Substance abuse and Islamic Terrorism in Europe, is there a connection?

Thousands of young men — and some women — left Western Europe to fight in the ranks of ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Many of them were second-generation migrants, others were converts with a traumatic background.

The book “Understanding Islamic Terrorism in Europe: Drugs, Jihad, the Pursuit of martyrdom” follows these psycho-social journeys to radicalisation, providing yet another thread that binds terrorism with social exclusion.

TACTICS talks to the author Dr Lewis Herrington about his findings and the connection between substance abuse and terrorism. Mr Ahmed Patel,  who is the brother in law of Mohammad Sidique Khan, one of the 7/7/2005 suicide bombers, also participates. Since the tragic events, he has spent much of his time as a researcher and community activist in outreach and deradicalisation projects.

To find out how substance abuse is connected to terrorism watch the in-depth discussion below.

Photo courtesy of  Pixabay by Michael de Groot

Share this page:

Related content

The Manchester Synagogue Attack: Understanding the Complexities of Modern Terror Investigations

The Manchester Synagogue Attack: Understanding the Complexities of Modern Terror Investigations

The targeted violence against religious minorities has been a long-standing issue that emerged into the limelight in the attack of the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in Manchester on October…
Artificial Intelligence in European Security: The Promise and Peril of Predictive Policing

Artificial Intelligence in European Security: The Promise and Peril of Predictive Policing

By 2025, the artificial intelligence in European security has shifted into practice as opposed to concept. The governments and law enforcement agencies in the continent are making investments in AI…
Institutional Bloat or Security Necessity? UN’s Counter-Terrorism Architecture Under Scrutiny

Institutional Bloat or Security Necessity? UN’s Counter-Terrorism Architecture Under Scrutiny

In the past quarter-century, the United Nations has incrementally grown its counter-terrorism units, developing these units out of small technical assistance units into multi-agency and billion-dollar security machines. The events…