Another First World Muslim Joins ISIS

[Sanguivorant]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/farah...ith-islamic-state-of-iraq-and-syria-1.2680206

This definitely isn't the first occurrence.

There are many Muslims like him who are in their early 20s, come from somewhat affluent families, have or are currently in post-secondary education and look like they have a bright future ahead of them. At the same time, the city of Calgary is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, full of trees and whatnot. At least it is in my eyes, since I have never seen such greenery back in my home country. And this guy goes into the desert to fight for a cause that could easily be halted by Western intervention.

If that doesn't make things worse, he even burns his own Canadian passport. I know many people that would give their right arm to become a Canadian citizen, and this guy is perfectly fine with getting rid of that privilege.

So I guess the question here is: What motivates these people to leave countries that not only promote liberalism, but guarantee a high quality of life?

 

[Masada]

Same thing that motivated Irish citizens to volunteer with the British to fight the Nazis, I guess? Some sense of shared culture, a dash of moral outrage and a whiff of boredom seem to be enough to get at least some people to fight wars far from home and distant to their interests.

 

[Formaldehyde]

Or the Irish who volunteered to join the Nazis to fight the British.

 

[Tee Kay]

Obviously multiculturalism has failed

 

[LoneRebel]

Even Muslims who live comfortable middle-class lives in the West are becoming radicalized. Damned if I know why.

On the other hand, for some others it could just be their equivalent of a gap year. Lawrence Wright's The Burning Tower implies that at least some First World Muslims became mujahideen more out of a desire for adventure than due to religious fanaticism.

 

[HannibalBarka]

for the same reason, for good or bad, that some well educated westerners go work in NGO in third world countries and live "miserable" lives by the OP standard, or some westerners well educated jews go live in crappy settlement in the WB: they think they are giving their lives a "true" meaning. Or previously, some westerners voluntarily going to live in the Communist bloc !!!

 

[Traitorfish]

Is the question why people should want to travel to distant lands to shoot people they've never met, or why these particular people should want to travel to these particular distant lands to shoot at these particular people they've never met?

It sounds like I'm being facetious, but it's a sincere question. The OP clearly thinks that these people are displaying aberrant behaviour, but it's not clear what about their behaviour he actually considers aberrant. Is he asking why young men become soldiers, why Muslims become radical Islamists, or both?

 

[Borachio]

The worrying thing for the UK government, it seems, is that these people will come back all trained-up and raring to commit atrocities in the UK.

(assuming they survive their "training")

 

[Formaldehyde]

Even Muslims who live comfortable middle-class lives in the West are becoming radicalized. Damned if I know why.

Is it really all that surprising? One of the girls who was in most of my honors classes in high school decided to join the IRA when she graduated instead of attending college. She was going to help ship firearms from the US to Northern Ireland then go over herself to take part in the bloodshed.

It sounds like I'm being facetious, but it's a sincere question. The OP clearly thinks that these people are displaying aberrant behaviour, but it's not clear what about their behaviour he actually considers aberrant. Is he asking why young men become soldiers, why Muslims become radical Islamists, or both?

I really see it as being no different than the thousands of Christians who joined the military after 9/11 with the express purpose of seeking revenge against those who had nothing whatsoever to do with it.

 

[Traitorfish]

The worrying thing for the UK government, it seems, is that these people will come back all trained-up and raring to commit atrocities in the UK.

That's unfair. Bloody Sunday was decades ago.

Unless, wait, did you mean- ? Ah, never mind.

 

[Borachio]

No, tell me, do. What did you think I meant?

 

[Sanguivorant]

The OP clearly thinks that these people are displaying aberrant behaviour, but it's not clear what about their behaviour he actually considers aberrant. Is he asking why young men become soldiers, why Muslims become radical Islamists, or both?

It's not that they are displaying aberrant behaviour, it's more that it's not something you would expect from someone who has lived most of their life in comfort.

I guess I would be asking both questions.

 

[Tahuti]

Even Muslims who live comfortable middle-class lives in the West are becoming radicalized. Damned if I know why.

for the same reason, for good or bad, that some well educated westerners go work in NGO in third world countries and live "miserable" lives by the OP standard, or some westerners well educated jews go live in crappy settlement in the WB: they think they are giving their lives a "true" meaning. Or previously, some westerners voluntarily going to live in the Communist bloc !!!

Basically this. A comfy middle class life may be "prosperous", though more often than not lacks meaning.

That's unfair. Bloody Sunday was decades ago.

Unless, wait, did you mean- ? Ah, never mind.

The perpetrator of the Brussels shootout was a former Islamist rebel against Assad.

 

[Borachio]

Is he asking why young men become soldiers, why Muslims become radical Islamists, or both?

Young men become soldiers because they are seeking something meaningful to do. Beyond the humdrum. They seek adventure!

Young men become jihadists because they, too, are seeking adventure, but also because they accept the narrative that the Islamic world (an allegedly superior culture) is being undervalued by the world at large.

Or something.

 

[Quackers]

As usual the apologists are out. We even have analogies for the Irish fighting for the British as if it was in anyway comparable.
ISIS are a terrorist organisation and are underpinned by crazy, extreme Islam.

The worrying thing is, why do these young men who have been raised in Western societies with all the cultural input that entails feel the need to fight overseas and risk their lives for thuggish groups? This isn't unusual, there have been plenty of cases in the UK too.

 

[Borachio]

Maybe it's the same sort of reasons that led to people going to fight in the Spanish Civil War?

 

[Old Hippy]

Maybe it's the same sort of reasons that led to people going to fight in the Spanish Civil War?

or even the crusades...

 

[Borachio]

I like the way your mind is working, Mr Fito.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

Obviously multiculturalism has failed

It's only more multiculturalism. Success!?

 

[El_Machinae]

Well, just be grateful that these kids consider this to be a viable idea. It's probably the worst use of their time and assets I could imagine, if they goal was to actually help the Umma.