Utrikesperspektiv

Page 52

February, one Swede fighting in Syria updated his Facebook page with a picture of one hundred captured Kurdish fighters in Raqqa. Other Swedes have repeatedly argued in favor of ISIS and posted pictures of them posing with al­- Shishani. The Syrian Civil War is an incredibly complicated conflict. It did not get less complicated when a representative of al-­Qaida, Abu Khaled al­- Suri was killed in a suicide attack in Aleppo on the 23rd of February. An attack the ISIS claimed responsibility for. Now, the ISIS and its Swedes seem to have nothing but enemies. The tensions between these warring factions can also be identified on a few Facebook pages, where encouraging statements can be seen advocating defections within the al-­Nusra Front. This is indeed a period of great uncertainty and insecurity in the region.

the Swedes were >>put under the rule of a man from Chechnya named Omar al­Shishani

According to a report published by the Swedish Security Service in 2010, the most dire potential domestic terrorism threat to Sweden comes from when some choose to join extremist groups in conflict zones, like Syria. In a radio interview with the head analyst of the counter terrorism unit, he explains how these people may increase the risk of terrorism in Sweden.

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- When you leave for a conflict z­ one in this purpose you acquire an ability to perform violent acts, and you can also become inspired by the al-­Qaida ideologies in these networks… Unfortunately, targets in Sweden has been acknowledged as legitimate by al-­Qaida-­ideologists. But, based on our research we can determine that regarding the Swedish foreign fighters, far from everyone are motivated in terms of establishing a form of radical global Islamism. We also mean to clarify that; for someone to even make the choice of departing to Syria several important factors have to come into play. These are factors such as social and psychological statesor different ways of perceiving the world, along with several others. They, in turn, must be able to merge together within a context of radicalization. By that, the job to foresee the potential risks as well as aggressors, becomes suddenly much more complicated, taking the topics this article has risen into consideration. One could say that this topic is one of the many strong anachronisms of our time. The use of modern technology like social media within groups characterized by its unrelenting and violent conservatism. But in the end, Facebook is merely a communication tool offering a possibility to share information and maintain networks. The downsides of social media are indeed both real and effective. Å


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