The fascination of the jihad

Authors

  • Herbert Csef

Keywords:

Terrorism, islamic state (IS), motivation, radicalization, recruitment

Abstract

Almost 800 young German citizens joined the terrorist organization »Islamic State« (IS) during the past few years. They fight and murder in the name of IS in the states of the Middle East, predominantly in Syria and Irak. The number of individuals in Germany, who sympathize with radical Islamists, is much higher. What do young German citizens search and find in a brutal organization of murderers? The following article will illustrate the typology of German jihadists by reference to socio-biographic analyses. In a next step, the cluster of motives will be lined out from a psychological perspective. The special role of women fighting as »brides of jihadists« or fighters in female platoons in the Middle East will be examined additionally. There is a vast literature on the specific approach of recruitment and radicalization. Experiences of returnees who prefer to live in Germany after fighting for IS are sources of further information.

Author Biography

Herbert Csef

Universitätsprofessor für Psychosomatik, Psychoanalytiker, Facharzt für Psychosomatische Medizin und Psychotherapie, Leiter des Schwerpunktes Psychosomatik in der Medizinischen Klinik und Poliklinik II, Zentrum für Innere Medizin (Oberdürrbacher Straße 6) und Leiter der Interdisziplinären Psychosomatischen Tagesklinik (Josef-Schneider-Straße 2), beides im Universitätsklinikum Würzburg (97080 Würzburg).

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Published

2017-04-05

How to Cite

Csef, Herbert. 2017. “The Fascination of the Jihad”. Journal für Psychologie 25 (1). https://journal-fuer-psychologie.de/article/view/430.

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 1 (2017): Kriegsdiskurse

Section

Schwerpunkt

License

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