Social Networking Sites Promote 'Jihad Duty' For Foreigners in Syria: Analysis

By Rajeh Saeed

November 13, 2013

While the number of foreigners who have gone to Syria to battle the regime alongside extremist opposition factions remains low, the figure has reportedly jumped by hundreds in the past year due to factors such as websites and networks on the ground that encourage "jihad duty".

Security authorities estimate that approximately 1,000 volunteer jihadists from are now in Syria, compared to just 250 in late 2012, according to an October 21st article by Germany's Der Spiegel that cites a classified German intelligence report.

The extremist factions in question are various groups that categorise themselves as "jihadist", including, but not limited to, the al-Qaeda-affiliated "Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) and Jabhat al-Nusra (JAN), which have drawn foreign volunteers from countries including Germany, Britain, Belgium, Denmark and Kosovo, according to the newspaper.

It is unclear how exactly these volunteers are enticed to travel to Syria, but some recruitment drives are undoubtedly being carried out by networks active in a number of European mosques that promote what they describe as "jihad" in Syria as a duty of every Muslim.

The chances of success for this type of recruitment can be high, particularly if prospective recruits -- mainly youth and new Muslim converts – lack an in-depth understanding of Sharia law, which would allow them to debate those who are encouraging them to participate in "jihad" over the legality of actions attributed to some jihadists in Syria, such as sectarian killing, the execution of prisoners without trial, bombings and the destruction of the religious symbols of other sects.

While the role of such recruiting networks in European mosques is not quite clear due to their secretive nature, another form of recruitment, which is conducted openly, plays a role that is arguably no less motivational: the promotion of "jihad" in Syria by social networks and websites.

These websites commonly convey images of the tragedy taking place in Syria, including scenes that depict the regime's crimes against its people, interspersed with scenes depicting the heroics of "Mujahideen" fighting on the front lines as well as scenes of some of them blowing themselves up at regime positions.

Many of these websites are in foreign languages, such as "Sham Centre", a website launched in five languages, including German, which aims to boost what it terms as "social jihad", Der Spiegel newspaper reported.

Some who recruit through these websites are themselves European citizens working to draw other Europeans down the same path, and transition from "darkness into light" and leave the "land of the infidels" to go to "the land of jihad" in Syria, to quote a video by German singer Abu Talha al-Almani.

Al-Almani converted to Islam and left to fight in Syria, and his video is now being used to encourage other Germans to follow suit.

Such online efforts cater specifically to recruiting Europeans, by setting up websites in languages that appeal to Muslims and Muslim converts born in the West: a language they understand better than they do Arabic, such as German, English, French or even Turkish.

Other media are more likely the work of groups in the Middle East, according to a November 5th report by alarabiya.net that said al-Qaeda-linked groups are spreading images of dead jihadists in Syria with smiles on their faces.

Wherever their origin, the number of foreign fighters in Syria is undoubtedly rising, though these numbers certainly seem insignificant when compared to the number of combatants fighting on both sides in the Syrian conflict, estimated in the tens of thousands.

However, recent reports in European media clearly indicate that security authorities believe some of those who volunteered to fight in Syria would pose a threat to their country of origin if they ever return.

This threat stems not only from the fact they would have received military training in Syria, but also because they may have been influenced by the ideology of these al-Qaeda-linked groups and could want upon their return to carry out attacks on their fellow countrymen.

Arrests have already been made in European capitals of returnees suspected of plotting to carry out terrorist attacks, as in mid-October when security authorities in London arrested four young men linked to Syria and suspected of involvement in planning and inciting terrorist attacks.

Source: http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/2013/11/13/feature-01

URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-terrorism-jihad/social-networking-sites-promote-jihad/d/24432