Shortcut To Paradise: Converts as Recruitment Potential for Jihadist Counterculture

Abstract

Currently, the sociology of religion's conversion research focuses on Islam. This is due to the fact that Muslim converts are overrepresented in Islamic State jihadism. It is often argued that converts are more in favour of a violent realisation of their theocratic utopia than native Muslims. However, only a small minority supports armed jihad against dissenters and apostates. The phase immediately following conversion seems to be crucial for the decision in favour of jihad. It is in this phase that the internalisation of fundamentalist views and the emotional embedding in militant Salafist networks takes place. Narratives, curriculums and publications of jihadist converts indeed prove that their biographies, in contrast to those of conformist converts, are often marked by critical life experiences and events, crises of meaning and friendly contact with extremist Muslims.