Terrorist Movements and the Recruitment of Arab Foreign Fighters: A History from 1980s Afghanistan to ISIS

Roger Warren, MLitt 2012

This book offers the first detailed, in-depth account of how and why some Arab foreign fighters subsequently became involved in Islamist terrorism. It draws upon a unique dataset of 3,367 Arab foreign fighters compiled using biographies, martyrdom eulogies and postings on 'jihadi' websites (in Arabic). The book covers Arab foreign fighter involvement in 1980s Afghanistan, Iraq (post-2003) and Syria (post-2011). ​

The central argument of the book is that, overlaps notwithstanding, Arab foreign fighters involved in jihad defending co-religionists against a foreign invader or an unpopular autocratic Arab regime, should not necessarily be deemed synonymous with Islamist terrorists.

These two groupings (Arab foreign fighters and Islamist terrorists) often have quite distinct motivations, ideologies and levels of radicalization. The linkage therefore between Arab foreign fighters and Islamist terrorists appears to involve situational factors experienced over time whilst participating in their respective defensive jihads. The situational factors that increase levels of radicalization include, but are not limited to, exposure to the brutalising effects of close combat in a war zone; being subjected to ideological (religious) indoctrination (as part of group training and socialization); and the notion of obedience to authority. In effect, their trajectory to subsequent involvement in Islamist terrorism was via participation in defensive jihad, as opposed to the direct ‘fast track’ route taken by the majority of 9/11 hijackers. Such situational factors experienced while participating in defensive jihad appeared, over time, to influence some individuals to move from involvement in jihad targeting military elements (eg. Assad’s regime in Syria) to involvement in terrorism, targeting civilians and non-combatants.

Lastly, this book argues somewhat counter-intuitively, that many Arab foreign fighters who travelled to participate in a defensive jihad, appeared to be ordinary men – in the sense of being regular and normal individuals. This suggests that whilst some Arab foreign fighters may have been radicalized prior to arriving in a conflict zone, this did not appear to apply to all of them.

This book challenges the commonly held notion that all (as opposed to some) Arab foreign fighters are somehow necessarily radicalized (prior to travelling). This becomes particularly relevant when comparing Arab to Western Islamist foreign fighters who have also travelled to Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Kashmir (for example). Whilst the book focusses on Arab foreign fighters, it has wider applicability to include Western foreign fighters – indeed such Westerners gain inspiration and ideological guidance originating from the Arab and Muslim world.

ISBN: 1788314980