Millions spent in West to study and identify the basis of youth becoming terrorist go waste since each and every new radical event led to different conclusion. For example, if two brothers who recently carried out suicide bombing in Brussels had long, violent criminal records, the married couple that struck in San Bernardino, California December last didn’t show any sign of militancy they carried in their hearts. The husband born and raised in US and working as an Environmental Health Inspector was married to a girl from Pakistan. Though couple did its ground work of the attack quietly at home, it along its 6 months old baby girl apparently led a normal life.

Tracing terrorism

What really led ordinary people to embrace militancy is hard to find.  At a point of time experts assumed that poverty was a key factor for the young to take to the gun but various studies made on life patron of members of various hate groups found no definite link between economic distress and terrorism. It is said that some with devout and unswerving commitment to Islam have come to believe that slaying of the nonbelievers is justified and divinely commanded. Others point out that a combo of illiteracy, poverty and firm belief of reaching Jannat (paradise) after life might have led many to wear suicide jackets.

Some pre and post Sep.11 studies, point out that many joined al-Qaeda organization just looking for the sense of belonging that society failed to provide them. Depression, political grievances, feeling of mistreated by government’, or suffering from discrimination at hands of law enforcing agencies are also cited as some of the reasons that turn youth radicals. Some are said to have joined terrorist legions just for ‘thrill.’

Young people of different ethnic or national origin residing in ghettos of Europe and other parts of world often felt discriminated and left their homes to join Islamic State group. Researchers, political pundits and sociologist have failed to identify the main or single cause that converted peaceful youth to dreaded terrorist. Even when experts agree to disagree on this question let us look at how and where seeds of terrorism are being sown.

Online Training Camps

Youth, mostly from middle or upper-class family groups in various parts of the world get radicalized by watching/playing video games online at home that highlighted violence, War and Jihad. The practice that looks innocuous, in fact throws many young people into the lap of terrorism albeit inadvertently. They ultimately join legions of terrorist outfits. They are self-radicalized and most difficult to be spotted even by their parents or wardens. Others who commit act of terrorism of their own without joining any terrorist group abroad or at home are called ‘lone wolves’ and the danger they pose to communities is of different dimension. They kill people at a place where their attack was least expected.

Terrorists’ internet network besides motivating youth also instruct them how to build bombs, fund terrorism, share information and lure them to join the killer groups. Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) operates a well organized network for this purpose. Internet has come to serve as the most dangerous terrorist training camp, many opine.

Schools & Curriculum

Far away from affluent West, in poverty stricken areas of Africa, Mid East and Asia, youth gets intense training to become future Jihadists under quite different circumstances. If it was Islamic State (ISIS) in the Mid East that operated terrorism schools in territories under their occupation or in Afghanistan, it was Boko Haram in Nigeria who after abducting girls forcibly trained them to become suicide bombers.

As per media reports 500 children kidnapped by ISIS militants in recent weeks are being brainwashed into becoming suicide bombers or the child soldiers for the Islamic extremists.

The children from Iraq’s provinces, have been taken to the violent group’s bases so they can be used in terror attacks. ISIS is known for using boys – dubbed ‘caliphate cubs’ – as suicide bombers, soldiers and even executioners to instill fear all around.

According to an Iraqi official, ‘They use dolls to teach them how to behead people, then they make them watch a beheading, and sometimes they force them to carry the heads in order to cast the fear away from their hearts. Chilling videos of such training camps have been shared by the ISIS propaganda machine in recent months, showing them training children for war.

In Nigeria Boko Haram, one of world’s deadliest terror groups have abducted hundreds of girls from schools and women from their homes to be used as female fighters and suicide bombers. The group has used at least 105 girls in suicide attacks that killed hundreds of people in markets, schools and even in camps for people who fled from their homes to escape violence. Some of the women abducted were raped or forcibly married to Boko Haram militants and impregnated with the goal of creating new generation of fighters.

One of the women who escaped from Boko Haram captivity, told media that the abducted women and girls in a three weeks ‘training program are taught how to hold bomb under one’s armpit to keep it steady and also how to severe enemy’s head from behind to minimize struggling.  “If you cut from the back of neck, they die faster.”

In the End

The War against terror that US declared in 2001 continues, in fact seems endless. Even when many top leaders like Osama bin Laden and others have been physically eliminated, terrorism remained and bounced back with more vigor and strength. Terrorists outfits like Al Qaida or Taliban now look paler before the like of ISIS, Boko Haram and other newly formed organizations. Islamic Caliphate ISIS also called Daesh want to recreate Khorasan Empire by occupying whole of Mid East and Afghanistan. They consider Indian sub continent as an erstwhile Muslim territory and have their eye on it too. Right now they are busy to cow down Western powers because Christianity and Judaism is Jihadists’ first and foremost enemy. Islamists too are preparing themselves for future that is why they are indoctrinating young children to day to prepare them as foot soldiers of tomorrow’s Islamic war.

The civilized world need to awake, organize, fight and defeat this heartless and boorish force called ISIS at the earliest. Sooner the better!