“AMONG THE BELIEVERS ARE MEN” THE ROLE OF RELIGIOUS-NATIONALIST IDENTITY AND RELIGIOUS LITERACY IN ISLAMIC STATE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS IN THE WEST

This research explores two facets of Islamic State recruitment efforts. First, it examines role of religious-national identity in the Islamic State’s attempt to appeal to alienated and marginalized Muslims living in Western societies; and second, it explores the relationship between an individual’s level of religious literacy/knowledge and the proclivity to join the Islamic State and/or engage in extremist behaviors. I have conducted this research using a mixed-methods approach to test theoretically grounded expectations about the quantitative and qualitative attributes of religious-national content found in the Islamic State’s English-language magazine Dabiq; as well as various hypotheses pertaining to the relationship between religious literacy and the potentially extreme and violent behaviors of Islamic State recruits. This research provides a theoretical framework for understanding these phenomena, as well as empirical data that allows for testing previously unproven assumptions about ISIS recruits.Washington State University, Political Scienc