ISISISIS foreign recruits better educated than their average countryman: Report

Published 10 October 2016

A new World Bank study found that contrary to popular notions, recruits to ISIS are better educated than their average countryman. Moreover, those offering to become suicide bombers ranked on average in the more educated group. The report is based on an analysis of 22,000 leaked ISIS documents obtained by German intelligence. The documents include questionnaires of each would-be recruit. The questionnaires contain information on 3,803 foreign recruits who joined the terrorist group between 2013 and 2014.

A new World Bank study found that contrary to popular notions, recruits to ISIS are better educated than their average countryman.

Moreover, those offering to become suicide bombers ranked on average in the more educated group, said the new study, titled Economic and Social Inclusion to Prevent Violent Extremism.

The Daily Mail reports that the study aimed to identify socioeconomic conditions and traits which might explain why some individuals are drawn to ISIS. The authors of the study stressed that poverty and deprivation were not at the main reason for supporting for the group.

Nearly in all cases, individuals joining ISIS ranks in Syria and Iraq had spent more years in school in their home countries — in Europe, Africa, or the Middle East — than the average citizen in those countries.

The report says that the data clearly show that “poverty is not a driver of radicalization into violent extremism.”

The Word Bank researchers analyzed leaked data from disenfranchised former ISIS members, obtained by German intelligence. The 22,000 leaked documents include questionnaires of each would-be recruit. The questionnaires contain basic information — such as their name, level of education, and place of birth — on 3,803 foreign recruits who joined the terrorist group between 2013 and 2014.

Out of the nearly 4,000 recruits described in a leaked ISIS database, only 17 percent did not finish high school, with a quarter having university-level education.

Only ISIS recruits from Eastern Europe had levels of education below the average in their home countries – and even then, 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 World Bank report says.

About 30 percent of the recruits told ISIS commanders specifically what positions they wanted in the organization, and one in nine of those volunteered for suicide operations. The educational levels of those who volunteered for suicide missions were equal to those who sought administrative or support positions, such as medics of communication.

The proportions of administrators but also of suicide fighters increase with education,” the report said.

Most of the 3,803 recruits also held jobs in their home countries before traveling to the Middle East join ISIS.

The report notes, though that a significant number of those volunteering for suicide missions said they had not been employed in their home countries, or that they had served in their countries’ military before joining the group.

An important finding is that these individuals are far from being uneducated or illiterate. Most claim to have attended secondary school and a large fraction have gone on to study at university,” the World Bank report said.

We find that Daesh [ISIS] did not recruit its foreign workforce among the poor and less educated, but rather the opposite. Instead, the lack of economic inclusion seems to explain the extent of radicalization into violent extremism.”

The World Bank’s report highlights:

  • The research shows that Daesh [ISIS] did not recruit its foreign workforce among the poor and less educated, but rather the opposite. Instead, the lack of economic inclusion seems to explain the extent of radicalization into violent extremism.
  • 69% of recruits report at least a secondary education. Only 15% left school before high school and less than 2% are illiterate.
  • Foreign recruits from the Middle East, North Africa, and South and East Asia are significantly more educated than what is typical in their region
  • Self-assessed religious knowledge: 53% report a “Basic” level, 20% an “Intermediate” level, and 4%  an “Advanced” level
  • An important finding is that these individuals are far from being uneducated or illiterate. Most claim to have attended secondary school and a large fraction have gone on to study at university.
  • Notably, Daesh [ISIS] recruits from Africa, South and East Asia, and the Middle East are significantly more educated than individuals from their cohort in their region of origin. The vast majority of them declared having an occupation before joining the organization.
  • This result is consistent with a number of other studies that come to a similar conclusion: poverty is not a driver of radicalization into violent extremism.
  • Looking at measures of economic inclusion shows a strong association between a country’s male unemployment rate and the propensity of that country to supply Daesh [ISIS]foreign recruits.
  • Unemployment among the educated leads to a greater probability to hold radical ideas.
  • Large Muslim-population countries that exhibit higher levels of religiosity are less likely to be the origin of Daesh [ISIS] recruits.