
Is there a typical profile to converts drifting to the 8220;terrorist career path8221;? No serious pathology pattern emerges from studies. But the individuals drawn to this path seem to generally come from underprivileged neighbourhoods in urban environments, with little or no job prospects and very often living in a small underground economy of delinquency. Richard Reid who converted while in prison, experienced a life of crime and a broken family. According to a Renseignements Generaux study released in 2005, converts in France are 83 per cent male and have a median age of 32 years. Half of them are unemployed and more than half have no diploma. Many come from troubled family backgrounds. And 44 per cent chose a Salafist-inspired form of Islam most rigourist. Often alienated and socially marginal individuals, they face a lack of identity and meaning. Still, what can explain this further and dramatic step 8211; the 8220;conversion8221; for some of them to terrorism?
Converts have been a prime recruitment target for terrorist groups for their ability to operate and travel freely in Europe, Asia and North America with less risk to arouse the suspicion of security authorities. Beyond their usefulness, a number of significant factors should be mentioned. First, there is the notorious 8220;convert8217;s zeal8221;. There are countless examples through history of newly converts whether to a religion or a doctrine of any kind displaying an extreme version of the newfound 8220;truth8221;. The new member of the community feels the need to prove his faith and commitment and therefore adopts behaviors at times more rigorist than a 8216;native8217; of the same community. Also, conversion often happens within one group, with one version of the religion being taught. The convert is thus more likely to develop a dogmatic vision and understanding, whereas someone who grew up in a certain belief system is more likely to be exposed to a variety of interpretations over time.
Several mechanisms of rejection of the convert8217;s background occur. When conversion is an answer to feeling alienated and disconnected from one8217;s society, the individual is tempted to reject his or her former world, and demonstrate how bad it is. This, by contrast, will constantly help justify and reinforce his new choice. Olivier Roy, one of France8217;s experts on radical forms of Islam, explains that converts choosing terrorism are mostly white youth from depressed suburbs, who by becoming a shahid martyr, help destroy the impure societies they are coming from 8212; and which originally rejected them. Jamaican-born Germaine Lindsay, one of the four suicide bombers in London8217;s July 2005 bombings, converted at the age of 15, putting an end to his drug dealing activities, and leaving behind all his previous friendships. During his trial, Richard Reid explained that although he knew he would cause untold pain and grief, his act was justified by the desire to 8220;die for his family8221; and avenge what he believed was the killing of millions of muslims by Western countries.
Psychological and sociological studies reveal that in large-scale industrial societies, socially marginal individuals, especially adolescents, with high stress levels and low self-esteem, are more likely to pursue a religious identity, often of the most dogmatic kind. The new-found identity frequently results in a diminished personal autonomy and increased dependency on a community and strong leadership. Terrorist groups share a lot with some authoritarian sects, with a requirement for total commitment, a set of regulated beliefs and behaviours, a tendency to authoritarian aggression rejecting 8220;deviant8221; attitudes and outsiders. The various psychological and socio-economic issues faced by the individual find a different 8220;conduit8221; to be channeled through, as time and external circumstances vary 8212; yesterday it could be a far-left group such as the Red Army Fraction in Germany, or elsewhere the Japanese Aum Shinrikyo cult, today it finds at times an expression through some radical groups of Islam, tomorrow it may take some other form. Of course belief and ideology aren8217;t to be discounted, but in understanding the convert8217;s 8220;conversion to terrorism8221;, the challenge is for society, and for the individual concerned, is to face the internal forces and core issues that push him or her towards such an extreme 8220;conduit8221;.
The writer is a French journalist with a special interest in applying psychological tools to international relations.
