Why do People Become Extremists? 2
Religious Studies: KS3, topic 3.3.4
Why do people become extremists?
Why do some people develop ideas that are very different from those of most people? And why do they want to force their ideas on others?
Online grooming
- In modern times lots of people make contacts through the internet.
- It is known that some extremists use the internet to groom new recruits.
- After gaining their trust, they then encourage their contacts to join their cause.
Looking for simple answers
- In earlier times people imagined there were gods to explain storms and floods.
- These days some people still look for simple answers to problems.
- After the First World War, Germany suffered from poverty because of many complex reasons.
- However, Hitler said it was because of a conspiracy of Jews and Communists and many Germans accepted this.
- Looking for simple answers often leads to someone being blamed.
A case study of extremism
- ISIS is a terrorist group that tried to create an Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
- ISIS beheaded journalists and aid workers and carried out suicide bombings.
- ISIS used the internet to spread misinformation, and some young British people were attracted by the easy answers ISIS offered.
- ISIS's easy answers came from their literal interpretation of the Qur'an.
- Many hundreds of British people went to fight with ISIS.
Test yourself on Why do People Become Extremists? 2
Which of these is a terrorist group that tried to create an Islamic State in Syria and Iraq?
Where are extremists most likely to be recruited in modern times?