Three British teenage girls have been spotted in Istanbul on their way to Syria, thought to be joining extremist terror groups. Around 22 young women did this over the last year, most of whom were under the age of 20, according to the Metropolitan Police.
They were brought up in a country which preaches tolerance and inclusion, and where it is not possible for politicians to say anything in public that might even hint at social, ethnic, gender or religious discrimination.
When former UK prime minister Gordon Brown was overheard calling Gillian Duffy of Rochdale a “bigoted woman” on his campaign trail, he had to drive straight back and offer a grovelling apology at her doorstep.
When Boris Johnson, then a Tory MP, criticised Liverpool for wallowing in its own “victim status,” he was obliged to travel there and apologise to the entire city. Failure to do so would have been a disaster with the British electorate.
It is hard to understand how young people familiar with this cultural background could be drawn to the least tolerant groups of all, seeking out packs of extremists who terrorise and even kill those who do not agree with their views.
The psychological profile of individuals who are suddenly ‘radicalised’ is unclear, with competing views criss-crossing the air waves.
A fundamentalist world might offer certainty and identity, as opposed to a Western relativist viewpoint. Perhaps they need a sense of importance, power or control, which they lack at home. A sense of belonging as opposed to social exclusion. The age-old rebellion of young people against society. A bunch of weirdos and fanatics. Skilled grooming by extremist groups. Or a mixture of all of these.
People who actively convert to some cause or belief tend to have strong feelings about it. I once knew a lady from a Jewish family who turned to Roman Catholicism. She mentioned Jesus constantly and amassed twice as many Rosary beads and religious objects in her house than her friends who were brought up as Catholics.
The psychological profile of individuals who are suddenly ‘radicalised’ is unclear, with competing views criss-crossing the air waves
The strong emotions of conversion are also linked to social causes, and sometimes even to politics. Some people who abruptly discover a new direction in their lives resort to passionate declarations and chest-beating.
The political party defections of Ian Castaldi Paris and Cyrus Engerer, for example, were accompanied by loud and persistent public speeches, as though the most important event in the world was taking place.
People shift allegiance from one political party to another all the time, backwards and forwards, with the number of floating voters on the rise. However, the yearning to enact this publicly as an event in front of the cameras is altogether different. It is driven by a need for self-justification, perhaps hoping to shine with accolades and praise from their new leader acting like a father embracing his prodigal son.
In the case of politicians changing sides, it is glaringly obvious that former supporters and friends would feel deceived by this sort of open display. These public actions go beyond party politics and are perceived as self-serving betrayals of friendship and trust, a symbolic kick-in-the-teeth.
While many conversions are perfectly genuine, others are a lot more theatrical. The followers of Anġelik Caruana have been on television again, all repeating a similar story about how at first they absolutely could not accept that the Virgin Mary was appearing to Caruana, but finally the truth was revealed to them and they believed. You have to see it to believe it, they say.
The latest news is that Caruana has received Baby Jesus coming down from the heavens to a white blanket in his arms at Borġ in-Nadur in Birżebbuġa. Caruana receives scary visits from the devil who is a horrible ugly beast and occasionally throws him down the stairs at home. The Virgin Mary instructed Caruana to visit a tattoo parlour to have a holy picture inscribed on his arm. I’m not kidding.
The psychiatrist who has been investigating the case has now concluded his 20,000-word report and passed it on to the Curia for assessment, but Caruana will not let him divulge any of its contents to the public. I wonder why not.
Caruana’s group have a pretty radical view of religion. The Church has distanced itself from this cult, but if it does not affect them personally, most people will just live and let live. As long as there is no social disruption from the Borġ in-Nadur crowd, then out of sight is out of mind, or at least until the next time Peppi Azzopardi hauls them back onto Xarabank to entertain his audience.
On the contrary, a major concern about ‘radicalised’ young women who willingly head off from Britain to join militant extremists in Syria and elsewhere, is their apparent acceptance of ruthless and barbaric violence. They all use social media, so they surely must be aware of it.
They were raised in the midst of a Western society which has an absolute aversion to violence of any kind, where it is no longer even acceptable to lightly smack children’s bottoms.
How do these girls cross the dark mental abyss between the two worlds, and what pushes them to do it? If we cannot understand this, then we cannot even begin to solve the problem.
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