9/11 is recognized as one of the largest terrorist attacks on American soil. The Al-Qaeda terror group claimed responsibility for the coordinated series of attacks that took place in New York and Washington, D.C, on September 11th, 2001. Since then, sub-state terror groups have become a threat to national security in various ways prompting the United States government to stay on high alert. Attacks by these groups have been successful because they radicalize American citizens and motivate them using jihadist ideologies to launch attacks against their county. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is one of the new terror groups in the twenty-first century. It has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks in various parts of the world with a few claiming lives in the United States. Radicalization by ISIS in America post 9/11 targets youth aged between 16 and 24 because most of them are jobless and vulnerable to jihad ideologies which motivate them to engage in various terror activities in the United States.
The population of disconnected youth in Western Europe and the United States aged between 16 and 24 continues to rise rapidly. Most individuals within this age bracket are not in school and are not employed. As a result, this population is vulnerable and in most cases, target to radicalization by ISIS. They are given a purpose in the name of jihadist ideologies that compel to engage in terrorist activities on behalf of ISIS among other terror groups. The appeal and lure strategies used by ISIS to recruit these use in western Europe and the united states are unlikely to subside since the population of vulnerable individuals continue to increase. Reports have it that the number of foreign fighters in ISIS and other terror groups continues to increase (). This trend is slowly spreading to other nations more so where Muslim youths are neither in school nor in employment, making them the perfect target by these groups.
So many youths have already been radicalized into joining ISIS in America. This phenomenon is cause for concern by the United States government to scrutinize, understand and engage in actions that aim to prevent more youth falling prey to traps set by these terrorist groups. Various causes for enrolling in these groups include lack of education, religion discrimination, political and economic marginalization, poverty, and family background etcetera (). To better understand the impacts of these aspects and their psychological perspectives, different theoretical frameworks were examined. The results helped me understand how ISIS targets foreign youths that are more susceptible to their appeals to join the terrorist groups. Relative deprivation theory, on the other hand, helped understand the strategy used to profile needy and idle youths before attempts to radicalize them into the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The period post 9/11 is attributed to have caused many struggles for Muslims in the United States among other nations in Western Europe. Most Muslims faced religion-based decimation from the government, law enforcement agencies and citizens alike. They were often forced to limit their movement within their neighbourhoods. The result was isolation and loneliness with most Muslims often questioning their identity. They lived in poverty with minimal help from the government. Desperation often made them the youth in this neighbourhood susceptible to radicalization by terror groups such as ISIS which promised a way out of poor living conditions (). ISIS used these neighbourhoods are recruitment grounds targeting vulnerable Muslims who faced oppression from the society and the government that should have protected them. Bitterness towards society and the government for forsaking them compelled them to join terrorist groups and plotting ways of seeking revenge.
The second-generation Muslims residing in marginalized societies in the United States and Western Europe were lured into joining terrorist groups. The rapid radicalization of these youth resulted in growth in the population of these terrorist groups. Consequently, the number of terrorist attacks within the United States borders increased. Incidents of the mass shooting were on the rise and terror groups such as ISIS claimed responsibility. This compelled the government to raise their vigilance, especially in areas that were affiliated with radicalization. However, it was challenging since perpetrators were United States citizens with vendettas against their county and its people. Socially isolated youth, both men and women were joining terrorist groups and launching attacks on American soil (). Their actions were based on jihad ideologies that led them to believe that they were exerting justice to the society that once made them feel inferior.
Extremism associated with terrorist groups such as ISIS increased post 9/11. The perpetrators were disenchanted youth searching for identity, purpose and acceptance in the community (). They had been unable to find their identity, acceptance and purpose since most people perceived being Muslim as an automatic affiliation with terrorism. As a result, most Muslims were victims of discrimination from both the government and the citizens around them. In extreme cases, citizens attacked Muslims, especially women wearing headscarves which were obvious indications of Islam. Post 9/11 most communities focused on recovering and island was the scapegoat often accusing all Muslims of being terrorists. Muslim victims were treated as suspects often subject to scrutiny and discrimination. Instead of building healthy relationships and including Muslim citizens in the collaborative venture, most communities in the United States focused on acquiring and accumulating wealth post 9/11. This fuelled the disparity between the Muslim community and other communities in the United States whose long-term effect has come to cost the nation as a whole a great deal.
Various bodies were formed in the United States to facilitate the efforts to curb terrorism. One such body is the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). The body deals with terrorism activities at the country level. Data collected by START has been very helpful in understanding terrorism at an advanced level. The study found that these attacks by terrorist organizations, specifically ISIS, were clustered and concentrated in specific geographic areas and narrowed them to specific counties in the United States (LaFree and Bersani). Profiles provided by START were very helpful in helping understand the psychological perspective used to target youths being radicalized in the terrorist groups. Their attack strategies were also examined, and a pattern identified, which aided in projecting future attacks and helping reduce the impact of the attacks.
The studies also identified some surprising information about the profiles of terrorists. However, it kept fine details that would escalate the situation in America post 9/11. However, it was clear that terrorist in the twenty-first-century post 9/11 had larger proportions of female youths (Ibid). The study skipped the economic marginalization of these radicalization victims. Education levels of these victims were also inconclusive since most of the profiled individual were multi-linguistics with almost perfect language diversity. In this case, psychology perspectives helped me understand the situation better. Most of these individuals had been radicalized in different nations and immigrated into the United States during the commotion post 9/11. This allowed them to reside in the chaos and wage destructive actions against Americans. Therefore, foreign-born residents were profiled as having greater proportions of aligning with radical ideologies. This was a very significant vulnerability since law enforcement would be perceived as discriminative when pursuing leads against foreign-born Muslim residents based on jihad affiliation.
Some of the very significant vulnerabilities to exploit when radicalizing youth was identified as frustration and anger. Collective anger on the perception of injustice is identified as one of the most effective vulnerability to exploit during radicalization by ISIS in the United States (Margarita). A very susceptible group of youth scholars targeted by terrorist groups was frustrated achievers. These were scholars with huge potentials but whose academic life had been affected by the system. The terror groups promised freedom to pursue their studies provided they proved allegiance to the groups and availed themselves when called. Some of these students were from wealthy non-Muslim families, but their frustration and anger had made them susceptible to radicalization. Such individuals had the benefit of operating under the radar since they passed all the criteria for radicalization. Their perceived injustices were exploited, and radicalization was sourced from their alienations to their various groups.
Family background is a spot-on point of view when profiling youth susceptible to radicalization. However, most individuals go about it wrongly. Second-generation Muslim youths have a different perception of their family background that make them vulnerable to radicalization. Whether born as Muslims or subject to conversion to Islam, most of these youth suffer from social marginalization where they struggle to fit in the society. ISIS targets these youth who have no connection to their family heritage and seek social re-connection with their family’s lineage (Jim). The terror groups use this vulnerable and feed the youth with jihad ideologies. These ideologies are deemed to make these youths feel connected to what they perceive as the purpose of their people. This trend justifies the recent increase in the number of foreign jihads residing in the United States and Western Europe post 9/11. Understanding this psychological perspective has helped profile possible terrorists and prevent several attacks from happening on United States soil between 2014 and 2015. Efforts by the western government aiming to prevent these youth from being radicalized have been futile since advancement in technology had created more effective channels for radicalization.
The internet and social media platforms have opened new pathways for ISIS to approach vulnerable youth. As a result, there are active ISIS cells in all states within the United States by 2015 (Chuck). The era post 9/11 has seen the United States become a resident for a domestic terrorist with affiliation to ISIS. The reality of the threat to the nation’s security is known, and strategies are active in retaliation to the tell-tale sign. Disconnected youth during the era has often been associated with aiding terrorist organization since they are assured of what they perceive as purpose in the jihad ideologies. Growing mistrust among the youth for the government and their perception of foreign policies by the government helps fuel the misplacement of loyalties which compel the youth to align their interest with terrorist groups.
The spread of negative opinion about leadership and governance often driven the youth in western countries to join ISIS and other terrorist groups. The political aspects are responsible for most of the foreign fighters claiming strong affiliation for ISIS and the likes (Bizina). The challenge facing the government is that the enemy is within the borders, which makes it challenging to identify and capture them. Most of these converted youths, the United States and other western nations are legal citizens by naturalization but have passports of their home nations. This creates propaganda between civil liberties and extremism which has made the fight against radicalization and terrorism very challenging. Strategies used by ISIS to radicalize disconnected youth have evolved post 9/11. They seem to target smart youth who can blend in contemporary society and exist unnoticed. However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency both engage in surveillance operations to unmask radicalization programs which have helped keep American citizens safe from terror and kept youth at bay from being radicalized and conforming to jihad ideologies.
To sum up, ideological radicalization by ISIS post 9/11 is responsible for the increased number of foreign fighters affiliated with ISIS and other terrorist groups. Radicalization by these organizations often targets disconnected youths and exposing them to jihad ideologies. From a theoretical point of view, these youths are in search of identity, acceptance and purpose from the community they live in, and the terror groups present them with a different perception of purpose. As a result, they conform to jihad ideologies and subject their extremism to governments they perceive as unjust. The internet and social media have increased the complexity of challenges associated with radicalization since they target youths with relative deprivation on the platforms. Psychological frameworks being used by organizations such as SMART have helped the government profile terrorists who have been radicalized and helped prevent some attacks from happening. Ideological radicalization continues to rise post 9/11 with groups such as ISIS targeting disconnected youths in the United States and Western Europe.