THE STORY OF A RADICALISATION: 'I WAS NOT THINKING MY THOUGHTS. I WAS NOT MYSELF'
The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...nking-my-thoughts-not-myself?CMP=share_btn_tw
It is impossible to corroborate all of Maysas account of her journey into radicalism but social workers who know her well have confirmed many elements while experts say her story is depressingly familiar.
The first approach came through social media.
Maysa had initially adopted the jilbab to hide some weight Id put on, she says. But when she posted a selfie wearing her new clothes on social media, she was contacted by another woman also in her late teens. They chatted about her new look and agreed to go shopping together. Maysa was introduced to a group of young women from a similar background to her own. All except one, a convert, were of immigrant origin and lived in Brusselss poorer, though far from desperate, neighbourhoods.
Maysa saw her new friend, and the group, increasingly often. They met in cheap burger bars in the centre of Brussels, or cafes, but never at anyones home, or mosque, or religious centre.
First the conversation was about Islam, and the failures of many so-called Muslims. Then about politics, and the worldwide persecution of Muslims. Then finally about Isis, and life in the new caliphate, and how good life was there.
(...)
They told me how there was no crime and no discrimination in the Islamic State. They spoke about relations between men and women, and said that I would find a good husband, even if I would be one of several of his wives. They spoke about fighting the unbelievers and the heretics, but never mentioned any violence or executions or anything like that, Maysa says.
Within weeks, her new friends provided Maysa with a cheap mobile phone with a pre-paid sim card and told her to keep it secret. It was on this phone that she was contacted, usually by text message, and told where and when the next meeting of the group would take place.
I now see I knew nothing about them, really. Just their first names. But I didnt question it, Maysa says.
(...)
Within weeks of meeting her new friends, Maysas schooling was suffering. Within months, she was in trouble for absenteeism. She added gloves and a full face veil to her long gown.
Johan Leman, an anthropologist and veteran anti-racism activist who also works in Molenbeek, says recruiters often tell teenagers their parents do not know true Islam. They give a typical adolescent process [of rebellion] an Islamic dimension, Leman says.
(...) is typical of the current wave of extremist recruits, experts say. It is outside politics or religion. It is about certain individuals who come together for the thrill of being part of something bigger. It is a youth subculture ... and peer groups play a big role, says Professor Rik Coolsaet, a Brussels-based expert on Islamist militancy.
BBM
In the end, Maysa stayed at home instead of leaving to join ISIS. It does not become clear how that breaking point happened, just as the beginning raises some eyebrows. Wearing a full jilbab to hide some weight? Whatever is wrong with Spanx??!
Picture: Maysa, radicalized