Caracterización de la red existente

In the theoretical chapter, political grievances were described as reacting to perceived injustice or wrongdoing by means of using violence as a form of expression. Political grievance can contribute to involvement in Islamist extremism if individuals identify themselves with people suffering in conflict areas and, moreover, if they have sympathy or support for ideological and political movements that oppose those who are perceived to be responsible for the suffering. This may trigger such individuals to express political grievance by means of joining Islamist extremist movements.

To determine the extent to which the Turkish and the Moroccan population in the Netherlands experience political grievance, data from the 2015 SCP study “Werelden van verschil” have been used. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted to better understand where political grievances come from. However, it is important to stress that both the SCP study as well as this study may not have included individuals who had strong political grievances. Thus, the results reflect the attitudes and perceptions of moderate individuals instead of those individuals willing to

45 express political grievances. Nonetheless, the results do provide enough key features to conduct an analysis.

4.3.1 Political grievances amongst people of Turkish descent

The analysis is based on the SCP report in which 105 respondents of Turkish descent were questioned about their attitudes towards the violent conflict in Syria and the jihad (SCP, 2015). The study reveals that the vast majority of the respondents condemned the use of violence by Islamic State (IS) in the Syrian conflict (SCP, 2015). Moreover, they also condemned IS’s ideology, and argued that it is not a true reflection of the teachings in the Quran. However, according to the SCP study, there also seemed to be sympathy for foreign fighters affiliated with IS amongst some of the Turkish respondents (SCP, 2015). The sympathy seemed to be felt amongst the respondents who were strongly nationalistically oriented and who had a strong aversion to the PKK, a Kurdish militant organization in Turkey (SCP, 2015). Those specific respondents argued that they sympathized because IS fights the PKK. Their argument was along the lines of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” The respondents’ sympathy for IS was motivated by their nationalistically motivated aversion to the PKK movement in Turkey, instead of by a religiously inspired affinity for IS. They argued that the Turkish government, just as IS, opposes the PKK, therefore arguing that IS could – to some extent – count on their sympathy (SCP, 2015). However, it is important to note that the SCP report argues that those respondents’ arguments do not reflect the overall perception of IS and the Syrian conflict amongst Dutch people of Turkish descent.

Interviews

All of the respondents in the present study condemned the violent actions in the Syrian conflict, and especially the actions of IS. They stated that IS’ ideology is a false misinterpretation and representation of Islam. Furthermore, all of the respondents indicated that they had no sympathy or support for IS or its actions in the Syrian conflict. However, as discussed earlier, the respondents were considered to be “moderate” individuals and the sensitivity of expressing signs of sympathy or support for IS may have prevented them from doing so.

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4.3.2 Political grievances amongst individuals of Moroccan descent

The analysis is based on the 2015 SCP study in which 40 respondents of Moroccan descent were interviewed on their attitudes towards the Syrian conflict and the jihad. This is a much smaller number than the number of respondents of Turkish descent who were interviewed. Therefore, one should be cautious when making generalizing statements based on this study only. However, the overall conclusion of the SCP study is that many of the Dutch respondents of Moroccan descent were unsure about how to address the Syrian conflict and the role of IS (SCP, 2015). Many of the respondents found it difficult to firmly condemn IS’s actions.

According to the SCP, this is because IS’s actions are not in line with the general perceptions about the relationship between the Western world and Muslims that many people of Moroccan descent have (SCP, 2015). In their perception, Islam is considered to be “good,” whereas the West is “bad.” As a result, many of them believe that the bad things happening to Muslims around the world are the result of the West trying to marginalize their religion (SCP, 2015). However, IS is known to mostly victimize Muslims. Hence, its actions are, especially since it operates in the name of Islam, not in line with the traditional perception of many people of Moroccan descent regarding who the enemy and the victims are (SCP, 2015). The respondents had difficulty incorporating this new reality of wrongdoing in the name of Islam. This is not to say that the respondents per se showed signs of support or sympathy for IS. However, they found it difficult to acknowledge the “new reality” of fellow Muslims harming one another.

Interviews

The results of the interviews were consistent with the SCP conclusion that their respondents were having difficulty firmly condemning the role of IS and foreign fighters in the Syrian conflict. However, all respondents condemned IS and argued that its ideology is not a true reflection of what their religion stands for. Moreover, the respondents continuously argued that the Syrian conflict should not be seen as separate from past Western actions and interventions in the Arabic region. They found it difficult to condemn the role of foreign fighters without placing it into a wider perspective. The following quote illustrates this well: “There is so much attention on our people who go to Syria, but really… how many victims do they have? Compare that to the victims of the West in Syria. Why is no attention paid to that?” (M4, personal communication, November

47 17, 2016) This quote demonstrates the overall response when discussing the role of IS in the Syrian conflict. The respondents seemingly failed to acknowledge the wrongdoings of IS itself.

4.3.3 A brief discussion

Both Dutch people of Turkish descent as well as those of Moroccan descent condemn IS’s actions in the Syrian conflict. However, small differences were observed between the two in the ease with which they did so. The respondents of Turkish descent found it less difficult to clearly condemn IS’s violent actions in the Syrian conflict. They argued that IS misinterprets the teachings of Islam. By doing so, these respondents distanced themselves from such religiously inspired violence. There was mainly sympathy for the role of foreign fighters in the Syrian conflict amongst respondents with nationalistic motivations. Their argument was along the lines of “IS combats the PKK and the PKK is Turkey’s enemy, so I have sympathy for those who combat the PKK.” However, such sympathy is nationalistically driven instead of religious.

Different dynamics were observed amongst the respondents of Moroccan descent. They had more difficulty in condemning IS. This has to do with their traditional perception of the West being responsible for the wrongdoings to Muslims around the world. They were confused by the reality of new actors who carry out violent actions in the name of their religion. Even though there is a lack of hard evidence to support this assumption, the observation that the respondents of Moroccan descent had more difficulty condemning IS may indicate that they could be more likely to be sympathetic to or support it some day. This in turn may explain why people of Turkish descent are less inclined to join Islamist extremist movements as a foreign fighter. They find it less problematic to condemn IS’ violent actions for instance, and moreover, they argue that such actions are not in line with Islamic teachings. And if there is any sympathy for IS, it is mainly driven by nationalistic motivations instead of religious ones. These observations seems to be crucial to explain the relatively low number of Dutch foreign fighters with a Turkish background. They indicate that people of Turkish descent are less receptive for extreme Islamist ideologies because they can -to a large extent- distance themselves from such religious inspired violence, and moreover, also condemn with without necessarily having confused feelings about it. This contrary to the observations witnessed when discussing political grievances amongst the Moroccan population.

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