Descent Into Jihad A young Turk’s transformation from astronomer to Islamic State fighter

[TomSea]

@Quix

Lengthy article, his photos do look well-done. Will read up more on this tomorrow.

Descent Into Jihad
A young Turk’s transformation from astronomer to Islamic State fighter

By VOA's Extremism Watch Desk

Rasid Tugral won fans in the social media stratosphere for his mesmerizing photos of the night sky over his Turkish homeland. He shared images – such as one of a juniper tree against a glistening Milky Way – on a National Geographic website. He entered a prestigious graduate program in astrophysics in Finland. Smart, handsome, adventurous and outgoing, he seemed destined for a career studying the skies.

But Tugral yearned for something more. An observant Muslim raised in a conservative household, he became drawn to jihadi websites while in college. Tugral took their radical interpretation of Islam to heart. Early in 2015, he slipped away from his family and a comfortable life, joining Islamic State (IS) jihadis fighting inside Syria.

By last August, Tugral was dead, an apparent casualty while fighting for IS against Kurdish forces. He was 27.

Thousands of young Muslims, lured by IS ideology and propaganda, have traveled to join and fight for the terrorists' self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Like Tugral, many abandoned lives of privilege and potential. His story stands out, however, because of the extensive written and photographic record he left documenting his transformation over more than a decade.



Article Continues At: http://projects.voanews.com/descent-into-is/

Looks like the VOA is recycling this article from Jan. 2015.

[Quix]

I sure hate to see bright lives wasted in such horrific evil.

Thanks for  the post. Beautiful pics.

@Quix

Lengthy article, his photos do look well-done. Will read up more on this tomorrow.

Looks like the VOA is recycling this article from Jan. 2015.

[Sanguine]

I no longer care why they "slip into jihad".  They do so because they are promised things that appeal to them more than doing the right thing does.

[TomSea]

I no longer care why they "slip into jihad".  They do so because they are promised things that appeal to them more than doing the right thing does.

Oh well, they have to keep themselves busy at the Voice of America, our taxpayers at work.

---

But in seriousness, seeing that almost all of these guys seem to be, really seem to be 20-25; it kind of reminds me of how seems similar to the age of violence with black youth. To me, I could say these jihadists are being punks.. BUT... this story also adds credence that most of those who join ISIS are not the poor and underprivileged but many are educated and seem to have had decent jobs.

[r9etb]

I no longer care why they "slip into jihad".  They do so because they are promised things that appeal to them more than doing the right thing does.

It's important to understand it, though.  Note that the standard, "oppressed and poor" trope often seems not to apply to these guys.  How many times have we seen bright, young engineer/doctor/astronomer types "slip into jihad?"  The story usually goes that they are smart, idealistic types who grew up in an insular and intolerant culture with strange ideas about women, and fell prey to homicidal doctrines preached by an evil Imam. 

In a normal culture, these guys wouldn't dream of mass murder.  Western culture for various reasons -- not all of them bad -- wants to avoid naming the obvious: that there is a toxic brand of Islam, much as there is a toxic brand of white supremacist Christianity, or murderous sects of Hinduism.

Failure to name it, and failure to shine a light on the idiocies it preaches, is the worst possible thing.  And that's precisely what the left in Europe and elsewhere have done.  (Then again, there's a distinct whiff of the 3rd Reich among some who do name it....)