More and more jihadis are recruited from prisons, where “angry young men” are “ripe for radicalization,” according to a study released Tuesday.
The report from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR) outlines how Islamic State targets prison inmates as potential recruits. The authors suggest that ISIS offers a narrative that is “surprisingly well-aligned” with the “personal needs and desires of criminals.”
“Just like the criminal gangs of which they used to be members, jihadist groups offered power, violence, adventure and adrenaline, a strong identity, and – not least – a sense of rebellion and being anti-establishment,” the report reads.
More than 6,000 Europeans have traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight for ISIS in recent years. Some countries report that more than half of the total number of jihadis leaving to join a terror network have a criminal background.
The trend is expected to continue in coming years as more jihadis get sentenced to serve jail time for joining terror organizations.
“Prison is becoming important as a place where a lot of networking happens,” ICSR Director Peter Neumann told AFP. “Given the recent surge in terrorism-related arrests and convictions … we are convinced that prisons will become more — rather than less — significant as breeding grounds for the jihadist movement.”
Criminal activity also plays a key role in financing jihadi activities. Up to 40 percent of all terror plots in Europe are financed by “petty crime” such as drug dealing, theft and robberies.
The British government announced a plan in August to separate dangerous radicals from other inmates by building “prisons within prisons.”
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