ISIS slick with its recruiting pitches

WASHINGTON — Beyond the slick, Hollywoodstyle cinematics, the Islamic State is targeting Western recruits with videos suggesting they, too, can be heroes like Bruce Willis’ character in “Die Hard.”

That’s the conclusion of the Chicago Project on Security and Threats, which analyzed some 1,400 videos released by IS between 2013 and 2016. Researchers who watched and cataloged them all said there is more to the recruitment effort than just sophisticated videography, and it’s not necessarily all about Islam.

Instead, Robert Pape, who directs the security center, said the extremist group is targeting Westerners — especially recent Muslim converts — with videos that follow, nearly step-by-step, a screenwriter’s standard blueprint for heroic storytelling.

The project at the University of Chicago separately has assembled a data base of people who have been indicted in the U.S. for activities related to IS. Thirty-six percent were recent converts to Islam and didn’t come from established Muslim communities. Eighty-three percent watched IS videos.

The group’s success in using heroic storytelling is prompting copycats, Pape said. The research shows al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate has been mimicking IS’ heroic narrative approach in its own recruitment films.

“That’s Bruce Willis in ‘Die Hard.’ That’s Wonder Woman . ... Hollywood has figured out that’s what puts hundreds of millions in theater seats,” Pape said. “IS has figured out that’s how to get Westerners.”

But heroic aspirations are only one reason for joining the ranks of IS. Criminals also seek the cover of IS to commit crimes. Others sign up because they want to belong to something.