Terrorist Recruitment and English: The Use of English as a Terrorist Language

The English language used in social networks and the internet has become very important as a vehicle of terrorist recruitment. Jihadists belonging to various groups including ISIS, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and al-Shabbab use English for communication with foreign members. This study analyses how ISIS uses the English language to win recruits, specifically second generation immigrants who often suffer from identity problems and feel either alienated or torn between two cultures. This in turn affects the level of integration in the mainstream society. The phenomenon of multiple cultural identities as an element of recruitment (Benet-Martinez, Leu, Lee, Morris, 2002) combined with the degree of identification on the part of second generation immigrants (ingroup identification, outgroup identification and transitional outgroup identification (Stroink, 2007) are the starting point for this paper. A multimodal corpus including original ISIS texts, (Dabiq online magazine) and an original ISIS recruitment video was analysed with a cultural identity framework to identify the linguistic techniques used to address psychological needs. Terrorist organizations use persuasive tactics that address psychological needs resulting from identity problems. Persuasive tactics are targeted at individuals who may feel excluded, alienated, or even bored, in the culture they grew up in. More research into how terrorist groups use the English language for psychological manipulation to attract members should be carried out on a wider international basis. This may assist in developing early intervention programs and building social inclusion with second-generation immigrants to promote integration.