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{"id":16488,"date":"2014-08-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leithart.level2d.com\/?p=1382"},"modified":"2014-08-23T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-08-23T00:00:00","slug":"not-religious","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/leithart\/2014\/08\/not-religious\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Religious"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<\/head>

Mehdi Hasan presents evidence in an article in the\u00a0New Statesman<\/a> that jihadists aren\u2019t the most devout of Muslims. Often the opposite.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2008, a classified briefing note on radicalisation, prepared by MI5\u2019s behavioural science unit, was leaked to the Guardian<\/em>. It revealed that, \u2018far from being religious zealots, a large number of those involved in terrorism do not practise their faith regularly. Many lack religious literacy and could . . . be regarded as religious novices.\u2019 The analysts concluded that \u2018a well-established religious identity actually protects against violent radicalisation,\u2019 the newspaper said.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other factors outweigh religious ones in making a terrorist: \u201cInstead they point to other drivers of radicalisation: moral outrage, disaffection, peer pressure, the search for a new identity, for a sense of belonging and purpose. As Atran pointed out in testimony to the US Senate in March 2010: \u2018. . . what inspires the most lethal terrorists in the world today is not so much the Quran or religious teachings as a thrilling cause and call to action that promises glory and esteem in the eyes of friends, and through friends, eternal respect and remembrance in the wider world.\u2019 He described wannabe jihadists as \u2018bored, under\u00ademployed, overqualified and underwhelmed\u2019 young men for whom \u2018jihad is an egalitarian, equal-opportunity employer . . . thrilling, glorious and cool.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

These motivations should sound familiar. They sound like very Western, very contemporary reasons to seek the thrill of the kill.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"