from the New York Times and the team that brought you the daily This is caliphate

ISIS continues to attract and recruit members. Just today, the? U S, secretary of defence, set upwards of a hundred Americans are believed to be fighting for ISIS in the Middle EAST. The canadian government has identified thirty Canadians now fighting in Syria, and IRAN are two thousand Europeans who are part of this growth rate. Young girls believed to be on their way to joint ISIS, their families tonight pleading for them to come home. Telling the girls mom is really worry. Chapter two recruitment. I take me back to the hotel so we ve been waiting there for almost two hours, and then the guy that we're going to call up safer, finally showed up properly and we sat down on the couch wait. What do you want here? Reserve slope,

Yet, as we sit down with him, yeah do you just? Let me know what's going on in your head, like what is it sitting there? tell your warning to now. So if this guy is who he says, he is then there's an enormous amount that I think I can learn from him, because I've spent the better part of a year researching the very arm of ISIS that he claims to have belonged to, but before we can even get there, I need to figure out can I ask your date of birth, one thousand nine hundred and ninety four, and is it okay with you if we say that you're from Canada, but whenever you're talking to members of the islamic State and specifically western recruits who have returned to their home countries, it's almost impossible to fact check every statement that they say and that's because These things happen in a part of the world and in a part of the internet that are almost entirely sealed off cask. What your parents do it for of her lover,

Item he runs a restaurant and my mom is does not work. She used to be a nest petition, so what I'm trying to tail is see if what he tells me matches up with the reporting I have done, and what the pattern of behaviour that we know is typical of recruits of this type. Entity, brothers and sisters to have on the older, solely younger brother and sister in the middle ages describes what your life was like growing up. It be pretty boring doing just the normal We had my dad would be at work most of the time, so I'd be with my mom. So in many ways his background is difficult to so many others that I have spoken to you. He was neither written or poor. He was from. Basically I'm in a middle class are background. He loved video games, star wars, star wars, do I'm a big family. He's from a pakistani immigrant household yours, natural one was born into a most unfair.

And you know I ve learned from my family, the basics, the prayers reading, the crown and everything S family was not particularly religious, at least outwardly. His mother was not failed. He had a younger sister. She too was not failed. Did you feel treated badly as a Muslim? Did you feel in your own experience here in Canada that that you had been humiliated, are treated and in some in some way, that's did you know that? Wasn't that wasn't it at all like those in those a factor at all, but I was persecuted, backyard because I'm a religion, mice, so my mom, they ve, always been able to walk the streets, save everyone's really nice. My dad along with everyone comes vied with restaurant ends, you know their living. A pretty good life here but me on the other hand, I always wanted something: bigger I've always wanted lake summit.

It's not something simple and boring. I think people imagine that is too hot us because of the savagery of what this group ices has done. We assume that the people that they succeed in recruiting into this group must be very different from us, but in fact it is actually something but in a way is more spooky, because it's something that you recognise, for example, a year

woman that I spent months profiling and Washington state talking about a twenty three year old Sunday, school teacher and a white christian girl, her Hobbes included mall walking and going to talk about with her best friend and gossiping, and within a couple of months she was ensnared by recruiters for the islamic state started, corresponding with ISIS on Twitter. She wanted to know why the group be heads. People take up some of mood. She's, a young woman from Scotland oxide grew up in an affluent neighbourhood, attended a prestigious private school. This is in woman who listen to cool plague, who loved Harry Potter, who is looking forward to being a pharmacist, and yet she found common cause. With this group, they carried out fridays attacks in multiple locations across Paris below Huffy, a Belgian, the youngest of the Paris.

Tuckers said to be nineteen or twenty years old. His teacher said that he was a smart kid. You know nothing unusual, look. You can also find the monsters breaking as it is our firm or a land where there are reports of a shooting at a nightclub in that city, the gunman on The team was an American born in New York. He was known to be applied, and yet I bought his weapons in just the past. Before we attack all Mamma tat was known people forced to him as on hinge on the forward and violent Omar Martine, the guy behind one of the worst mass shootings. In. U S history, he seems to fit the proper, but the thing that people on cat is the umpteenth are french. The upper whose efforts in my experience are the norm, as you were back and forth to Pakistan right that, give you a sense that you weren't Blake, fully canadian battlefield different.

I'd be more of little class clowns haven. Kid lay throwing snowballs a horror in other things in class. I wasn't like master, everything, the lake is always that one kid that's always roasted on

I was a kid when I'm talking to him. I I recognise myself as well, and there was an emigrant kid I didn't speaking was until I was eleven twelve on. I was picked time because I couldn't see the word hopscotch. Remember what I forgot about good color. California- and I know I was never the popular kid. I recognise that I think that's kind of like a common in a common universal experience for kids and specifically for immigrant gets right, but the difference between when he grew up and when I grew up is he's growing up alongside the internet. First, www: it's a place where you know he's hiding behind the mask of them we have made up what he called. I think avatar made up avatar first profoundly created that will cause I'm whose if she moved Myspace is your personality differ

on their than it was a school, more confidence figures myself and at the same time, that he is doing what every year person is doing which is trying to find a place in the world. Trying to find his identity are war on terror begins. Without God, but it does not end there. The war on terror is wrapping up. We know they have weapons of mass destruction, hereafter thing down so incredibly symbolic moment he's trying to find out who he is and among the things that he is, is An emigrant kid from Pakistan who comes from a muslim family on a report from the United Nations, says. Civilian casualties of the war in Afghanistan have risen to record levels and all of them use women and children again bearing the brunt of the violence. You are seeing headlines of attack

on countries that he identifies as most servicing the cell phone them using. Sir studying a war with the Taliban is what Al Qaeda is. They call themselves the Taliban literally meeting religious to eventually he just wants to find out who are these guys are being described as the backers. Are these eyes even will simply say how can a most the? How can you be muslim but criminal at the same time? How someone strict and I directly to Muslims throughout the world, we respect your faith. The pictures show American in military uniforms, posing with naked iraqi prisoners and in most of the pictures, the Americans

are laughing precedes doing you know just normal research like you and I National Geographic and discovery channel. Even you, two documentary the situation inside want out of August dire I'd, see like images of Guantanamo. All the time detainees were water, boarded captain dungeon conditions and asked the war on terror drags on. I have determined that it is in our vital national interests to send an additional thirty thousand. U S, troops to Afghanistan, nine out of every ten people killed in drone strikes by the? U S are not the intended target a death. All that includes. Scores of civilians. Then everything was the american Army from Muslims anyways. He ends up in forums in chat rooms where Al Qaeda and later ISIS recruiters aren't working. We must also reaffirmed that the United States is not, and never will be. With Islam, and I saw it as a direct one is long, so you saw it as a warning on Islam, not as a GEO political dispute of some kind,

No! No! We weren't really messing with the Americans in any way and then across literature by the old college? Given them here say it gotta was, the name is a big one. Fade could was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood he's considered in a way the spiritual father of this movement and model mug dizzy apple. Mohammed democracy, who was the matter of the founder of the group that went on to become ISIS, are: firstly, you you just read: go on with relief retreat, then Russia basic information, but then, when shoes are getting into the newly gear, this does make sense. These are the figures in the hottest pantheon who have taken concepts out of Islam and essentially weapon eyes them to justice. I a violent too hot. These guys they ve explained how Jihad fits into

the role of everyday life and how Muslim can implement yard. This thing to the lectures of Anwar allocate outright. Yes, Muslims the west. Take. He listened to a lot of his lectures. There are ominous clowes gathering in your horizon yesterday America, land of slavery, segregation Lindsey, I'm cool, cuts, clap. Tomorrow. It will be a land of religious discrimination and concentration camps who is onward algae. All the key was the first you a citizen to be deliberately targeted and killed in an American drove strike. My colleagues got chain has written a book about a lucky and he says it's even more than that. He says that this is essentially the first you a citizen to be hunted down.

His own government and essentially murdered in a targeted assassination since the civil war. We are not against the Americans. For just being America, we are against evil. He was born in you max come I for one was the EU. Us went to Colorado state lived in the? U S for twenty one years, supported Bush in the election before Eleven islands, a preacher of Islam involved in non violent Islam, the captains, four nine eleven, he was invited to interfaith dialogue, where he was the muslim representative, alongside Christians and Jews, who were trying in presenting a united front in the wake of that attack our after the start of the Iraq war in this discussion. Made a one hundred and eighty degree turn with the American Invent Not at all and continue U S, aggression against Muslims. I could not Rico. File between living in the U S and being Muslim, and I eventually came to the conclusion that my

There's an alibi to have already reached a few years earlier that Jihad against America is finding upon myself, just as it has finally on every other animals in the early two, thousands I'll look. He goes to Yemen, which is where his parents are from and very quickly. He transforms himself into the leading propagandist for Al Qaeda, the tables have turned and there's no rolling back of the worldwide. Had movement is important enough in twenty eleven to be targeted in striking to be called, but after his death he actually becomes so much more. He becomes not just a leader of the group. He becomes the icon of the jihadist movement, who is in

their minds unlawfully and wrongly, killed through american aggression. Of from what I saw on rural allow Lucky's. He was just a guy that gave out speeches and lectures and he was killed for no reason his words his thoughts, his videos start to haunt the internet and, at a certain point he becomes the inspiration to pretty much everyone that speaks English. He was a person that somehow reached through the internet and hold their hand as they started down the funnel of radicalization. His lectures made a lot of sense, assiduously, everything perfectly fitted and he did a big role in in convincing me, so I started and online to those guys started getting contact with them, so online there are, quite literally, I think, tens of thousands of people like Jose Folk who are circling these internet watering hole.

I followed a bunch of their pages on Tumblr, I tracked condoms. Facebook Instagram was a big one and he tells us that he begins in turn acting with the people in this room. I am ass. You start talking familiarly hello, how are you and if you are searching for an identity- and you dont necessarily have a community that you really felt until I felt like you know well, and these guys it's easier to talk to them their more accepting of you. This big comes your community. I started asking questions about. You haven't everything what their viewpoint was and how does how's your hard lay great out even put out things that I thought were wrong with job. How is killing accepted? How is suicide bombings accepted And they are always give religious justifications courses permissible.

Listen to what out his lecture on this subject and on the other side of the screen, other recruiters. What what went to techniques that you yourself used to drop you plan, so you do that through the ideology. That's the framework designed to video is wide eyed and asking you questions like our suicide martyrdom operations permissible in one of the people who allowed me to peek behind the curtain and understand how this happens was a guy called Jesse Morton. He was an american recruiter Qaeda who ended up becoming one of the most prolific recur

As for the group on line, can you give me examples of people that we requested and explain to me how how you did it? Well essentially, once you have an audience, wants a person expresses an interest by e mail, or once you see that they are walking consistently in your conversation room, he ended up being arrested, he spent years in jail, and I met him a couple of months after he was released. What you have to do, as you have to frame their personal grievance way, that is making them think that they can contribute to a broader cause, and we utilise three primary principles that are part of the jihadi of the Son of Fiji Haughty, as they really call it worldview and Jesse explained to me that there are actual steps that the recruiters are taught. Essentially, three stops three concepts: he called it. They are based upon interpretations of the crime and their based upon references in heavy. Some of them are our concepts that

We muslim in a belief that, but what they do, is they sharpen them and then eliminate any other understanding of these concepts to a point where the person now believe that the only choice they have is to join an armed too hot, the first principle to tee the first idea they called it is what you called Tohil hockey me till heed our. How come here, which is all sometimes called I'll tell he'd. Well how come you so, though? He is there's one God, but go. Enlargement is the messenger of God. The concept of how he'd means monotheism a single god, but what the two hottest have done is they take till he they take monotheism to this completely other level, which is basically the belief in our requires belief that Allah is the lawgiver. The legislator, the one who developed assuring the only form of governance that jihadists believe is acceptable is, is governance according to Sharia LAW, which they believe is divine. This is the corporal,

of islamic terrorists, prudence that was written down and shaped after the death of the prophet Mohammed in the seventh century, and what you do at that, as you teach people that in less you have this belief which most of the Muslims in the world down you're, not a Muslim! Really, you don't understand you religion so be living in Canada, and arm and paying your taxes or voting in an election or abiding by the laws of that society negates your belief in God is the legislator, because that is not real right and your participation in that makes you an infidel it basically expells you from the fold of Islam. It's that radical with your appearance. Changing and the spirit of letters were like I'd tight control beard, but I declared I wanted to grow view. Not change. Redressing our interest in a western way. Wearily old, which is its legal, Garment for men,

I'd wearily, had all then concept number two. What you do is you take it to the next principle, which we call the top! Who wants you to claim that there is one got only one by the US government that route, which is a rejection of the false gods? Really, it means idols. You spoke to rebelled against firefighters. It's one thing to say: ok! Canada, I believe, and Sharia law. So therefore, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna pay Metaxas, I'm not going to be no take part in municipal elections. Another tape, ordinary that that's not enough. They say that during the life of the prophet Mohammed, there was an incident where he comes back to MECCA and he goes to the Cuba, which is that that black cube structure is considered the first mosque in Islam,

and he apparently entered it and he found it full of idols and immediately. He goes and smashes he destroyed. So what are the jihadist do with us it if you have accepted that God is the lawgiver right, then the item is anything that takes away from. Idea so the democratically elected president of your country, that is, an idle the ballot box. That is an idle the act of voting. That is an idle and You are a good Muslim. You just let an idle sit around right, you just the third principle is, and what? What about the fire, no one hour level, but up, which means that your allegiance to the Muslims only in Arabic means loyalty and disavowal or loyalty and rejection. I've heard ISIS members translated as loyalty

hatred or whatever, because if you're believing there's one God, you will have to in love. Everything there about London, hates silence, I will I will bear its basically the concept of us first system, which just kind of steel set to reject contact and support for everyone else outside of the jihad. He movement, including other Muslims, and you must sacrifice in the way of Islam for the sake of the global muslim population. So that means you, don't just reject the society that you're an? U dont us reject as leaders. You also reject your christian friends. You also reject your muslim parents. If, if your mother is not a practising, most lemon is properly covered up or if your father is forbidding you from joining the islamic state

Does the only lawful form of government that there is, it says in the growing ever under the region into the hoodie? You can just cherry Pick and Jesse talks about how, when you get them to that, third state wants their indoctrinated to a certain degree. That's it! You could actually do anything. You wanted with them and if you listened, lucky he makes the sound, exciting salary on marine look at. I actually had. I sent you to allocate more at the vote. The view of him with the song

Did they often have this kind of music? In the background to this is the creed tat I must lay, should have loyalty towards online his messenger. The believers should disavow, did this labour, so he says in Islam. You are brothers and you are one nation. The believers, irrespective of their affairs, our one nation and they are separate from the non believers. There's something energizing about this you're part of this group. You know you are brothers, this person that thousands of miles away he's your brother is your brother while unhindered access, Were you were alone before you now suddenly have a family? We do not hear them

We are not in need of the: U S or the: U N, we put our trust in a law. He will be sufficient for us These are the words of were your parents fricking, at this point. My dad he was at first thought is a bit of innocence like I was just trying to get to know while a bit more, but then he realized what our looking out and what I was studying in what I kept talking about I always like stand out for you. Do we stand up for the fighting for the sake of God, so the laundered, my internet, everything. Why was I looking of Wikipedia ages of is or was looking up amuse articles? they even yelled at me. Ones like lectured me hard for they get what if a terrorist killed us. What have you been? to our home country and we get killed in the suicide bombing or something? How would that make you feel and as parents they try? reason with him, and it doesn't go anywhere. I always thought of them.

Who engulfed in the society like they're so engulfing Their prey for getting some aspects of the religion that is big, been so long that issues now that that's looked down upon his terror, and then his family seeing his interest in the faith. They even try to introduce him to moderate pray, yours moderate imams that they know of in an effort to essentially orient him towards a different expression of the faith and that do an appeal to me completely fails. I specifically, why do you do either fight in the west or join their brothers funds of jihad. What appeal to use the sense of adventure that comes with it and then the sense that you're going to survive. Evil and hardships for the sake of God, you have two choices You leave or your fight You know we're living a really comfortable life, you're, very comfortable life and I didn't really get along with that.

You leave on live among Muslims or you stay behind and fight it's now. The final in high school and whose Asia is now at an impasse, because, according to him, his parents had high expectations for him, but instead of going to a four year university, like the rest of his classmates he's now working on a restaurant to ask if there was one moment that you remember fleets to you became the moment when he that decided that you wanted to join the islamic State, the syrian civil war, actually they promised Friday was going to be big. It turned out to be huge, first started rose revolution, vows to demand those responsible for the killing brought to justice the Assad regime.

Has been pounding level for the past nine days. Over the time it became a civil war. At this point, the major frontline devices is war was against assaults trips, their part of the mosaic of rebel groups there, one of several and their portraying themselves, to the requests that their learning from Europe and beyond as the saviours in the protectors of the muslim people of Syria First responders doubts the victims with water drift off their close, the wash off what they said was a chemical weapon. The day after day, a dozen more people being shot dead by security forces he's going to a restaurant, because the same all day in day out he's taking orders slow, we're sitting here, the rest of the world is being treated like a zoo and then going back to his computer, where he seeing these these horrific. To his disaster. Just warn all our view is that these are pretty difficult pictures to to follow little boy, maybe eight years old and in a room full of what appear to be dead and dying Syrians. It would show

the aftermath of the bombings, innocent families being killed where you see dad's together children there trying to moms, crying you'd, see brothers trying to find their brother or sister in the wrong, as usual. Call me the Canadian you felt those are my people, as most Muslim. I felt that they were my brothers and sisters to them. A part of me. I kept thinking how the muslim concrete, his entire body, one part of its sick, the rest of the body is sick and you can't

so back and watch the world Bernie. I am very familiar with this phrase. We run if one part of the body field pay. You should feel the same. Pay resident happening here on family goes off, they recover from there and what this phrase is from the heads from the sayings of the prophet Mohammed and it has woven its way into the hottest cannon. There are speeches by pretty much all of the major jihadist leaders and, if you think, back to the Boston Marathon bombings, you might recall that one of the two bombers managed to get away from the scene and was hiding inside a boat when he was caught by police and when they took him out. They found tat phrase scrawled on the wall of the boat.

And then at what point, do you reach out or do they reach out to you know? I don't know that I reached out. I definitely reached out to them and then she tells us that at this point goes into the chatroom and these are active recruiters any says I want him, then that's when they was serious and very quickly the people who were walking him through the ideology turn in an hour now walking him through the logistics they were giving away. To come. There were giving new resources to come. And they had everything planet. All you had to do was just take the step. They basically had you not the kind of a do. It yourself guide, sort of looking at it and I started going to travel agents and everything more everything from how he should buy your plane ticket, to which safehouse you should go to to which smuggler

you should get in touch with their making it so easy way. You know how when you're in high school in some got your friends convince you do come to a party is kind of like that. Then they help and come up with a plan and started to give up what kind of street of play out at home. He tells us parents that he's going to go there with his grandparents in Pakistan once he gets to Pakistan, the modem and universities there's an exchange programme and Turkey. He tell his grandparents that he's going to apply for a study abroad programme in Turkey, and I thought I should go for a month and check it out and everything in study, literacy, highly as a Dane, but there okay with looking Europe, has had no clue what you are trying to do now they didn't know about. One is pretty smart about it. Keep lake messages, problem It is not my in our history and everything to myself saw here when the last conversely

How do you know? I'm just gonna work towards our future in everything and that's bout. It lying here tip yeah. I did but There was a fact that had never really mean appearance proud and made them more pointed at me than proud ever saw, I didn't really have lake. Well, you know, there's nothing left from in Canada, tabling imagine myself daydreaming day in and out how it would be to just in our fight on the front protecting Europe people those that lingering fact they would if I die what if I die within. I gave myself comfort basing our diet murder I'm going out being someone protecting something a for free What for what I believe in

Diana here on a diet, doing something as a surgeon and president of how our university doktor, Wean Frederick, leaves even are tough. His times can lead to strength.

Change. This is a difficult stormy do it, but it was strengthened in a way that no classroom activity could ever have I'm only shipper host of the past. That mean all the difference I talked to achieve it about how their managing the current moment and charging a course for the future find that made all the. Prince anywhere, you get your podcast created by Bank of America