Islamic State of Iraq and Syria “wannabes” in the United States are not motivated by terrorism, bur rather by the idea of building an Islamic caliphate, according to a new study by Fordham Law School’s Center on National Security.
The study found a common link among the 25 people in the U.S. charged with supporting the Islamic State over the past two years: They are young, U.S.-born and not Arab.
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Instead, what the study calls “wannabes” who have been arrested are attempting to join the Islamic State because they were drawn to the fantasy of an Islamic caliphate, not because they want to commit terror acts on U.S. soil.
“The narrative is that they have bought into the idea of the caliphate that they have romanticized,” Karen Greenberg, director of the Fordham center, told NBC News. “While some may want to fight, those arrested have wanted to do a wide variety of things to help the Islamic State, including nurse to wife to mother. They don’t want to come home.”
Overall the study — which was done by reviewing court cases — found that very few were actually willing to carry out terror attacks on the U.S.
Here’s how the study broke down, according to NBC News:
• A majority are Caucasian, none are Arabic. Three were Somali, and three others emigrated from Soviet Bloc nations — Bosnia, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan.
• The average age of those who allegedly wanted to fight is 24; the average age for those who did not is 34. Nine of them were under 21.
• More than half are from four states: Minnesota, North Carolina, New York and Illinois.
• All but a few — including Shannon Conley of Denver and Keonna Thomas of Philadelphia — were male.
• More than 80 percent were U.S. citizens, all but one American-born.
