Islamic State Recruits Don’t Know Much About Islam. This is news?

Yes it actually is news because it's hard data, dug up during another great investigative report from Associated Press. And the data comport with what SPIEGEL learned about the man who set up the Islamic State government. He didn't even have a Koran in his house. That was how much he was interested in religion. 

Here's the AP report, "Islam for Dummies": IS recruits have poor grasp of faith by AYA BATRAWY, PAISLEY DODDS and LORI HINNANT; Aug. 15, 2016 - 4:13 PM EDT.

But until I can snatch time to study the report here's Sputnik's summary of the AP findings:

Daesh Recruits Don’t Know Much About Islam, According to Leaked Documents

August 16, 2016

Sputnik

Thousands of leaked Daesh documents indicate that many initiates were not well versed in Islam before joining the extremists, with records showing some British converts even purchased a Koran and "Islam for Dummies" from online retailer Amazon.

The Associated Press conducted a probe using court testimonies, interviews and over 4,000 entry forms of people heading to Syria in 2013 and 2014 to join the religious fundamentalists. They found Daesh candidates to be "overwhelmingly ignorant" of Islam and reported that visiting Imams and indoctrination videos were implemented to compensate. 

Some 70% of new adherents had "basic knowledge" of sharia law, with 24% claiming "intermediate" familiarity and 5% saying their understanding was "advanced." West Point's Combating Terrorism Center published a study saying that the less versed a fundamentalist was, the more likely they were to carry out suicide bombings, suggesting that they viewed extreme action as a substitute for doctrinal proficiency.

Some reported being taken aback and regretful about their their experience with Daesh, with one European former member saying, "I realized that I was in the wrong place when they began to ask me questions on these forms like 'When you die, who should we call?'" 

A former CIA Middle East extremist expert remarked that this kind of thinking is typical of many Daesh recruits from the West, who join to receive "a sense of belonging, a sense of notoriety, a sense of excitement…Religion is an afterthought."

[END REPORT]

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