A University of Wollongong academic says anti-Islamic rhetoric plays into the hands of Islamic State’s campaign to recruit disaffected Muslim youth in democracies such as Australia.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Dr Mark Rix has researched extensively on the recruitment of Australian jihadists by IS and other terrorist networks and on money laundering and terrorism financing in Australia.
He said despite its setbacks on the battlefield, IS still holds an appeal – that’s why there needs to be more effort into social inclusion, particularly with young people who might fall victim to IS’s social media campaign.
‘’While Imans are important in spreading the message that the West and so forth is not the enemy, younger people in Islamic communities should be given the opportunity to play a greater role in deradicalisation and dealing with potential victims of Islamic State’s recruitment campaign,’’ Dr Rix said.
‘’I think that means also that the rhetoric of the government and in the media needs to be less anti-Islamic.
‘’Whether it is overt or whether it is tacit, it seems to me that the media, particularly shock jocks and tabloids, often can portray all people of Islamic faith as would-be terrorists or a potential threat.
I think that means also that the rhetoric of the government and in the media needs to be less anti-Islamic.
- Dr Mark Rix
‘’That isn’t helpful.’’
Dr Rix recently contributed a chapter about the involvement of Australian jihadists in the ongoing wars in Syria to a book about Australian Muslims.
The book ‘Australian Jihadists in Syria’, in Muslims in Australia: History and Multicultural Policies, was edited by Mansour Alnogaidan and published by Al Mesbar Studies and Research Center, Dubai UAE.
Dr Rix warned that IS’s recent military defeats in Iraq and Syria have not necessarily diminished its attraction.
‘’For some its appeal would have declined, but for others it fits the Islamic State narrative of Western dominance and of attempting to crush Islam,’’ he said.
Dr Rix said social media has become an increasingly important recruitment tool for IS.
‘’Social media is used as a way to keep people informed, to highlight the activities of Islamic State, to provide an avenue for disaffected youth and give them a path to fight the so-called West … and to make them feel they belong to something larger than themselves,’’ he said.
Dr Rix says as many as 250 Australian Jihadists have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight for IS. Some in frontline fighting, while others have been more active in recruitment and collecting funds.
‘’However, from about November 2015 the numbers of Australians fighting in Iraq and Syria has been in decline. By the middle of 2015 there were between 120 and 150 over there – that's a pretty rough figure,’’ he said.
New terrorism laws in Australia have also played a role in slowing IS’s recruitment.
Islamic State is encouraging people to carry out attacks like the recent ones in Manchester and in London which require no training and use readily available ‘weapons’ like cars and knives and things.
- Dr Mark Rix
‘’The drop in a number of Australian foreign fighters is a result of, among other things, tougher counter-terrorism legislation, especially that dealing specifically with foreign fighters,’’ Dr Rix said.
He said the bigger danger now for places such as Australia was of IS-inspired terrorist attacks at home.
‘’Islamic State is encouraging people to carry out attacks like the recent ones in Manchester and in London which require no training and use readily available ‘weapons’ like cars and knives and things,’’ Dr Rix said.
‘’...Governments need to develop a credible counter-Islamic state narrative that includes a genuine reaching out to young people who might be attracted to Islamic State with measures to promote inclusiveness, acceptance, and real employment and training opportunities.’’
