Ever wondered why young people, especially boys run off to the deserts of the Middle East to join IS? Well, perhaps ‘running off’ is just it really? Perhaps it’s to seek adventure. Or perhaps it’s something to give their life a higher profile; something by which to make a name for themselves. Boys, men…often seek significance. These days anyone can create a profile online and try to drum up an audience: “look at me” is a whole lot easier when you’re holding an AK-47 and sporting a beard.

But why IS? Why not just carry a gun and shoot random people? Joining IS seems to make the killing more noble, more purposeful. Angry young men often just behave badly to act out their frustration. Domestic violence. Crime. I think joining IS is a new extension of this, only it gives a self righteous podium to mount oneself upon to legitimise one’s actions and not just be labeled a common crim.

The Lindt Café murderer in Sydney it seems evident, was not a big IS fan. But it seems he attached himself to the brand late in life, just before he took the hostages in Martin Place to seek significance. Tired of no-one listening to his ‘self proclaimed imam’ rants; frustrated at his lack of recognition… he found away to get an audience. At the same time behind the IS flag he could legitimise his appalling behaviour. But in the end, he was just another angry man devoid of a sense of belonging and self worth that comes from the acceptance that is found in the intimacy of good family life.

A new documentary I read about recently called ‘Jihad Selfie’ shines a light on the young men seduced by Islamic State (“If I carry an AK-47, maybe people will look at me as a brave young man”, Sunday Extra, The Sun Herald, July 24, 2016 by Jewel Topsfield).

The doco focuses on one young man from Aceh and his journey of being groomed toward radicalisation and finally the anguish as he pulls out of going all the way to join IS.

Why didn’t he join IS?

‘Because of my parents…because of the closeness between us’.

The documentary showed him the importance of family.

He notes that other boys who were recruited and died did not have the same close relationship with their parents. He concludes:

‘there is more beneficial things we can do with our life, instead of dying like a fool…One of the simplest things we can do, especially for parents, is to build warm relationships with our children.’

It’s a great reminder of the value of family and warmth that good parenting can bring. Contrary to the modern reticence to correct children’s misbehavior, discipline in the Bible is not a negative thing. Instead it is given in the context of loving the child so he or she might benefit:

“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” Proverbs 22:6

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