Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, 2003, Page 69
individuals in their teens and early twenties. Recruitment techniques, however, differ
depending upon the particular cohort.
Many recruits come from Arab countries where they perceive a corrupt society is leading
toward a future of hopelessness. Many have traveled or even lived in the West but view its
materialism and sexual permissiveness with contempt. Indeed, the founder of the modern
Islamist revival, Sayyid Qutb, lived for a time in the United States (Moussalli, 1992, 25-30).
In the view of these groups, secularism leads to a life of corruption, while Islam strengthens
virtue and harmony (Juergensmeyer, 2000, 69).
Descriptions published of al Qaeda members suggest they are often young men who have a
drive for personal moral excellence and a desire for a just, faithful society. They are not
motivated by traditional social success, but instead focus on remaking society and
themselves to please Allah. They reject Western ways, begin to dress in the uniform of
piety, growing beards and wearing traditional garb. ―We must adhere to a proper Islamic
appearance because this is a way of reviving the Sunnah and ending the influence of Kafir
ways‖ (Al-Hamid, 1997, 50). They seek those who see the same vision and are accepted
into the radical Islamic fold. At the same time, they shun their families and greater society
as so much evil to be avoided. Representatives of the Taliban and al Qaeda monitor the
Islamic community, searching for these pious individuals who can be trained to fight—and
die if need be—for the Ummah (Hassan, N., 2001).
A second recruitment cohort consists of individuals marginalized from Western societies who
find support and comfort offered by Islamists. These individuals are typically Europeans,
often from an immigrant family, stuck at the bottom of the social ladder. Many have
criminal records and were recruited in prison. The recruits might be secularized Muslims or
new converts. These individuals, moldable to a radical worldview, are actively sought and
cultivated by Islamists. As Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere, a France prosecutor specializing in
terrorist organization explains:
[The potential recuits] have no job. They have no information, no hope for
the future. One day they meet a guy who is interesting, who has good
knowledge of Islam. [The recruiters] tell him, ―I can give you something, a
task for you, for the future.‖ They explain Islam. They bring a global
conception of their life, teach them a skill, and say, ―We have a goal for you
in the future.‖ Among Al Qaeda, certain European nations become focus
points of particular activities, such as forgery (Spain and Belgium),
deployment to Afghanistan (UK), combatant basing (France) and credit card
fraud (Spain) (Erlanger &Hedges, 2001, 4).
A third recruitment cohort comes from the south Asian region and consists of local
individuals often recruited using patently false stories. Some foreign regional recruits
captured by Northern Alliance troops in Afghanistan thought they were there to fight
Communist Chinese, Russians, or Indians (Sirrs, 2001, 66 Gerecht, 2001, 77).
A final group is made up of those from Islamist families or institutions raised to join the
Jihad. A considerable number of these volunteers are home grown in radical schools, such
as those supported by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia (Stern, J., 2000). It is apparently not
uncommon for parents to knowingly surrender children to the fate of certain death in a
jihad. ―In the name of God, I will sacrifice my son, and I don‘t care if he is my most beloved
thing,‖ explained one Islamist mother. ―For all of my six sons, I wanted them to be
mujahedeen. If they get killed it is nothing‖ (Addario, 2001, 38-39).
John Walker‘s recruitment into the Taliban and invitation into Al Qaeda is an unusual case.
It should also be seen, however, as a warning that Islamists are actively building support
within the United States. In 1999 the respected Islamic scholar Sheikh Muhammad Hisham
individuals in their teens and early twenties. Recruitment techniques, however, differ
depending upon the particular cohort.
Many recruits come from Arab countries where they perceive a corrupt society is leading
toward a future of hopelessness. Many have traveled or even lived in the West but view its
materialism and sexual permissiveness with contempt. Indeed, the founder of the modern
Islamist revival, Sayyid Qutb, lived for a time in the United States (Moussalli, 1992, 25-30).
In the view of these groups, secularism leads to a life of corruption, while Islam strengthens
virtue and harmony (Juergensmeyer, 2000, 69).
Descriptions published of al Qaeda members suggest they are often young men who have a
drive for personal moral excellence and a desire for a just, faithful society. They are not
motivated by traditional social success, but instead focus on remaking society and
themselves to please Allah. They reject Western ways, begin to dress in the uniform of
piety, growing beards and wearing traditional garb. ―We must adhere to a proper Islamic
appearance because this is a way of reviving the Sunnah and ending the influence of Kafir
ways‖ (Al-Hamid, 1997, 50). They seek those who see the same vision and are accepted
into the radical Islamic fold. At the same time, they shun their families and greater society
as so much evil to be avoided. Representatives of the Taliban and al Qaeda monitor the
Islamic community, searching for these pious individuals who can be trained to fight—and
die if need be—for the Ummah (Hassan, N., 2001).
A second recruitment cohort consists of individuals marginalized from Western societies who
find support and comfort offered by Islamists. These individuals are typically Europeans,
often from an immigrant family, stuck at the bottom of the social ladder. Many have
criminal records and were recruited in prison. The recruits might be secularized Muslims or
new converts. These individuals, moldable to a radical worldview, are actively sought and
cultivated by Islamists. As Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere, a France prosecutor specializing in
terrorist organization explains:
[The potential recuits] have no job. They have no information, no hope for
the future. One day they meet a guy who is interesting, who has good
knowledge of Islam. [The recruiters] tell him, ―I can give you something, a
task for you, for the future.‖ They explain Islam. They bring a global
conception of their life, teach them a skill, and say, ―We have a goal for you
in the future.‖ Among Al Qaeda, certain European nations become focus
points of particular activities, such as forgery (Spain and Belgium),
deployment to Afghanistan (UK), combatant basing (France) and credit card
fraud (Spain) (Erlanger &Hedges, 2001, 4).
A third recruitment cohort comes from the south Asian region and consists of local
individuals often recruited using patently false stories. Some foreign regional recruits
captured by Northern Alliance troops in Afghanistan thought they were there to fight
Communist Chinese, Russians, or Indians (Sirrs, 2001, 66 Gerecht, 2001, 77).
A final group is made up of those from Islamist families or institutions raised to join the
Jihad. A considerable number of these volunteers are home grown in radical schools, such
as those supported by Pakistan and Saudi Arabia (Stern, J., 2000). It is apparently not
uncommon for parents to knowingly surrender children to the fate of certain death in a
jihad. ―In the name of God, I will sacrifice my son, and I don‘t care if he is my most beloved
thing,‖ explained one Islamist mother. ―For all of my six sons, I wanted them to be
mujahedeen. If they get killed it is nothing‖ (Addario, 2001, 38-39).
John Walker‘s recruitment into the Taliban and invitation into Al Qaeda is an unusual case.
It should also be seen, however, as a warning that Islamists are actively building support
within the United States. In 1999 the respected Islamic scholar Sheikh Muhammad Hisham
