Laleh Khadivi's new novel chronicles the transformation of a lackadaisical, college-bound Californian into a soldier for militant Islam.
Experts are realizing there's no way to capture or kill our way out of the problem of Westerners joining radical groups in places like Iraq or Syria. Luckily, there is an increasing number of programs aimed at bringing these mostly young men back into the fold.
Abderrazak Cherif spent months and thousands of dollars trying to coax his son back from jihad in Syria. But when he finally succeeded, French authorities whisked the teenager off to jail, where his mental health is deteriorating.
British researchers are studying Western women from afar who have migrated into ISIS territory to join the jihadist group. The women jihadists post often on social networks. And some say they aren't content to be militant wives and mothers. They are itching to fight for the Islamic State.
Hundreds of Kurds have crossed the front lines to join ISIS, essentially joining the fight against their own people. It’s shocking to many in the Kurdish semi-autonomous region of the Iraq, but government-paid preachers may have a hand in the phenomenon.
A recent video from ISIS targeting recruits from Bahrain is part of an apparent new surge in calls for recruits from the Gulf states, where many observers think governments have turned a blind eye to extremism. And these new efforts are calling for people to take up arms at home, not just in Iraq or Syria.
The man who executed American reporter James Foley spoke with a British accent, presumably one of hundreds of British nationals that authorities think are fighting alongside members of ISIS. So why are they there, and how can they be stopped?