The coalition can’t overlook the psychology that drives extremism
Professor Qassim Hussein Salih/Founder and Head of the Iraqi Psychological Association
It does not concern us here whether the Da’ish is an Arab, regional or international creation that led to the fall of Mosul. Strategists have addressed the issue of Da’ish from military, security and political points of views. Parliamentarian committees could not decipher its behavior. Besides, we are hardly concerned with the opinions of politicians because they focus on the terrorists’ intent to overthrow government and seize authority. Their views constitute a passive opinion regarding the reasons that drove Da’ish toward this violent extremist behavior. What concerns us is what has been missing in the confrontation with Da’ish, which stems from the principle known as “know your enemy” — specifically, defining Da’ish’s characteristics from an academic perspective.
We supervised a doctoral thesis at the University of Sulaimani in Iraq that is considered to be the first of its kind written at an international level about the Arab world. Its research subjects — 300 detainees in Iraqi prisons convicted of terrorism — were given a number of tests and questionnaires. They came from 10 Arab countries in addition to Iraq and three foreign countries (France, Iran and Russia). One of the objectives of this research was to know if the terrorist persona is, from a psychiatric perspective, unstable or stable, taking into account that many of the terrorists are highly educated, including Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who holds a doctorate from an Iraqi university.
A COMPLEX PERSONA
The scientific reality is that the persona of a terrorist is a complex one that combines five personas classified as troubled or abnormal: paranoid, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive, schizophrenic and anti-social.
The problem with the paranoid personality is that the person feels so persecuted and deprived of his rights that he is willing to fight for them. He harbors grudges and rejects tolerance because he is controlled by feelings of hostility. Psychologists agree that these feelings emerge as delusional beliefs that build up over time to seem like realities to that person. Terrorists were often indoctrinated into these beliefs by religious figures who influenced and accepted them because they had been subjected to oppression, family and social degradation.
Furthermore, a terrorist believes he is right and others are wrong. This belief is characterized by arrogance, a sense of superiority, egotism and selfishness of goals. Narcissism and paranoia combine to promote his delusional beliefs and strengthen two behaviors characteristic of some schizophrenics — lack of flexibility and insight into his thinking and thoughts about suicide. Added to that is an anti-social characteristic: lack of a sense of guilt when causing harm to others.
The Da’ish persona is the essence of the terrorist persona. It focuses all of these characteristics on a new purpose — a strategy of eliminating Shiites, specifically in Iraq, and Sunnis who are involved with the Iraqi government while fighting Western “infidels.” The Search for International Terrorists Entities Institute, which tracks Islamic websites, reported that a branch of Da’ish in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia declared its desire to eradicate Shiites in the Arabian Peninsula, according to Reuters. This branch of Da’ish urged Saudi Arabian youth to join it. The organization claimed responsibility for suicide bombings of two Shiite mosques in eastern Saudi Arabia, on May 22 and 29, 2015. It ordered its followers everywhere to kill “the enemies of Islam,” especially Shiites. Al-Baghdadi described the ruling family in Saudi Arabia as “guard dogs” for the West and Israel. He also said that the enemies of Islam, including the Shiites, are “the allies of Satan.”
SHORTCOMINGS OF POLITICAL ANALYSIS
Psychologists and sociologists disagree with politicians in their diagnoses of terrorists. Politicians evaluate a suicidal terrorist based on his threat to use violence to seize power. We psychologists diagnose him based on beliefs he holds that impel him toward his goals. We see that the behavior — whether it be worshiping, killing, acts of radicalism, intolerance — stems from an idea or belief and that differences in peoples’ actions result from the differences in ideas and beliefs.
All those who commit suicide do it out of loyalty to a belief. In that sense there is no difference between Japanese pilots who committed suicide using their own aircraft when they attacked and blew up American battleships and a terrorist suicide bomber who blows himself up among people. The intention is suicide. The difference lies in the kinds of beliefs that motivate such individuals to commit suicide. Japanese pilots did so for the sake of the homeland; terrorists do so to inflict great harm on others. Therefore, we have to answer the following question:
What led to the formation of beliefs to justify self-annihilation and brutal murders?
The suicidal terrorist is an Arab invention; he is the offspring of Arab governance as it has been practiced in recent times. He is not created by the oppression of rulers, but rather by a sense of social injustice represented by excessive wealth and legendary luxury that only few enjoy while the majority feels deprived. This has led to estrangement between Arab nationals and those in positions of authority. What may not be discerned by many is that estrangement, in addition to being a predicament between the individual and authority, makes a person feel that his existence has no meaning and that he lives an aimless life.
Because the Arab ruler is controlled by the caliphate psychology — considering himself to be an extension of historic rulers 1,400 years ago and claiming wealth to ensure continuation of that power — an estranged citizen seeks another authority through which to find meaning in his life. This type of person found meaning in al-Qaida, then in Da’ish. Those whom he viewed as role models supplied him with the belief in two goals: He could win earthly acclaim and create an Islamic state in which he could become a prince or die and enjoy eternal paradise filled with delicacies, dark-eyed virgins and servants forever at his call. For such a person, suicide is a delightful act because he believes unequivocally in the nobility of his mission.
Neither the United States nor NATO has been able to eliminate terrorism because Arab authorities are prolific producers of suicide terrorists who consider earthly life to be trivial compared to the promise of eternal life. They regard destroying a ruler who lives the life of an emperor, while they feel estranged and humiliated in their own homelands, as just punishment and a cause for jihadism.
REDUCING TERRORISM
In light of this specific diagnosis, we have to understand that achieving social justice and eliminating corruption would lead to the rapid decline in terrorism in Iraq; otherwise, the problem will remain for years. Da’ish, using its primary weapon — psychological warfare — and its technical expertise was able to attract volunteers from 100 nations. The percentage of those foreign volunteers reached 66 percent, compared to the 44 percent who were Iraqis. Forty suicidal volunteers enter Iraq every month, according to a statement by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on June 15, 2015. Da’ish was also able to convince thousands of children of its principles and draft them into combat camps. The terrorists also possess oil wealth, receive Arab and foreign donations and occupy extensive territory in Iraq and Syria.
Guns won’t frighten those who find it easy and delightful to annihilate themselves and others. And guns will not be able to eliminate Da’ish. Conferences held to discuss Da’ish begin flashy and end with recommendations that are subsequently shelved. Others call for political consensus and national reconciliation, but these sessions begin with harmonious faces and end with disagreements. That will not work unless a missing weapon is employed in this confrontation: Invite psychologists, social scientists and scholars to build a scientific strategy that will provide social and psychological support, helping to defeat Da’ish in less time and with fewer sacrifices.
RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM
There is another missing element to confronting Da’ish: its practice of accusing its opponents of heresy. Da’ish believes that interpretations of the Quran and the Sunnah by scholars is heresy that has alienated people from knowing the truth transmitted by the Quran. This line of thinking is being adopted by Jamal al-Hamdani (Abu Nuh Qabr al-‘Abd) and his group, which spread out in the Arabian Peninsula and the villages in the Iraqi and Syrian border region. This group accuses those who do not agree with its beliefs of being infidels. Yet, a much more radical group exists in the form of Abu Ala al-Afrai, deputy of al-Baghdadi, who won’t make exceptions for anyone, even his own colleagues.
A former Da’ish judge, Abu Ja’far al-Hattab of Tunisia, was among those whom Da’ish accused of heresy and killed. Before that, Da’ish eliminated another judge from its ranks, Abu ‘Umar al-Kuwaiti, who had accused al-Baghdadi of heresy. These accusations led to the execution of 18 out of 43 Da’ish leaders from June 2014 to April 2015. Psychologically, this means that dogmatism controls Da’ish thinking and has polarized the membership. A dogmatic individual has black and white views about controversial issues, mentally blocking contradictory perspectives. He will not relinquish his beliefs even if they seem wrong to him. This means a great danger threatens Da’ish from inside — that is, use of an ideology that has not been thought of originally in confronting Da’ish.