The Guardian reports: More than half the countries in the world are currently generating Islamist extremist fighters for groups such as al-Qaida and Islamic State, the UN has said.
A report by the UN security council says there are more than 25,000 “foreign terrorist fighters” currently involved in jihadi conflicts and they are “travelling from more than 100 member states”.
The number of fighters may have increased by more than 70% worldwide in the past nine months or so, the report says, adding that they “pose an “immediate and long-term [terrorist] threat”.
The sudden rise, though possibly explained by better data, will raise concern about the apparently growing appeal of extremism. The geographic spread of states touched by the phenomenon has expanded, too. [Continue reading…]
The recent increase of militants world-wide in sympathy with ISIS is not surprising in view of the purposeful and action-oriented strategy pursued by al-Bagdadi.
There is a parallel to developments in humanitarian ideology and consequent commitments by individuals, when it became blatantly clear years ago that humanitarian aid in emergencies became profitable for non-governmental organizations. The rise of MSF and later ‘Medicines du Monde’ are indicators for this trend.
At a time, when ideological promises are progressively hollowed out when practically applied in a global neo-liberal economy, the current crisis in Syria and Iraq is just one piece of the global pattern which impacts on global mental health.
It is a warning sign when growing numbers of people reflecting on “purpose” and “meaning” of life commit their life and believes to IS in the name of radical but ‘just’ solutions.
What do we know about the spirituality and ‘religious’ (philosophical) lives of this generation?