Paths to radical jihad vary, study says

Federally funded project examines views of terrorists

OTTAWA — A federally funded study of young people who embraced radical jihadism found they had little else in common, suggesting efforts to discourage extremism must be flexible and tailored to individual cases.

Terrorist Chatter: Understanding What Terrorists Talk About examined the online activities of seven men who were born or raised in the U.S. and active in the jihadist scene.

All seven were either convicted of terrorism-related offences or, in two cases, killed in extremist-related incidents.

The study by U.S. firm Flashpoint was funded through the federal government’s Kanishka program, a terrorism research effort led by Public Safety Canada that flowed from the recommendations of the inquiry into the 1985 Air India bombing.

The Canadian Press obtained the study under the Access to Information Act.

Flashpoint compiled 1,871 online posts written by the seven men in various open forums over several years. Some were extremely brief, others more than 10,000 words. The researchers assigned them to three main categories: social, religious and political.

The researchers stress that their work cannot claim to be a complete analysis of the views of the seven individuals, let alone a comprehensive overview of what all terrorists discuss and believe.

But they hope it will help guide authorities — including Canadian agencies — in devising counterradicalization programs aimed at dispelling extremist thought and dissuading young people from joining Islamic militants overseas.

Concern about adoption of radical beliefs has only deepened since two Canadian soldiers were killed just days apart last October by jihadi-inspired “lone-wolf” attackers.

While all seven subjects shared a common background, it appeared from their online activities that their interests, views and approaches were highly varied.

Some were more focused on religion, while others were more into politics, the study says.

Some immediately adopted a jihadist mindset and others took much longer to come to these views.