Women’s Radicalization to Religious Terrorism: An Examination of ISIS Cases in the United States

Abstract

American women joining Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have increased and their roles evolved beyond auxiliary and domestic provisions, demonstrating both agency and tenacity for pursuing, recruiting, supporting, and spreading extreme Islamist ideals and terrorism. Social learning theory was applied to information gained from open-source court cases as a way of examining how thirty-one U.S. women acquired, maintained, and acted pursuant to radicalization to religious terrorism for ISIS. Internet functionalities, reasons, roles, and support types for radicalization and illegal activities for ISIS were examined using self-, dyad-, and group-classifications. A gendered interventive program based on social learning theory’s extinguishing of radicalized ideology and behavior was outlined.

Acknowledgments

The authors received an OAR Faculty Scholarship grant (90692-03 01) from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in June 2016.

Notes

1 Anne Aly and Jason-Leigh Striegher, “Examining the Role of Religion in Radicalization to Violent Islamist Extremism,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 35, no. 2 (2012): 849–862; Mark Sedgwick, “The Concept of Radicalization as a Source of Confusion,” Terrorism and Political Violence 22, no. 4 (2010): 479–494.  

2 John Horgan, The Psychology of Terrorism (London: Routledge, 2005); Laura Sjoberg, Grace D. Cooke, and Stacy Reiter Neal, “Introduction. Women, Gender, and Terrorism,” in Women, Gender, and Terrorism, ed. Caron E. Gentry and Laura Sjoberg (Athens: The University of Georgia Press; Studies in Security and International Affairs, 2011), 1–28; Jamie Bartlett and Carl Miller, “The Edge of Violence: Toward Telling the Difference between Violent and Non-Violent Radicalization,” Terrorism and Political Violence 22, no. 1 (2012): 1–21.

3 Marie-Helen Maras, Counterterrorism (Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett, 2012), 260.

4 Bruce Hoffman, “Holy Terror”: The Implications of Terrorism Motivated by a Religious Imperative (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1993); Bruce Hoffman, The Contrasting Ethical Foundations of Terrorism in the 1980s (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1988); Bruce Hoffman, “‘Holy Terror’: The Implications of Terrorism Motivated by a Religious Imperative,” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 18 (1995): 271–284.

5 Erin Miller, Ideological Motivations of Terrorism in the United States, 1970–2016, Background Report (National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism/START, November 2017).

6 Alex Nowrasteh, Terrorism Deaths and Injuries by Ideology: Excluding the Outlier Attacks (CATO Institute, August 2017).

7 Anne Aly, Stuart Macdonald, Lee Jarvis, and Thomas M. Chen, “Introduction to the Special Issue: Terrorist Online Propaganda and radicalization,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 40, no. 1 (2017): 1–9; Erin Marie Saltman and Charlie Winter, Islamic State: The Changing Face of Modern Jihadism (London: Quilliam Foundation, 2014); Robin Thompson, “Radicalization and the Use of Social Media,” Journal of Strategic Security 4, no. 4 (2011): 167–190; Catherine A. Theorhary and John Rollins, Terrorist Use of the Internet: Information Operations in Cyberspace (Congress Research Service Report for Congress, 2011).

8 Audrey Alexander, Cruel Intentions: Female Jihadists in America (Washington, DC: Program on Extremism, 2016), Accessed at: https://cchs.gwu.edu/sites/cchs.gwu.edu/files/downloads/ Female%20Jihadists%20in%20America.pdf (January 6, 2018).

9 Western women are those born and raised in Western countries and who speak English as their primary language, consistent with Erin Marie Saltman and Ross Frenett, “Female Radicalization to ISIS and the Role of Women in CVE,” in A Man’s World? Exploring the Roles of Women in Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism, ed. Naureen Chowdhury Fink, Sara Zeiger, and Rafia Bhulai (Hedayah and the Global Center on Cooperative Security, 2016), 142–163.

10 Migrants from Europe far exceed those from the United States, according to Brian Michael Jenkins, “The Origins of America’s Jihadists” (Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2017), https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE251.html (accessed 2 January 2018).

11 Alexander, Cruel Intentions; Jessica Katz, “Where Do the Women Fit In? A Theoretical Analysis of Western Women’s Participation and Role in the Islamic State,” Final Report: Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel (Homeland Security Committee Task Force, 2015); Erin Marie Saltman and Ross Frenett, “Female Radicalization to ISIS and the Role of Women in CVE,” 142–163.

12 Amanda N. Spencer, “The Hidden Face of Terrorism: An Analysis of Women in the Islamic State,” Journal of Strategic Security 9, no. 3 (2016): 74–98; Katharina Von Knop, “The Female Jihad: Al Queda’s Women,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 30, no. 5 (2007): 397–414.

13 J. Keith Akins and L. Thomas Winfree, Jr., “Social Learning Theory and becoming a Terrorist: New Challenges for a General Theory,” The Handbook of the Criminology of Terrorism, ed. Gary LaFree and Joshua D. Freilich (New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2016), 133–149; Heather Ann Cone, Differential Reinforcement in the Online Radicalization of Western Muslim Women Converts (Walden University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2016).

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15 J. Keith Akins and L. Thomas Winfree, Jr., “Social Learning Theory and becoming a Terrorist,” 137.

16 John Horgan, Walking Away from Terrorism: Accounts of Disengagement from Radical and Extremist Groups (New York: Routledge, 2009); Peter R. Neumann, “The Trouble with Radicalization,” International Affairs 89, no. 4 (2013), 873–893.

17 Ronald Akers, Social Learning and Social Structure: A General Theory of Crime and Deviance (Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press, 1998).

18 Akins and Winfree, Jr., “Social Learning Theory and becoming a Terrorist”; Tina Freiberg and Jeffrey S. Crane, “A Systematic Examination of Terrorist Use of the Internet,” International Journal of Cyber Criminology 2, no. 1 (2008): 309–319; Heather Ann Cone, Differential Reinforcement in the Online Radicalization of Western Muslim Women Converts, Walden University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2016. 10240546; Marc S. Hamm, Terrorism as Crime: From Oklahoma City to Al-Qaeda and Beyond (New York: NYU Press, 2007); Ronald L. Akers and Adam L. Silverman, “Toward a Social Learning Model of Violence and Terrorism,” in Violence: From theory to research, ed. Margaret A. Zahn, Henry H. Brownstein, and Shelly. L. Jackson (Cincinnati, OH: Lexis-Nexis-Anderson Publishing, 2004), 19–36; L. Thomas Winfree and J. Keith Akins, “Expanding the Boundaries of Social Learning Theory: The Case of Suicide Bombers in Gaza,” International Journal of Crime, Criminal Justice, and Law 3, no. 1 (2008): 145–158.

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22 Ronald L. Akers and Adam L. Silverman, “Toward a Social Learning Model of Violence and Terrorism,” in Violence: From Theory to Research, ed. Margaret A. Zahn, Henry H. Brownstein, and Shelly. L. Jackson (Cincinnati, OH: Lexis-Nexis-Anderson Publishing, 2004), 19–36.

23 Laura Sjoberg, “Conclusion: The Study of Women, Gender, and Terrorism,” in Women, Gender, and Terrorism, ed. Caron E. Gentry and Laura Sjoberg (Athens: The University of Georgia Press), 227–239.

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27 Elizabeth Pearson, “The Case of Roshonara Choudhry: Implications for Theory on Online Radicalization, ISIS Women, and the Gendered Jihad,” Policy & Internet 8, no. 1 (2015), 5–33, at 16.

28 Ibid.; Pearson and Winterbotham, “Women, Gender, and Daesh Radicalization,” 60–72.

29 Akers, Social Learning and Social Structure; Freiberg and Crane, “A Systematic Examination of Terrorist Use of the Internet,” 313.

30 Heather Ann Cone, Differential Reinforcement in the Online Radicalization of Western Muslim Women Converts, Walden University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2016. 10240546

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37 Sageman, Understanding Terror Networks; Sageman, Leaderless Jihad.

38 Raffaello Pantucci, “Typology of Lone Wolves: Preliminary Analysis of Lone Islamist Terrorists,” International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (2011), http://icsr.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/1302002992ICSRPaper_ATypologyofLoneWolves_Pantucci.pdf; Phyllis B. Gerstenfeld, Diana R. Grant, Chau-Pu Chiang, “Hate Online: A Content Analysis of Extremist Internet Sites,” Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy 3, no. 1 (2003): 39–40; Anti-Defamation League, “Jihad Online: Islamic Terrorists and the Internet” (2002), 3. http://www.adl.org/internet/jihad_online.pdf

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62 Heather Ann Cone, Differential Reinforcement in the Online Radicalization of Western Muslim Women Converts (Walden University, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2016).

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65 Akers, Social Learning and Social Structure.

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70 Aly, Macdonald, Jarvis, and Chen, “Introduction to the Special Issue,” 2.

71 Haras Rafiq and Nakita Malik, Caliphettes: Women and the Appeal of Islamic State (Quilliam Foundation, 2015), 38; Laura Huey, No Sandwiches Here: Representations of Women in Dabiq and Inspire Magazines (Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society, Working Paper Series No. 15-4, 2015).

72 Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, Audrey Alexander, and Nick Kaderbhai, “Literature Review: The Impact of Digital Communications Technology on Radicalization and Recruitment,” International Affairs 93, no. 5 (2017); Karla J. Cunningham, “Countering Female Terrorism,” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 30, no. 2 (2007): 113–129.

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74 Mia Bloom, “Bombshells: Women and Terrorism,” Gender Issues 28 (2011): 1-21; Kim Cragin and Sara A. Daly, Women as Terrorists: Mothers, Recruiters, and Martyrs (Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, 2009); Maura Conway and Lisa McInerney, “‘What’s Love Got to Do with it’? Framing ‘JihadiJane’ in the US Press,” Media, War and Conflict 5, no. 1 (2012): 6–21; David Makin and Season Hoard, “Understanding the Gender Gap in Domestic Terrorism Through Criminal Participation,” Criminal Justice Policy Review 25, no. 5 (March 2013): 531–552.

75 Karla J. Cunningham, “Countering Female Terrorism,” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 30, no. 2 (2007): 113–129; Louisa Tarras-Wahlberg, “Promises of Paradise? A Study on Official ISIS-Propaganda Targeting Women,” 2016, http://fhs.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:942997/FULLTEXT01.pdf (accessed 3 January 2018).

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77 Maras, Counterterrorism.

78 von Knop, “The Female Jihad,” 406; also see Katherine M. Kelley, “Picking a Side,” the Western Muhajirat of ISIS: What the Women Want, What ISIS Wants with Them, and What Western Governments can do about It. Proquest 10159100.

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80 Laura Sjoberg and Caron E. Gentry, Mothers, Monsters, Whores: Women’s Violence in Global Politics (London: Zed Books, 2007).

81 Katharina Kneip, “Female Jihad—Women in ISIS,” IAPSS Political Science Journal 29 (2016): 88–106; von Knop, “The Female Jihad,” 406.

82 Hoyle, Bradford, and Frenett, Becoming Mulan?; Kubra Gultekin, “Women Engagement in Terrorism: What Motivates Females to Join in Terrorist Organizations?” in Understanding Terrorism: Analysis of Sociological and Psychological Aspects, Vol. 22, ed. Suleyman Ozeren, Ismail Dincer Gunes, and Diab M. Al-Badayneh (NATO Science for Peace and Security Series–E: Human and Societal Dynamics, 2007), 167–175; Bloom, “Bombshells”; Emmanuel Karagiannis, “European Converts to Islam: Mechanisms of Radicalization,” Politics, Religion & Ideology 13, no. 1 (2012): 99–113; Eileen M. MacDonald, Shoot the Women First (New York: Random House, 1992).

83 Anat Berko, Edna Erez, and Julie L. Globokar, “Gender, Crime and Terrorism: The Case of Arab/Palestinian Women in Israel,” The British Journal of Criminology 50, no. 4 (2010): 670–689.

84 Sasha Havlicek, The Islamic State’s War on Women and Girls (Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2015).

85 Robert Agnew, “A General Strain Theory of Terrorism,” Theoretical Criminology 14, no. 2 (2010): 132–133.

86 Alex S. Wilner and C.-J. Dubouloz, “Homegrown Terrorism and Transformative Learning: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Understanding Radicalization,” Global Change, Peace & Security 22, no. 1 (2010): 33–51.

87 Rex A. Hudson, The Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism: Who becomes a Terrorist and Why? (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, 1999); Boaz Gaynor, “Terror as a Strategy of Psychological Warfare,” International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, 15 July 2002, https://www.ict.org.il/Article/827/Terror%20as%20a%20Strategy%20of%20Psychological%20Warfare (accessed 7 January 2018).

88 Saltman and Smith, “‘Till Martyrdom Do Us Part’ Gender and the ISIS Phenomenon”; Elizabeth Pearson and Emily Winterbotham, “Women, Gender, and Daesh Radicalization: A Milieu Approach,” RUSI Journal 162, no. 3 (2017): 60–72.

89 Erin Marie Saltman and Melanie Smith, “‘Till Martyrdom Do Us Part.’”

90 Ibid.

91 Pamala L. Griset and Sue Mehan, Terrorism in Perspective (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2003).

92 Cragin and Daly, Women as Terrorists. This book, however, covered various forms of terrorism and different terrorist groups from all over the world—beyond religious terrorism (such as that perpetrated by ISIS).

93 Lauren Vogel, Louise Porter, and Mark Kebbell, “The Roles of Women in Contemporary Political and Revolutionary Conflict: A Thematic Model,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 37, no. 1 (2014): 91–114.

94 Audrey Alexander, Cruel Intentions: Female Jihadists in America (Washington, DC: Program on Extremism, 2016), Accessed at: https://cchs.gwu.edu/sites/cchs.gwu.edu/files/downloads/ Female%20Jihadists%20in%20America.pdf (January 6, 2018).

95 Louisa Tarras-Wahlberg, “Seven Promises of ISIS to its Female Recruits” (International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, Research Reports, 9 January 2017); Naureen Chowdhury Fink, Rafia Barakat, and Liat Shetret, “The Roles of Women in Terrorism, Conflict, and Violent Extremism: Lessons for the United Nations and International Actors,” Policy Brief (Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation, 2013); Rex A. Hudson, The Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism.

96 Erin Marie Saltman and Ross Frenett, “Female Radicalization to ISIS and the Role of Women in CVE,” in A Man’s World? Exploring the Roles of Women in Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism, ed. Naureen Chowdhury Fink, Sara Zeiger, and Rafia Bhulai (Hedayah and the Global Center on Cooperative Security, 2016), 142–163.

97 Spencer, “The Hidden Face of Terrorism,” 74–98.

98 Mia Bloom, “Bombshells: Women and Terrorism,” Gender Issues 28 (2011), 1–21; Laura Sjoberg and Caron E. Gentry, “Looking Closely at Women in Violent Extremism,” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs 17, no. 2 (2016): 23–30.

99 Audrey Alexander, Cruel Intentions: Female Jihadists in America (Washington, DC: Program on Extremism, 2016), Accessed at: https://cchs.gwu.edu/sites/cchs.gwu.edu/files/downloads/ Female%20Jihadists%20in%20America.pdf (January 6, 2018).

100 Hoyle, Bradford, and Frenett, Becoming Mulan?; Cindy D. Ness, “In the Name of the Cause: Women’s Work in Secular and Religious Terrorism,” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 28, no. 5 (2006): 353–373.

101 Bloom, “Bombshells”; von Knop, “The Female Jihad”; Karla J Cunningham, “Cross-Regional Trends in Female Terrorism,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 26, no. 3 (2003): 171–195; Cragin and Daly, Women as Terrorists; Maras, Counterterrorism.

102 Peresin and Cervone, “The Western Muhajirat of ISIS”; Bloom, “Bombshells”; Von Knop, “The Female Jihad”; Karla J Cunningham, “Cross-Regional Trends in Female Terrorism,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 26, no. 3 (2003): 171–195; Kim Cragin and Sara A. Daly, Women as Terrorists: Mothers, Recruiters, and Martyrs; Maras, Counterterrorism.

103 Lorenzo Vidino, Francesco Marone, and Eva Entenmann, Fear Thy Neighbor: Radicaliation and Jihadist Attacks in the West (Milano, Italy: Ledizioni LediPublishing, 2017), https://icct.nl/publication/fear-thy-neighbor-radicalization-and-jihadist-attacks-in-the-west/ (accessed 8 January 2018).

104 Jyette Klausen, “Tweeting the Jihad: Social Media Networks of Western Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq,” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 38 (2015): 1–22; von Knop, “The Female Jihad”; Farahnaz Ispahani, “Women and Islamist Extremism: Gender Rights under the Shadow of Jihad,” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 14, no. 2 (2016): 101–104; Hoyle, Bradford, and Frenett, Becoming Mulan?; Bloom, “Bombshells.”

105 Alexander, Cruel Intentions, p. 2; Rukmini Callimachi, “ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape,” New York Times, 13 August 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/middleeast/isis-enshrines-a-theology-of-rape.html (accessed 10 January 2018); Cragin and Daly, Women as Terrorists; David Barnett, “Women Who are Captured by Isis and Kept as Slaves Endure more than just Sexual Violence,” The Independent, 29 November 2016, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-sex-slaves-lamiya-aji-bashar-nadia-murad-sinjar-yazidi-genocide-sexual-violence-rape-sakharov-a7445151.html (accessed 10 January 2018).

106 Rukmini Callimachi, “ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape,” New York Times, 13 August 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/14/world/middleeast/isis-enshrines-a-theology-of-rape.html (accessed 10 January 2018).

107 The slaves are predominantly Yazidi, but have also been Sunni Arabs or Christians and purportedly disgraced female ISIS members as punishment for crimes, such as trying to escape the caliphate. See Thomas Burrows, “Teenage Islamist ‘Poster Girl’ Who Fled Austria to Join ISIS was used as a Sex Slave for New Fighters before She was Beaten to Death as She Tried to Escape, Former Prisoner Reveals,” DailyMail, 31 December 2015, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3378986/Teenage-Islamist-poster-girl-fled-Austria-join-ISIS-used-sex-slave-new-fighters-beaten-death-tried-escape-former-prisoner-reveals.html.

108 Kim Cragin and Sara A. Daly, Women as Terrorists: Mothers, Recruiters, and Martyrs (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2009).

109 Fink, Barakat, and Shetret, “The Roles of Women in Terrorism, Conflict, and Violent Extremism.”

110 Only thirteen of the women included in the sample were investigated and prosecuted as individuals. In eighteen cases, the women were grouped as part of alleged conspiracy with one or multiple women and/or men. Not all of the cases led to formal charges, despite their actions being consistent with terrorist crimes, due to their age and/or cooperation with law enforcement, such as turning state’s evidence in exchange for probation.

111 The cases used were tried by federal prosecutors using the standard in 18 U.S.C. § 2331. Criminal act of domestic terrorism in accordance with 18 U.S. Code § 2331 on Terrorism, including acts resulting in kills or injures as per § 2332 (Criminal penalties), and/or commits associated terrorist related acts listed in 18 U.S.C. §2339 (Harboring or concealing terrorists), 2339A (Providing material support to terrorists), 2339B (Providing material support or resources to designated foreign terrorist organizations), 2339C (Prohibitions against the financing of terrorism), and 2339D (Receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization).

112 One additional demographic, current employment, was examined but it was incomplete for most of the dataset.

113 Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Arvada Woman Sentenced for Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” 23 January 2015; United States v. Muhammad Oda Dakhlalla, Factual Basis (2016); United States v. Jaelyn Delshaun Young and Muhammad Oda Dakhlalla, Criminal Complaint and Affidavit (2015); United States v. Keonna Thomas, Criminal Complaint and Affidavit (2015); United States v. Shannon Maureen Conley, Criminal Complaint and Affidavit (2014); Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Orange County Woman Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Providing Material Support to Terrorists by Sending Money to Pakistan to be Used in Attacks Against U.S. Forces Overseas,” 29 March 2013; USA v. Oytun Ayse Mihalik, Government’s Response to Defendant’s Sentencing Memorandum (2013); USA v. Saynab Abdirashid Hussein, Government’s Response to Defendant’s Position Regarding Sentencing (2014); United States v. Heather Elizabeth Coffman, Criminal Complaint and Affidavit (2014); United States v. Hodzic, et al., Indictment (2015); United States v. Mohammed Hamzah Khan, Criminal Complaint and Affidavit (2014); United States v. Mohammed Hamzah Khan, Plea Agreement (2015); United States v. Safya Roe Yassin, Criminal Complaint and Affidavit (2016); United States v. Yusra Ismail, Criminal Complaint and Affidavit (2014); USA v. Saynab Abdirashid Hussein, Saynab Hussein’s Position Regarding Sentencing (2013); United States v. Noelle Velentzas and Asia Siddiqui, Criminal Complaint and Affidavit (2015). Please note that Farhia Hassan, Fardowsa Jama Mohamed, and Barira Hassan Abdullahi, are not included in this investigation. Farhia Hassan was arrested at her residence in the Netherlands; Fardowsa Jama Mohamed is a fugitive in Kenya and the subject of a pending arrest warrant; and Barira Hassan Abdullahi is a fugitive in Somalia and also the subject of a pending arrest warrant. See USA v. Muna Osman Jama, et al., Superseding Indictment (2014); see also Department of Justice Press Release, “Three Defendants Arrested on Charges of Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” 23 July 2014, https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/washingtondc/news/press-releases/three-defendants-arrested-on-charges-of-providing-material-support-to-a-foreign-terrorist-organization (accessed 11 January 2018).

114 In cases of missing information (e.g., demographics, Internet functionality), credible news media sources were also examined. However, to ensure corroboration of facts and a simple index of reliability, only when the same information was provided through multiple sources was the information added to the dataset.

115 The authors proposed an additional category, thrill seeking, that is, as a way for the woman to feel alive, have fun, or be excited, suggested by the literature, but we did not find that it described any of the women in the sample.

116 The location, the United States or abroad, was noted.

117 Lorenzo Vidino and Seamus Hughes, Isis in America: From Retweets to Raqqa (Washington, DC: Program on Extremism, 2015).

118 Bruce Hoffman, “‘Holy Terror.’”

119 Ibid., 271–284, Audrey K. Cronin, “Behind the Curve: Globalization and International Terrorists,” International Security 27, no. 3 (2002–2003): 30–58.

120 Alexander, “The Radicalization of Extremists/Terrorists,” 42–43.

121 Pearson, “The Case of Roshonara Choudhry”; Pearson and Winterbotham, “Women, Gender, and Daesh Radicalization.”

122 Maras, Counterterrorism; Freiberg and Jeffrey S. Crane, “A Systematic Examination of Terrorist Use of the Internet”; Paul Gill, Emily Corner, Maura Conway, Amy Thornton, Mia Bloom, and John Horgan, “Terrorist Use of the Internet by the Numbers: Quantifying Behaviors, Patterns, and Processes,” Criminology & Public Policy 16, no. 1 (2017): 99–117.

123 Maras, Counterterrorism.

124 Akins and Winfree, Jr., “Social Learning Theory and becoming a Terrorist,”138.

125 Ibid., 133–149.

126 Pearson and Winterbotham, “Women, Gender, and Daesh Radicalization,” 60–72.

127 Alexander, “The Radicalization of Extremists/Terrorists,” 42–43..

128 Pearson and Winterbotham, “Women, Gender, and Daesh Radicalization,” 60–72.

129 Ibid.; Jytte Klausen, “Tweeting the Jihad: Social Media Networks of the Western Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 38, no, 1 (2015): 1–22.

130 Sageman, Understanding Terror Networks.

131 Freiberg and Crane, “A Systematic Examination of Terrorist Use of the Internet,” 313.

132 Akins and Winfree, Jr., “Social Learning Theory and becoming a Terrorist.”

133 Barak Stanley, “Uses and Gratification of Temporary Social Media: A Comparison of Snapchat and Facebook” (Masters Thesis, California State University at Fullerton).

134 Alexander, Cruel Intentions.

135 Akers, Social Learning and Social Structure; Freiberg and Crane, “A Systematic Examination of Terrorist Use of the Internet,” 309–319; Pearson, “The Case of Roshonara Choudhry”; Winter, “The Virtual ‘Caliphate’”; Robyn Torok, “Developing an Explanatory Model for the Process of Online Radicalization and Terrorism,” Security Informatics 2, no. 6 (2013): 2–6.

136 Freiberg and Crane, “A Systematic Examination of Terrorist Use of the Internet,” 309–319.

137 Ibid.; Alfred Rovai, “Building Sense of Community at a Distance,” International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 3, no. 1 (2002): 1–16.

138 Alexander, Cruel Intentions.

139 Maeghin Alarid, “Recruitment and Radicalization: The Role of Social Media and New Technology,” in Impunity: Countering Illicit Power in War and Transition, ed. Michelle Hughes and Michael Miklaucic (National Defense University, Centre for Technology and National Security Policy, 2016); Maura Conway, “Terrorist Use of the Internet and Fighting Back,” Information & Security 19 (2006): 9–30; Robyn Torok, “Developing an Explanatory Model for the Process of Online Radicalization and Terrorism,” Security Informatics 2, no. 6 (2013): 2–6.

140 Torok, “Developing an Explanatory Model for the Process of Online Radicalization and Terrorism”; Paul Gill, Emily Corner, Maura Conway, Amy Thornton, Mia Bloom, and John Horgan, “Terrorist Use of the Internet by the Numbers: Quantifying Behaviors, Patterns, and Processes,” Criminology & Public Policy 16, no. 1 (2017): 99–117.

141 Daniel Koehler, “The Radical Online: Individual Radicalization Processes and the Role of the Internet,” Journal for Deradicalization 1 (2014/2015): 116–134.

142 Ronald L. Akers and Adam L. Silverman, “Toward a Social Learning Model of Violence and Terrorism,” in Violence: From Theory to Research, ed. Margaret A. Zahn, Henry H. Brownstein, and Shelly. L. Jackson (Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing, 2004), 19–36.

143 Anita Peresin, “Fatal Attraction: Western Muslimas and ISIS,” Perspectives on Terrorism 9, no. 3 (2015): 24.

144 Mia Bloom, “How ISIS is using Marriage as a Trap,” The Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mia-bloom/isis-marriage-trap_b_6773576.html (accessed 3 January 2018), as cited in Peresin, “Fatal Attraction,” 25.

145 Alice E. Marwick and Danah Boyd, “I Tweet Honestly, I Tweet Passionately: Twitter users, Context Collapse, and the Imagined Audience,” New Media & Society 13, no. 1 (2010): 114–133.

146 Lizzie Dearden, “ISIS Austrian Poster Girl Samra Kesinovic ‘used as Sex Slave’ before Being Murdered for Trying to Escape,” Independent, 31 December 2015, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-austrian-poster-girl-samra-kesinovic-used-as-sex-slave-before-being-murdered-for-trying-to-a6791736.html (accessed 10 January 2018).

147 Alexander, Cruel Intentions.

148 Peresin, “Fatal Attraction,” 24; Saltman and Smith, “‘Till Martyrdom Do Us Part.’”

149 Spencer, “The Hidden Face of Terrorism,” 74–98.

150 Ben Brumfield, “Officials: 3 Denver Girls Played Hooky from School and Tried to Join ISIS,” CNN, 22 October 2014, http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/22/us/colorado-teens-syria-odyssey/index.html (accessed 7 January 2018).

151 Nazia Parveen, “Small Part of Manchester that has been Home to 16 Jihadis,” The Guardian, 25 February 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/feb/25/small-part-of-manchester-that-has-been-home-to-16-jihadis (accessed 7 January 2018); “Austrian Girl Who Joined ISIS in Syria was ‘used as a Sexual Present’ before being Beaten to Death,” 1 January 2016, http://www.news.com.au/world/middle-east/austrian-girl-who-joined-isis-in-syria-was-used-as-a-sexual-present-before-being-beaten-to-death/news-story/ca34c5000472f8e0765d424273e13da5 (accessed 7 January 2018).

152 Lizzie Dearden, “Isis’ British Brides: What We know about the Girls and Women Still in Syria after the Death of Kadiza Sultana,” The Independent, 12 August 2016, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/isis-british-brides-kadiza-sultana-girls-women-syria-married-death-killed-aqsa-mahmood-islamic-state-a7187751.html (accessed 7 January 2018); BBC News, “Syria Girls: UK Trio ‘Picked up by IS Men’—Smuggler,” 25 February 2015, http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31633002 (accessed 7 January 2018).

153 Sasha Havlicek, “The Islamic State’s War on Women and Girls” (Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Verbal testimony to the Congress Committee on Foreign Affairs, 2015).

154 Ibid.; Naureen Chowdhury Fink, Sara Zeiger, and Rafia Bhulai, A Man’s World? Exploring the Roles of Women in Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism (Hedayah and the Global Center on Cooperative Security, 2016).

155 Amanda M. Sharp Parker, The Applicability of Criminology to Terrorism Studies: An Exploratory Study of ISIS Supporters in the United States (Dissertation, University of South Florida, 2016), 1–2.

156 Katharina Kneip, “Female Jihad—Women in ISIS,” POLITIKON, IAPSS Political Science Journal 29 (2016): 99.