“His Facebook profile photo is a picture of a golden sword and the words ‘Islam is the Religion of the Sword Not Pacifism.’” Where did he learn this understanding of Islam? Was he “radicalized on the Internet,” or are authorities looking into the possibility that maybe, just maybe, this view of Islam is taught right […]
“Massive diversity” among Islamic State jihadis, many have PhDs, master’s degrees, MBA’s
The high level of education among jihadis has been known for years, but it still surprises the learned analysts. Poverty and ignorance, contrary to U.S. policy and widespread belief, do not cause terrorism. The New York Times reported in March that “not long after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001…Alan B. Krueger, the Princeton economist, […]
Nigeria’s VP says he has seen rich people become jihad terrorists
This would be an obvious point, just like the fact that Islam is not a religion of peace, were it not so often denied. CNS News noted in September 2013 that “according to a Rand Corporation report on counterterrorism, prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2009, ‘Terrorists are not particularly impoverished, […]
UK Muslim doctor who became Taliban commander killed in drone strike
A doctor? But…but…poverty causes terrorism! He just needed some economic opportunities and all would have been well! “NHS doctor who became Taliban commander killed ‘in drone strike,’” by Robert Verkaik and Robert Mendick, the Telegraph, March 14, 2015 An NHS doctor who skipped bail to join the Taliban has been killed in a counter-terrorism offensive […]
State Department’s Harf: “We cannot kill our way out of this war,” we need to give the jihadis job opportunities
In reality, it’s an unpleasant fact, but killing the enemy is indeed how wars have historically been won. Never in the history of the world has a war been won by alleviating the poverty of the enemy. And while even Chris Matthews finds this hard to swallow here, this is Obama Administration policy, and it […]
Indian manufacturing exec ran the most influential Islamic State Twitter account
Britain’s Channel 4 is credited in this report with revealing this man’s identity, but it didn’t actually name him. In any case, here is yet another blow for the common assumption that poverty causes terrorism and will be cured by transfers of money to populations likely to produce terrorists: Mehdi Masroor Biswas was a prosperous […]
Poverty causes terrorism? UAE jihadi arrested in palatial home
The Muslima who murdered an American at a mall in Abu Dhabi was arrested in her home. Pope Francis and John Kerry and others say we need to address the root causes of jihad terrorism by addressing problems of hunger and poverty. Would this woman have been turned away from jihad if she had, say, […]