Italian Jihadists in Syria and Iraq

Authors

  • Francesco Marone University of Pavia University of Rijeka

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15664/jtr.1205

Keywords:

Terrorism, radicalisation, jihadism, foreign fighters, muhajirin, Islamic State, Italy

Abstract

This article explores the current extent of Italy’s Sunni jihadists in Syria and Iraq. The country presents interesting particularities, including a relatively small number of foreign fighters compared to other European countries (not more than 90 individuals, and only a dozen with Italian passports). However, the Italian case has not been extensively investigated. This article first examines the scale of the problem and then focuses on the cases of three Italian nationals who left for Syria: a convert who died in combat in the Aleppo area in 2013, a second-generation immigrant who joined the ranks of the Islamic State (IS) and a muhajira (“emigrant”) who, as a woman, has not been allowed to take combat roles in the self-proclaimed “caliphate”.

Author Biography

Francesco Marone, University of Pavia University of Rijeka

Dr Francesco Marone is a Research Fellow at the University of Pavia and an Adjunct Lecturer at the University Institute Umanitaria - Ciels in Milan (Italy).
Moreover, he is currently a Fellow of the Centre for Advanced Studies (CAS) at the University of Rijeka (Croatia).
He was a Visiting Fellow at Aberystwyth University (Wales) and a Visiting Postdoctoral Researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel).
His research interests include terrorism and political violence, radicalisation, and migration and security.

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Published

2016-02-05

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2016)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2016 The Author(s)

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