The Jihad Cult

2014-11-29T13:39:23-05:00

From der Spiegel [ http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/why-young-germany-are-answering-call-to-war-in-syria-a-1003468.html ]

The Jihad Cult: Why Young Germans Are Answering Call to Holy War

Hundreds of young German Islamists have traveled to Syria to fight with the terrorist group Islamic State. SPIEGEL explored the extremist scene in Germany and the fascination with jihad in order to find answers about what drives people to join the murderous cult.

Whenever Ismail Cetinkaya runs into one of those young men who want to leave Hamburg to fight in Syria, he asks: "Have you ever slept without heat in the winter? Do you know what it's like to live without electricity and running water? Do you think a Kalashnikov works like the controller for your PlayStation 4?"

He also asks whether the young man is leaving his mother behind. And then he quotes the words of the Prophet Mohammed, and says: "Paradise lies at the feet of your mother." The implication being that those who leave their weeping mothers behind won't enter paradise.

Cetinkaya, 33, has a full beard and has been praying to Allah five times a day ever since he found himself, as he says. He's the son of Turks from Mardin, a city on the Syrian border. He speaks fluent Arabic and doesn't need a German imam or YouTube videos to understand what God wants from him.

God wants Cetinkaya to devote himself to "jihad." But jihad is really just the Arab word for struggle, the struggle one endures while on the path to Allah. In the Koran, the "great jihad" is not the fight against non-believers, but each individual's struggle against himself, against his own weaknesses, and against the evil that resides in every human being.

Cetinkaya is a successful fighter ...

QUESTION - "Do the same factors apply in America?" [PS - Please excuse the length of the article.]

The Jihad Cult: Why Young Germans Are Answering Call to Holy War - SPIEGEL ONLINE

Hundreds of young German Islamists have traveled to Syria to fight with the terrorist group Islamic State. SPIEGEL explored the extremist scene in Germany and the fascination with jihad in order to find answers about what drives people to join the murderous cult.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 29 at 2014 1:48 PM

2014-11-29T13:48:31-05:00

Sir,

I do know the Germans are not taking this lightly and they handled the issue they had in Berlin a month ago.

V/r

1SG Haro

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Nov 29 at 2014 1:54 PM

2014-11-29T13:54:02-05:00

In the 60s kids smoked weed, sought maharishis from India and listened to the Beatles trying to figure it out.

In the 70s they "stuck it too the man", snorted coke and discoed the night away.

The 80s - I just try to forget the whole decade.

Today its a bit more violent and tragic at what folks are turning away from and towards in an effort to find their way.