WESTERNERS IN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS(6)

Mounsef al-Mkhayar is an Italian citizen. He is 22 years old. He is old ISIS member. Mkhayar is one of thousands from all over the world who were drawn to the promise of an ultra-radical Sunni Islamist utopia overriding national borders. Kurdish security officials identified him as Italian, and he said he holds Italian citizenship.

Mkhayar was sentenced to eight years in jail by a Milan court in 2017 for spreading Islamic State propaganda and trying to recruit Italians to its cause, according to Italian media. As a result, he is likely to have to serve this sentence if he does return to Italy.

Before ISIS, he was atheist and he was fan of Rap music. He had dream to move and live in USA. He joined ISIS when he was 18 years old. He had spent most of his life in Milan/Italy. He spent a month in prison on drugs charges.

Mounsef began immersing himself in Islamic State videos on YouTube and speaking to recruiters on Facebook. It took him only a month to decide to move to Syria with a friend four years ago.

                Then, he joined ISIS and he married with someone in Syria.

RELATED LINK: https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-islamic-state-italy-ex/exclusive-islamic-state-fighter-wants-to-return-to-italy-warns-of-sleeper-cells-idUKKBN1QQ0ME

Pingtung Trip

Pingtung-Indigenous Park

BRICS’S AFRICAN POLICY: FRIEND OR ENEMY?

In recent years, BRICS’ countries (Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa) have become Africa’s biggest economic partner across trade, investment, aid, and infrastructure, there is no other country with such depth and breadth of engagement in Africa. BRICS is a rising power and Africa is a continent that is still developing. There is evidence of an unequal parity of force, both financial and political, between the two areas in today’s worldwide connection. It will ask questions about BRICS’ diversions and strategies, and their suggestions towards the exchange agreements with African states. In this study, China, India and Brazil, which make the biggest investments in Africa, are discussed. This study will examine the researchers conducted by African, non-Western, Western and BRICS’ scholars. Their opinions will be considered objectively. From time to time, this study will compare the opinion of African and Western. This research will examine this association in comparison with Africa’s old colonial powers, and today enormous exchange inclusion with BRICS countries. Mainly qualitative method is used in this research. A number of secondary sources and official documents are collected to support qualitative method in this study. This research aims to analyze Western, non-Western and local’s view about BRICS’ African policy. The main question to answer will be: Is BRICS the best model for the development of Africa? And How do Western and non-Western scholars see BRICS influence in Africa? This study analyses political and socio-economic advantages and disadvantages of BRICS’ Africa policy and relations between BRICS and African states. As a result of this study, two important findings have been reached. The first finding is that the vast majority of non-Western and local scholars have very positive view about BRICS’ African policy. The second finding is that BRICS is neither a neo-colonialist power in Africa in the past nor in the present.
Keywords: BRICS, China, Russia, Brazil, Africa, African’s View, BRICS’ African Policy


RELATED LINK:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331318960_BRICS%27S_AFRICAN_POLICY_FRIEND_OR_ENEMY

WESTERNERS IN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION(5)

Hoda Muthana is 20 years old. She has USA and Canada citizenship. She was born in Canada, Ontorio. She has an American mother and she has a Canadian father. She attended high school in Hoover, Alabama in USA. Then, she started her university education in University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Muthana was first drawn to ISIS in high school reading Twitter and other social media posts. After a while, she decided to join ISIS.

She went and joined ISIS in 2014. She married with three Islamic State fighters.

WESTERNERS IN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS(4)

Lukas is from Denmark. He was born as a Christian. He was autistic and he had quite a bit of issue with being social. He was Asperger as well.

He started to work at a garage with Muslim employees. And after that, he converted to Islam. In the beginning, he became more aware. But after a while, he started to radicalize because of a man who worked at the garage with Lukas.

After his radicalization, he started not to talk with ladies. Lukas became more extreme and violent. He changed also his name. His new name became Millatu Ibrahim.

In 2014, he went to Syria and in Syria, he joined to ISIS.

WESTERNERS IN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION(3)

Omar Shafik Hammami is an American citizen. He is from Daphne, Alabama. His Jihadist name is Abu Mansoor al-Amriki. His father is from Syria and his mother is from US. His father is a Muslim guy and his mother is a Christian lady.

In his early childhood was the fact that his mother used to take Omar and his sister to Church. So, actually, he grow as a Christian. In his early age, he baptized in the Perdido Baptist Church. When he was child, he would like to be a doctor so he could do missionary work all around the world as a Christian.

During his elementary and secondary school period, he was a talkative and naughty student. He was also a very successful student in his classes. He had a happy childhood.

However, as seen in his autobiography, he is open to new experiences like drugs etc…

But after the holidays in Syria, Omar's life began to change. First he met with Islam in Syria. During this period, he began to pray 5 times a day. After his return to the United States, he continued to pray. However, he was praying at school and he was having some problems with his friends. For example, one day he was praying in his school and one African American guy was laughing to him and Omar just walked over them after finishing his prayer and told them that he is a Muslim and there is nothing strange about praying to God. Actually, in his early age, because of these kind of reactions, Omar started to radicalize a little bit.

During this period of radicalization, he began to enter radical Islamic web sites on the internet. For example, he said that he used to go to the websites of the Mujahidin of Sishan. Then Omar started to read radical Jihadist books and articles. During this period, he would like to go to Jihad but he understood that he need more knowledge before joining Jihad. Likewise, he adopted Salafism in this period.

In 2003, he decided to join the Jihad with the US invasion of Iraq. The news that he saw during the invasion and what he read on the internet was very effective about his decision. Later, he married and moved to Egypt.

In Egypt he began to enter more often Salafist sites on the internet. One of these websites, he met with another American living in Egypt.

Omar and his other American friend went to Somali, and they joined Al-Shabab.

As seen in this case, internet and mass media play an important role in radicalization of people or in the formation of radical knowledge.

WESTERNERS IN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS(2)

Dagestan is located in Russia’s North Caucasus. Dagestan and North Caucasus region became a recruiting ground for so-called Islamic State. At least 1200 Dagestanis have joined to ISIS.

The region has been fighting for independence for long years against Russia. During this armed conflict, most of the fighters became radicalized and extremist. After the end of armed conflict against Russia, most of these fighters have joined radical terrorist organizations like ISIS and Al-Qaeda.

Artur Magomedov’s wife also joined ISIS. They are both Caucasian. Artur Magomedov’s wife took her two daughters and sehe joined ISIS with her two daughters. Artur Magomedov went to Syria and rescued his daughters.

Artur Magomedov said that his daughters still were talking and chating with their mother on internet. Artur also added that his wife is still alive and still a member of ISIS.