BERLIN
The issue of foreign fighters' participation with extremist groups in the Middle East was brought to the agenda after the Islamic State -- formerly known as the Islamic State of Levant and Iraq - gained control of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city in June.
Anadolu Agency reporters conducted an extensive study on official reports and statements, research from think-tanks and experts' opinions regarding the European citizens who have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq.
According to the reports, out of the European fighters, most have come from France, Germany and Britain with 900 French citizens, 500 British and 400 Germans having participated in Syria in the fight against the Assad regime which has massacred thousands of people. In Iraq, European fighters have fought alongside the Islamic State-led militants who have been responsible for the killing thousands of people.
The report of the American Soufan Group, which provides strategic security intelligence services to governments and multinational organizations, says that more than 2,500 fighters from western countries participated in the conflict with the Islamic State for Levant and Iraq.
According to the report, most of the volunteers are aged between 18 to 19 and go straight to the front lines without having any military training.
The reports reveal that fighters who went to Syria and Iraq from non-Muslim countries have converted to Islam after participation with extremist groups.
The foreign fighters are taking part in these wars with the justification of fulfilling their duty in protecting their religion; helping the organization they empathize with and in protecting the people with whom they share the same religion.
The European police force, Europol, stated in a 2014 report that as long as the Syrian civil war continues, citizens from European Union member states will continue to fight there.
According to the report, the danger European countries faces will increase in time as the fighters return to their countries.
German intelligence monitoring those who returned
According to the official reports from Germany -- home to approximately five million Muslims -- one out of four who fought in Syria and Iraq have returned and more than half of those who came back are under 25-years-of-age.
Among those who went from Germany, 20 are said to have served in the army previously and have significant military expertise which constitutes an important asset for the Islamic State.
The German intelligence is monitoring those who returned from the war and are trying to stop others who want to join the extremist groups on the front lines.
France strengthening laws against terrorism
According to the reports, approximately 900 French citizens participated in the war in Iraq and Syria. The reports say 332 people went to Syria and only 100 returned. Almost two out of three foreign fighters are French and 20 per cent of the French fighters have converted to Islam later.
The French government is taking concrete steps against those who fought in these wars by strengthening existing laws against terrorism.
Other European countries
According to official statements, around 500 British citizens went to war in the Middle East, but some experts dispute the number to be as much as 700.
The Belgian Interior Ministry says that 150 Belgians participated with extremist groups in Syria and Iraq, and the Dutch intelligence service says that around 130 Dutch citizens participated in the conflicts, 30 of whom have returned to the Netherlands.
Christians, Jews and Muslims are among the 130 Austrians citizens who went to Syria and Iraq to fight and 20 were killed, according to official statements.
In addition, there are around 100 people who went to fight in the Middle East from Denmark, 11 of whom were killed.
Around 50 came from Norway, with around 20 returning back to their country.
Anti-Islamic State operations in the Balkans
The issue of those who participated in terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq has become a priority issue in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania, Serbia and Macedonia.
Kosovo’s authorities arrested 42 suspected militants last month who participated with the Islamic State and the militant Al-Nusra group in Syria and Iraq. Kosovo’s police report that 16 Kosovo Albanians have been killed fighting in Syria and Iraq.
Separately, Bosnia and Herzegovina arrested 16 people for participating in "terrorist activities" and being members of extremist groups.
Each Balkan country is strengthening their anti-terrorism laws. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Macedonia are preparing a law criminalizing the participation of their citizens in foreign wars. A person who fights in Syria and Iraq will be sentenced for up to five years in prison in Macedonia, up to 10 years in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and up to 15 years in Kosovo.
At least 30 European Christians have gone to Iraq and Syria to fight against the terrorist organization, the Islamic State, according to a report by an international institution.
According to Agenfor Italia, an Italy-based NGO whose project work supports the European Convention on Human Rights, says the number of European Christian fighters who have volunteered to fight against extremist Islamic groups in the Middle East increases day by day.
The report also showed that Judi Mikhael -- a former Dutch policeman -- volunteered in the Syriac militia and died in 2001 in Iraq.
"Judi was in Iraq to train the local Christian fighting commands and had voluntarily departed from the Netherlands together with other friends from Switzerland, Germany and Sweden. He was a ‘martyr’ according to the Syriac organization in Europe."
A former sergeant in the Swiss Army, Johan Cosar, is now a military trainer for the "Sutoro" -- Assyrian Christian volunteers forces in Syria -- according to both the report and Swiss media.
Cosar, the 31 year-old Christian volunteer from Locarno in Switzerland, stated that he is serving under the armed Syrian Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) who have been active since 2011. He said that he was "ready to die for his country" and continues to protect the Christian community in the conflict region.
A donation of at least 165 thousand euro has been collected from Switzerland within the last two years, the Swiss media also claimed. Austrian-based newspaper Krone alleged that more than one thousand Christians still fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
The Director of Agenfor Italia and Middle East expert, Sergio Bianchi believes that it is not an easy decision for European citizens to go to the Middle East and join extremist groups.
"These people believe that their communities are under threat and this is the major driving force for fighting against IS," Bianchi said.
Groups like the Lone Soldier Center founded in 2009 in Jerusalem, offers many attractive opportunities for those who want to participate in the Israeli Defense Forces, especially from abroad.
According to the Lone Soldier Center, 45 percent of the 5,700 Israeli Defense Forces within their structure are young Jews residing in various regions of the world and voluntarily fight for Israel.
Around 50 percent of the 'Lone Soldiers' are orphans or children from families with low incomes (with low economic backgrounds). Some experts say that these youngsters are forced to join the army after finding themselves excluded from their communities.
The costs of the 'Lone Soldiers' are met by the Israeli army, and a single soldier receives a salary of $250 per month.
These youngsters, most of them from the United States, France, Canada, U.K., Russia and Argentina, see this as a need to pay their spiritual debt to Israel.
Late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the first Israeli-born prime minister of the country, had thanked the 'Lone Soldiers' saying that they supported Israel when they needed them, especially in the 1948 Independence war referring to Israel. "This was the one which decided whether it would or would not be a Jewish State."
Foundations help people become volunteers
The non-profit, non-political organization, Sar-el, is one of the foundations in many countries that help people become volunteers for the Israeli Defense Force. It has a presence in the Netherlands, Canada, and Australia among others.
The organization was founded in 1982, and has helped 75,000 people to become volunteers for the Israeli Defense Force. The foundation says that its aims are to aid Israel through hands-on volunteer work and to build lasting relationships between Israelis, the Jewish diaspora and other friends of Israel.
The foundation says that the usual program runs for three weeks. "Occasionally one-week programs are available. Volunteers may stay in the program for a maximum of three months, if approved by Sar-El and provided they have a valid visa and valid insurance.
"Every healthy person can participate in these programs which are perfect for the adventurers among us who want to serve Israel," according to the foundation's literature.
'Lone Soldiers' took part in Israel’s attacks on Gaza
The 'Lone Soldiers' took part in the latest Israeli attacks on Gaza, in which more than 2,000 Palestinians were killed.
Max Steinberg, a soldier who came to Israel from the United States, died during an attack against Gaza. Among the 20,000 people who participated in the funeral of this soldier from California was also the current U.S Secretary of State John Kerry who said at the funeral speech that he was proud to be attending the funeral.
The Huffington Post said that hundreds of U.S and Canadian Jewish youngsters traveled from North America to Tel Aviv during the Gaza conflict in August. The paper published photographs of the youngsters on a plane with Israeli flags.
According to the New York-based organization, "Friends of Israeli Soldiers," which is dedicated to the wellbeing of the men and women serving in the Israeli Defense Forces and the families of those who fall, approximately 750 U.S. citizens are serving in the Israeli army.
"Western fighters partners in committed crimes"
Hanine Hassan, a Palestinian academic serving as researcher in Colombia University, said that volunteers who are non-Israeli citizens but with a Jewish background have participated on the front lines in the Israeli army conflicts after taking brief training. He said that two U.S citizens, one French citizen and one Russian have died during the Gaza attacks.
"The Western fighters who came to the region to strengthen the Israeli army are partners in the committed crimes," Hassan said, adding that they are also responsible for crimes like ethnic cleansing against Palestinians, mass killings and supporting these crimes.
Multiple factors including propaganda on social media, brainwashing by extremists and witnessing persecution and cruelty everyday when watching TV are inducing European youths to plunge into different pursuits such as joining the ranks of extremist groups in the Middle East, according to experts.
Some Muslim youths, who were born and raised in Britain, or migrated to Britain from other countries, are under the influence of a group of extremists, Professor Anthony Glees, director of Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies in Buckingham University, told The Anadolu Agency.
He said extremist groups were deliberately misleading British youths by preaching false religious doctrines and promising a better life.
None of these young people are poor, needy or followers of discriminating ideologies, according to Glees.
He said most of the British youths who fight alongside the Islamic State extremist group are well educated and qualified. This is something surprising as it is generally believed that a good education can keep people away from terrorism, he said.
Another expert who thinks that young people are influenced via social media by the beliefs and acts of extremists is Magnus Ranstorp, who has worked on terrorism and counter terrorism issues in Denmark.
Ranstorp said some of the European recruits of the Islamic State are people feeling alienated and thinking their lives lack meaning and purpose. He warned of the security "danger" this easily manipulated people pose.
He also mentioned another group who join the ranks of extremists for the sake of embarking on an adventure. Ideology is secondary for these people, Ranstorp said.
'Promise of heaven' is another factor
Another reason why British Muslims go to fight in Syria and Iraq is the belief that they will go to heaven if they die while fighting a holy war, according to Jahan Mahmood, an expert on extremism in Britain and former lecturer at the University of Birmingham.
They watch the videos of Muslim women and men who were exposed to violence, and they want to make a difference by helping "the Muslim victims" in the Middle East, and ultimately go to heaven, Mahmood said.
He also said British government policies are among the reasons why some British youths go to fight in the Middle East.
People generally search for different things when they think there is injustice in the place they live, he said.
Desire for emotional intimacy
Thorsten G. Schneiders, professor of political science at the University of Konstanz in Germany, said some young immigrants in Europe wanted to join the fighters in Syria and Iraq to attain closer emotional ties which they could not find within their family.
He believes most of these cases are results of "unsuccessful policies on integration."
"Extremists can easily trace young people in depression and searching for something," Schneiders said, adding that it is very difficult for these youths to resist the extremists' calls.
He called on everyone to make efforts to stop young people from being radicalised. "The main thing to do is getting to the root of the problem," he said.
"The young should be well informed in schools, youth associations or in Quran courses ... We should be using a good communicative language with them and understand their social and emotional problems."
The report of the U.S.-based Soufan Group, which provides strategic security intelligence services to governments and multinational organizations, says that more than 2,500 fighters from western countries participated in the conflict with the Islamic State for Levant and Iraq.
According to the report, most of the volunteers are aged between 18 to 19 and go straight to the front lines without having any military training.
Some key opinion leaders of the Muslim community in Europe and civil society representatives spoke to The Anadolu Agency about the issue.
"People watch the incidents in Syria from television. They witness the cries of women and children for help. We have recently experienced this in Gaza. The feeling of injustice in the Middle East affects the youth in Europe negatively," according to Dr. Omer El-Hamdoon, president of the Muslim Association of Britain.
Founded in 1997, the association has been known for its participation in the protests opposing the Iraq war.
Stating that the association closely follows the news about the rising number of European citizens joining the Islamic State, Hamdoon said: "These teenagers want to react against the war and injustice in the war-torn Muslim countries."
Hamdoon also said a part of the Muslim youth from Britain go to the Middle East to help people and humanitarian aid efforts, not to fight alongside the terrorist group.
"However, some other youths choose another way to help. They think about what they can do for their Muslim brothers and sisters, can't find any way, and decide to go and fight alongside the Islamic State," he said.
He criticized the British media for targeting the Muslim community in England.
"It is true that the Islamic State does propaganda via internet to attract the Muslim youth in England. However, the young who join them are not only "jobless" and "furious" people. They give an emotional reaction to the latest incidents in the Middle East."
'Discrimination against Muslims boosts the participation'
Bekir Yilmaz, head of Berlin Turkish Community, said the primary reason of the rising attendance to the extremist terrorist groups like Islamic State is the discrimination against the Muslim society in Germany, France and Britain.
According to the reports, out of the European fighters, most have come from France, Germany and Britain with 900 French citizens, 500 British and 400 Germans having participated in Syria in the fight against the Assad regime which has massacred thousands of people. In Iraq, European fighters have fought alongside the Islamic State-led militants who have been responsible for the killing thousands of people.
"Due to the family and social problems as well as the discrimination against them, the youth in those countries are in search of a satisfying position in the world. When they attend the Islamic State, they feel important and special," Yilmaz said.
He advised European families to pay more attention to their children. "We should teach our children the basic philosophy of the Islam which is 'killing one human being is equal to killing all humanity.'"
Ebubekir Ozture, head of the Contact Body for Muslims and Government in Netherlands, also pointed to the discrimination as the most important reason.
"We must get to the root of the problem and solve it entirely. It means that the families and the Islamic associations have a tremendous responsibility," he said.
Stressing that the problem cannot be solved only with legal measures, Ozture said the society should embrace those alienated youths.
President of Austria Islamic Community Fuat Sanac said all religions have some extremists sides. "However, the deeds of Islamic State-led militants should not be appropriated for all Muslims. Jews and Christians also go abroad to fight."
He rejected the perception that many Muslims are supporting the Islamic State terrorist group. "It is just a negative propaganda against the Muslims," he said.
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