WASHINGTON: Recruits into the Islamic State group are better educated than their average countryman, contrary to popular belief, according to a new World Bank study.
Moreover, those offering to become suicide bombers ranked on average in the more educated group, said the newly released study titled “Economic and Social Inclusion to Prevent Violent Extremism”.
The study, which aimed to identify socioeconomic traits that might explain why some are drawn to the Syria-based extremist group, made clear that poverty and deprivation were not at the root of support for the group.
Almost without exception, fighters joining IS’s Syria and Iraq-based forces had several more years of education in their home countries -- whether in Europe, Africa or elsewhere in the Middle East -- than the average citizen. The data shows clearly, the report said, that “poverty is not a driver of radicalization into violent extremism.”
Out of 331 recruits described in a leaked Islamic State database, only 17% did not finish high school, while a quarter had university-level educations.
Only those from Eastern Europe were below the average, and only marginally so, according to the study. “Foreign recruits from the Middle East, North Africa and South and East Asia are significantly more educated than what is typical in their region,” the Bank report said.
About 30% of the recruits told the extremist group what positions in the force they wanted. Around one in nine volunteered for suicide operations, and their educational levels were on par with those who sought to be administrators, the report said.
{{/usCountry}}About 30% of the recruits told the extremist group what positions in the force they wanted. Around one in nine volunteered for suicide operations, and their educational levels were on par with those who sought to be administrators, the report said.
{{/usCountry}}Most of the 331 recruits also reported having a job before traveling to join the IS, also known as Daesh, according to the study.
But a significant number of those choosing to be suicide fighters when enlisting said they had not been employed back in their home country, or that they were in the military before joining the group.