This lengthy New York Times article is one long exercise in willful ignorance. “The brothers who carried out suicide bombings in Brussels last week had long, violent criminal records and had been regarded internationally as potential terrorists. But in San Bernardino, Calif., last year, one of the attackers was a county health inspector who lived a life of apparent suburban normality.” The one thing that they, and virtually all other jihad terrorists, have in common is so much ignored or denied by mainstream analysts that it isn’t even considered here: they were all devout, observant, deeply committed Muslims. Not all devout Muslims become jihad terrorists, but despite denials based on dubious evidence (such as the fact that a couple of Islamic State jihadis ordered The Koran For Dummies from Amazon, which could have been for any number of reasons), essentially all jihad terrorists are devout Muslims. Before politically correct denial became the official policy of the Obama administration, that fact was considered by the FBI and other agencies as they tried to determine who merited the most watching. But since 2011, consideration of high Islamic religiosity as a factor in determining who might become a jihad terrorist has been officially forbidden.
And so mainstream analysts pretend that jihadis “defy a single profile,” lump them in with other, non-Muslim terrorists who have entirely different motivations, and waste millions in taxpayer money hunting around for an alternative explanation to a reality they do not wish to face.
Marc Sageman and other clowns like him should stop scratching their heads and look at the Qur’an: one Malaysian Muslim said that the Qur’an led him to join the Islamic State. A Muslima in the U.S. promoted the Islamic State by quoting the Qur’an. An Islamic State propagandist’s parents said of him: “Our son is a devout Muslim. He had learnt the Quran by heart.” A Muslim politician from Jordan said that the Islamic State’s “doctrine stems from the Qur’an and Sunnah.” There are innumerable other examples of this.
One good point in this otherwise completely ridiculous article: “Mr. Krueger’s analysis of economic figures, polls, and data on suicide bombers and hate groups found no link between economic distress and terrorism. More than a decade later, law enforcement officials and government-funded community groups still regard money problems as an indicator of radicalization.” I have been pointing out for years that there is a superabundance of evidence disproving the idea that poverty causes terrorism. Nonetheless, it persists as U.S. government policy, as we shower billions on terror states such as Pakistan, trying to induce them to reform.
The entire mainstream political class, including these self-deluded analysts, needs to be thoroughly rejected and repudiated.
“Who Will Become a Terrorist? Research Yields Few Clues,” by Matt Apuzzo, New York Times, March 27, 2016
WASHINGTON — The brothers who carried out suicide bombings in Brussels last week had long, violent criminal records and had been regarded internationally as potential terrorists. But in San Bernardino, Calif., last year, one of the attackers was a county health inspector who lived a life of apparent suburban normality.
And then there are the dozens of other young American men and women who have been arrested over the past year for trying to help the Islamic State. Their backgrounds are so diverse that they defy a single profile.
What turns people toward violence — and whether they can be steered away from it — are questions that have bedeviled governments around the world for generations. Those questions have taken on fresh urgency with the rise of the Islamic State and the string of attacks in Europe and the United States. Despite millions of dollars of government-sponsored research, and a much-publicized White House pledge to find answers, there is still nothing close to a consensus on why someone becomes a terrorist.
“After all this funding and this flurry of publications, with each new terrorist incident we realize that we are no closer to answering our original question about what leads people to turn to political violence,” Marc Sageman, a psychologist and a longtime government consultant, wrote in the journal Terrorism and Political Violence in 2014. “The same worn-out questions are raised over and over again, and we still have no compelling answers.”
When researchers do come up with possible answers, the government often disregards them. Not long after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, for instance, Alan B. Krueger, the Princeton economist, tested the widespread assumption that poverty was a key factor in the making of a terrorist. Mr. Krueger’s analysis of economic figures, polls, and data on suicide bombers and hate groups found no link between economic distress and terrorism.
More than a decade later, law enforcement officials and government-funded community groups still regard money problems as an indicator of radicalization….

Frank says
That’s exactly why they can’t figure something out: They’re in government = IQ higher than 70 strictly forbidden.
Kepha says
Now, wait a minute! I’m a former Fed (State Department) myself!
LB says
Kepha, I’m assuming that you’re implying that you have an IQ > 70. In that case, it’s no surprise that you’re a FORMER fed, since you’re actually capable of rational thinking. So Frank’s statement still stands 😀
Kepha says
in the immortal words of Homer Simpson–D’oh!
Diane Harvey says
This funny video from Mad TV (how I miss that show) sums up the NYT’s head-in-the-sand thinking,
http://www.barenakedislam.com/2012/05/31/thank-you-cair-3/
Susan B says
LOL that video is so funny. First time I saw it thanks,
billybob says
That was great! I bet Robert Spencer could have figured it out pretty quick – with one arm tied behind his back even!
Jaladhi says
The usual diatribe from NYTimes!! Ina word “its the religion” stupid and nothing else. If anyone can’t figure out why all terrorists are Muslims, you are a moron and nobody can help you!
Frank Scarn says
Article is behind a pay wall.
Does anyone know how the comments are running?
Mirren10 says
”Article is behind a pay wall.
Does anyone know how the comments are running?”
When I clicked on the link, I could read the comments. However, ”The comments section is closed.”
Clearly they didn’t like some of the comments they were getting. How abysmally *cowardly* the media is.
billybob says
I’m in! (I have a subscription.) Here is the most recent comment. I think you’ll like it…
Something seemingly ignored in this article is how the beliefs of the terrorists might inform their behaviour. Whilst their education, social class, nationality, age and upbringing all differ considerably – two criteria stay almost constant:
1) Commitment to a theological ideology that preaches religious purity, hatred towards non-believers and the promise of an afterlife.
2) An exaggerated perception of victimhood/self-inflicted disenfranchisement. A paranoia that exists in the very origins of Islam, a paranoia from which Islamists recruit and a paranoia that is too often indulged by the Regressive Left.
Here’s another…
Let’s see if I can connect the dots…. in 2015 there were 27,596 deaths in Islamic attacks in 53 countries. In the last 30 days alone there have been 1165 killed by 147 Islamic attacks in 25 countries… and what is the common denominator in all these attacks ? I’m guessing it must be Donald Trumps fault. Wake Up !!!
Another…
We profile white supremacists for that reason. We recognize the problem with their racist beliefs. Yet we refrain from doing the same with Muslims. We refuse to challenge them on their intolerance and anti-Western thinking.
And finally, an example of gross stupidity…
Several comments suggest that it is easy to identify potential terrorists – check if they are Muslims.
However, only a tiny minority of Muslims become terrorists. So, this is not a very useful criteria.
I think a fundamental difficulty in predicting human and managing human behavior is our extreme ignorance of the human mind. We seem to avoid not only doing biologic research on it, but even discussing our minds with each other.
Until we devote resources to understanding the human mind and the social behavior that it directs, we will continue to struggle with a whole raft of “bad” and flat out stupid behaviors. (The Drumpf phenomenon and the craziness of the Republican party are another and much more dangerous example of bad behavior than these “terrorists”.)
Duh…
Jaladhi says
They defy a single profile – eh? They are all Muslims – which is a single profile, you morons!
mortimer says
One of the greatest commonalities among jihad-terrorists is that they attended ISLAMIC STUDY GROUPS.
And what do you suppose they studied in these ‘study groups’? They studied the Koran, hadiths, canonical commentaries, Sharia law and books and sermons about jihad. Hmmm. I wonder what was motivating these mainly university-educated Muslims from stable homes?
I wonder what motivated high-ranking Nazis many of whom were lawyers and many of whom had PhDs in law. Hmmm.
Oh….it’s the ideology, stupid.
Kepha says
Ya mean, Mort, that all those popularizers of the 19th century Religionsgeschichte school of thought might be WRONG? [sarc off]
Jay Boo says
Stop the “(single profiles)”
As Donald Trump said,
We need to stop the “(single profiles)” from entering the US until —
— They figure out what the heck is caucusing people to become terrorists.
Anonymous says
My guess is Trump knows what is causing people to become terrorists but is purposely evasive with his “don’t know what is going on there” because he realizes there are limits to how far he can push the envelope.
Jay Boo says
Trump was correct Anonymous.
I am just mocking the NY Times
Jerry says
Despite millions of dollars of government-sponsored research, and a much-publicized White House pledge to find answers
Did you guys laugh out loud like I did? Yes, I can see them all huddled around the table, charts and diagrams spread out, fervently looking for clues that will lead them to the source of all that muslim killing committed for the muslim faith that preaches muslim supremacy above non-muslims. All that chin scratching, all those long nights, wondering. lol. And I like the part about poverty being the possible motive. Maybe we should interview poor people,
“Okay, you haven’t eaten in three days, tell us, do you feel the slightest urge to kill for allah or muhammad? Are you angry against infidels? do you want to kill them on any level?”
lol. And of course they’ll answer “yes” because it means an increase in benefits. ha!
Who can stand it! ????
Jerry says
(Aren’t I just the most adorable infidel you’ve ever heard. lol)
Kepha says
Mr. Spencer, how do you define gross studied ignorance?
72 NYT staff joined by 72 WaPo staff sitting in a circle!
Karen says
Why does a guy scream “Allahu Akbar” while running through a public space, blowing up himself and scores of others, after first posting Koranic passages on Facebook denouncing infidels and proclaiming his Jihad intentions and desire to die in a vortex of carnage for Mohammad? I don’t know…it’s a total mystery.
Jerry says
Oh Karen, it’s a hijack, remember? He totally twisted beyond recognition the koran’s hate and murder of infidels to justify his own hate and murder of infidels. A shocking distortion of that faith’s peaceful intentions. Now take your PC pill, and don’t let it happen again. 😉
Karen says
Jerry, I keep forgetting that! (Nothing to do with Islam, nothing to do with Islam, nothing to do with..)
Ok, I’ll take the red pill now!
Jerry says
That’s a good girl. Sleep well. 😉
Westman says
Dear Karen, who is much smarter than the average NYT journalist, I think your profiling will lead to an inescapable determination.
Another clue:
https://creepingsharia.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/b5a1a8fiuaes1bb.jpg?w=952&h=636
Here is a discussion of the source of violence in Brussels, by Egyptians, that might shed some light for the NYT:
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/5411.htm
Karen says
Westman, this Memri video is outstanding! While the woman was quite annoying, I want to give a medal to her debater. He showed remarkable courage, and I’ll go back and listen to this again, for inspiration.
Watching this I remembered the old SNL Point Counterpoint sketches, and could almost hear Dan Aykroyd’s famous line, lol.
Mirren10 says
”The one thing that they, and virtually all other jihad terrorists, have in common is so much ignored or denied by mainstream analysts that it isn’t even considered here: they were all devout, observant, deeply committed Muslims.”
Bingo.
dumbledoresarmy says
Then there are those who WERE slack muslims, nominal muslims, hanging round with the Kuffar, not going to mosques… and then for one reason or another they ‘got religion’ and went back to the mosque and started reading Quran and then, in a little while, or maybe a little longer, lo and behold BOOOM.
Angemon says
Let’s see: what could possibly muslims from different backgrounds, nationalities, economical status, language and age have in common as to make them all gravitate towards islamic terror groups that defend their actions with quotes from islamic scripture?
Atheist kaffur says
For the first time on fox news I heard a guest spell out the truth about Islamic terrorism. The word “motivation” came out for the first time. The opposing guest an Obumer supporter was in a strange form of denial. The truth has come out and now that Islamophobia is under the magnifying glass and it is seen for what it is. The discuss will just get more detailed.
Thank you Mr. Spenser for your hard work and dedication. The world is opening its eyes.
The favorite attitude for Muslims when they don’t get what they want is to threaten violence.
Any Imam that makes a threat or a veiled threat should find himself under investigation.
Lucretius says
“… there is still nothing close to a consensus on why someone becomes a terrorist.”
Consensus, as in EVERY one has to agree? Or consensus as in the catastrophic Global Warming consensus where the Supreme Soviet of left media and political elites rules dissent is enmity to all that is sane and progressive?
Anyway, David Wood has a new video out on how our opinion leaders evade acknowledging Islam is a factor though they admit in a perfectly parallel case that tobacco smoking is a factor causing lung cancer.
billybob says
He couldn’t have made it any clearer. The deception has been exposed. The leftist jig is up – busted!
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
Another commentary on this same NYT article:
http://www.unz.com/isteve/clueless-who-will-become-a-terrorist-research-yields-few-clues/
Perseverance says
I went to school with Kosovo and Turkisch muslims in Western Europe and I will tell you they are very proud to be muslim and not all but most are very conservative, and yes many were the ultimate hypocrites,drinking alcohol,fucking, smoking weed etc. but that doesnt take away from them being conservative muslims and maybe even extremists. Look nobody is a perfect follower of any faith/ideology, even the so called prophet muhammad was a adulterer and angered his wives with this very much and he should according to sharia logic have been executed by stoning but ofcourse nobody at the time where he was powerfull would have had the balls to call for this criminals execution lol.I have seen the hatred they have for jews with my own eyes, I wont go into the story but lets just say that their words were not very friendly and if they could get away with it they would be violent against them. I do not hate muslims but I hate their ideology that looks down on us and some of their behaviour. I understand that we are in a war, a world wide war, from Syria to Paris to London,New York,Nigeria,Trinidad and Tobago to China etc, and we will be in this war for 1-2 generations if and I emphasize IF we have leaders who take the necessary steps right now at this moment in history to force muslim counries to modernise islam, and to sto their migration and asylum to our countries. I understant the implications and I understand that its not politically correctand ridiculous comparisons like what the germans did to the jews, how many suicide bombers did the jewish people let loose on Deutschland or any other country 0, atleast before the war etc., the Islamic body whishes us harm we cannot show it our weak side,if we do so we will be defeated and we will lose our countries and our freedom.
Karen says
“the Islamic body whishes us harm we cannot show it our weak side, if we do so we will be defeated and we will lose our countries and our freedom.”
This is the perfect summary. Well said, Perseverance.
rara says
Official policy
“see no Islam, hear no Islam, speak no Islam”
maghan says
No, they just want to become good Muslims so they read the Qur’an, Sira, and Hadith and meditate and ponder what the Islamic ideology prescribes for them. The rules and prescriptions are there.
Some take the plunge and become full-fledged jihadists. The ultimate goal is to advance Islam by any means necessary. One of those means is to “kill the infidels wherever you can find them”. Hence the ongoing and very tiring to hear about “suicide bombings” that kill innocents at random.
robm says
Very simple really…they are tuaght from birth, to be lunatic barbarian deviants…
Edgar Allen says
“Terrorists are not particularly impoverished, uneducated or afflicted by mental disease. Demographically, THEIR MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTIC IS NORMALCY (within their environment). Terrorist leaders actually tend to come from relatively privileged backgrounds.”
http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG849.pdf
“THEIR MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTIC IS NORMALCY”
i.e. THEY ARE NORMAL, AVERAGE MUSLIMS.
This means there is NO WAY TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE between the Muslim who will obey the Koran, and kill the infidels, and the one who is still trying to build up courage to do it.
Lance says
No love in Islam leads to hate, strife, and murder.
http://www.truthandgrace.com/Christianlove.htm
jingalala says
Dont try to figure out idiots…….just deal like israel does.
UNCLE VLADDI says
Marxists always insist on very SPECIFIC economic reasons for “victims” to go ballistic and rise up in revolt against their oppressors.
Marx’s main alibi to excuse his followers’ criminal desires and extortionist actions was, of course, only another variant of the “inevitable” predestination one, which he called “Historical Predeterminism.”
It means that there is never any free will choice, because humans are robots andhelpless victims of forces beyond their control: they are victims of society, mere products of their environments, and, as their muslim brethren say, “slaves of allah!”
So to Marxists there is no way anyone can choose to become a jihadi because they thought it was a good idea based on reading where the Qur’an says god himself sanctions their holy crimes – because, like Muhammad himself, Marxists pretend to believe that there are no real crimes nor criminals (since criminality requires a mens-rea guilty mind/criminal intent) because we’re all really ever only helpless victims.
Ignoring humans’ capacity for free will choices means they can always fail upwards as they endlessly try to explain what is most easily and accurately explained by their CHOICES – so since it’s unsolvable, they pretend we need them to be our expert salesmen to investigate all the mysterious causes of the endless symptoms of their choice to not solve the problem, as they spin simple, easily solved problems with simple, permanent solutions into eternal crises with only temporary band-aid therapies available – in other words, since their motto is “THERE’S NO MONEY IN SOLUTIONS!” we must always “PLEASE GIVE GENEROUSLY – AGAIN!”
Carolyne says
This is beyond incredible. The common denominator is……….They are all Muslim.
Zimriel says
I recommend this link:
http://www.unz.com/gnxp/open-thread-3272016/
Short version: Islam is part of it, but another part of it is the specific community of Muslims. The Brussels qital was done by North Africans. I’ve heard that the rapes in Germany were also done by North Africans. This is not to beat on North Africans, as such (to disclose, genetically I’ve learnt I am partly Berber myself and I’ve mentioned here I lived in Algeria once too) but to point out that when one brings across a WHOLE COMMUNITY, one can expect some of that community’s little foibles to come along with it.
Algeria happens to be quite violent, even beyond the violence one expects from a Muslim nation. Google up the Algerian civil war of the 1990s when you get a chance. Many of you already have.
Also, numbers are of the essence. One Algerian, or part-Algerian like myself, can be accommodated. Maybe the family too. The whole suburb? They’re going to recreate that suburb in your city. Now it’s *their* suburb. And they are going to have cousins you DON’T know about. Would you rat out your cousin? It would depend on what he or she did, wouldn’t it? Maybe they don’t like the cops on the beat much. Well now the cousin would have to be REALLY bad for them to rat them out.