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http://revista.ieee.es/index.php/ieee 339 Antonio Alonso Marcos Central Asians fighting in Syria: the danger of... by the fact that there are people from different social classes85. In any case, there is a dream, a utopia that, according to Bruce Thornton, Westerners have difficulty understanding because Western civilisation has lost its principles and is in the midst of a crisis86, in contrast with Russia: “But there’s another important reason Russia’s much more extensive crimes against Islam are given a pass: the jihadists know the Russians are not susceptible to the therapeutic blackmail used against a self-loathing West. Russia uses brutal force to promote and defend its interests and doesn’t give a damn what the rest of the world thinks”87. It is not just a question of youth unemployment, of unfavourable outlooks for a sector of the Central Asian population, low quality jobs or situations of virtual slavery in other countries. Capitalism, consumerism, a free market economy, hyper-individualism and an almost complete lack of moral values beyond some subjective ethics, are frontal assaults against societies that greatly appreciate all social encounters. In addition, the transition from Soviet Union to independent states was done “without anaesthetic”. These young men have been offered a way of life based on MTV – scantily-clad girls, guys who make easy money through illegal races, bets or drugs, contempt of anything that involves effort or sacrifice, rejection of any glimmer of spirituality or religiousness; some have bought into this way of life but these false paradises have caused considerable rejection in other social sectors. This has caused them to look for something more “authentic”, the “truth”, “happiness”… and in IS and its messages they have found a bright spot on the horizon towards which they can angle their lives and, without doubt, “they are people affected by the rapid social changes”88. Some young Central Asians have, however, abandoned their fight with IS and, upon returning to their countries of origin, have told of their disenchantment with the group. Central Asians in IS make up a small group in two senses of the word: small - around 400089 - compared to the total number of foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria, and small in respect to the total number of inhabitants – around 65 million – of Central Asia. This means that the general causes – social, economic, environmental – are indeed necessary conditions but do not go far enough to explain why somebody 85  FRIEDLAND, N.: “Becoming a Terrorist: Social and Individual Antecedents”, in HOWARD, L. (Ed.). Terrorism: Roots, Impact, Responses, New York: Praeger, 1992. 86  BAWER, B. While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within, New York: Random House, 2006. 87  THORNTON, B. S.: “Jihadists see West’s tragic flaw in blinkered tolerance”, The Sage and the Sword, 12 November 2006, under http://victorhanson.com/wordpress/?p=5530, consulted 30 March 2015. 88  See “Syria Calling…” op. cit., p. 4. 89  Some authors consider the figure to be closer to 7000. See ALEXANDROVA, Lyudmila: “Is Islamic State’s threat to Central Asian countries real?” TASS Russian News Agency, 18 November 2015, under http://tass.ru/en/opinions/837576, consulted 20 January 2016.

REVISTA IEEE 9
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