A third of French ISIS fighters were born CHRISTIAN and converted to Islam, expert reveals
APPROXIMATELY one third of French Islamic State militants were born to working class Christian parents before converting to Islam, a jihad expert has sensationally claimed.
According to a jihad expert, one third of French IS militants were born Christian
War reporter David Thomson also revealed 70 per cent of the depraved fanatics were born to immigrant parents.
Mr Thompson, who has spent the past two years interviewing French jihadists, said radical extremists are not mentally disturbed and that most were in fact immigrant youths who feel they do not belong to French society.
He told Le Figaro: “They are not damned souls. They are outsiders driven by both politics and religion. Most grew up in France’s sensitive urban areas. Seine-Saint-Denis, one of Paris’s poorest suburbs, for example, is the epicentre of French jihad. More than 100 Seine-Saint-Denis locals have fled to Iraq or to Syria since 2012.”
The French jihad expert added that there was a direct link between a youth’s inability to integrate into French society and ISIS’ growing popularity among disgruntled French Muslims.
Mr Thompson said: “ISIS propagandists tell recruits that life in Syria and Iraq is amazing. A jihadist I once interviewed compared life in the Islamic caliphate to a theme park, he said it was a ‘Disneyland for mujahideens’.”
He said the radicalised youths are often thrill seekers who lead a colourless, listless existence in France.
David Thomson also revealed 70 per cent of the depraved fanatics were born to immigrant parents
More than 100 Seine-Saint-Denis locals have fled to Iraq or to Syria since 2012
He added: “All the jihadists I have spoken with left because they felt frustrated and humiliated. Most belong to a minority group and have an inferiority complex. ISIS gives wounded egos a confidence boost by promising them pride and protection.”
Recruiters sell a utopian image of life under the caliphate, said Mr Thomson: “They tell them that it is ‘the’ place to and make desperate youths feel like invincible superheroes.”
A jihad expert said some start planning an attack on French soil the minute they come home
He also said, at times, women were the “driving force behind a couple’s radicalisation” and that they hated France’s secular values “more than their partners”.
The jihad expert added that, for the most part, "returnees" – fighters returning to their homes from Syria and Iraq – came home because they had become “disillusioned” with life under ISIS rule.
He said: “They come home because they were disappointed by the quality of life in ISIS-held territory, but that doesn’t mean that they are no longer radical Islamists. Some start planning an attack on French soil the minute they come home.”