Why 58 recruits, from 17 countries, defected from Islamic State

A report by a British academic think tank brings together the stories of dozens of Islamic State activists who have left the group in disillusionment.

The writers urge governments of Western countries from which citizens left for Syria and returned to use their stories as tools in the psychological warfare against the terror group.

The International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence, a think tank sponsored by King’s College in London, published the report “Victims, Perpetrators, Assets: The Narratives of Islamic State Defectors” on September 18.

Relying on accounts published in the media, the study’s added value lies mainly in bringing together the stories and bringing to light the reasons cited by people who left a life in the West in order to go fight in Syria for eventually making an about face and escaping – often under threat of death as traitors or apostates.

Of 58 individuals whose stories are told, seven are women. The report also highlights the terror group’s global recruitment program. The deserters came from 17 different countries. The writers of the report say that the 58 people are “a sizable number but probably only a fraction of those who are disillusioned or ready to leave.”

They identify four main reasons recruits cite for leaving Islamic State: The group’s fighting against other Sunni rebels and recruits’ perception that toppling the Assad regime in Syria is not in fact a priority; a revulsion with the group’s brutality, including inside the ranks of Islamic State; corruption, including preferential treatment given to foreign recruits or special privileges for individual commanders or ‘emirs’; and finally, disappointment by recruits who entered Syria based on promises of a life of luxury and were disappointed. The latter group are described in the report as those who joined IS for “selfish” reasons.

A former bodyguard of an ISIS commander known for his ruthlessness, Saddam Jamal, revealed how Jamal forced a mother and father to watch as he murdered their children.

Defector Abu Abdullah told UK paper the Telegraph how Jamal lined the children up by height and, starting with their 13-year-old son, beheaded each one and hanged their heads outside the school in which the family were hiding.

Another fighter, Farrukh Sharifov, one of 300 Tajikistani nationals to join the terror group, also testified to the brutality and cruelty of the organization in the territory it controls.

Speaking to Azadlig Radio, he recounted that many of his fellow terrorists were executed for being “spies” without a trial or evidence.

The report by ICSR noted that fighters were appalled by violence directed at other Sunnis or rival rebel groups but not at violence directed at “apostate” or non-believers.

“Of the 58 cases,” says the ICSR, “nearly two thirds of the defections took place in the year 2015. One third happened during the summer months alone,” it notes, implying that the growing number may indicate the terror group is on the road to decline.

The fighters who left Islamic State are not presented as prodigal sons who should be hailed for seeing the light. “Not everyone has become a fervent supporter of liberal democracy,” the ICSR notes dryly. “Some may, in fact, have committed crimes. They were all, at some point, enthusiastic supporters of the most violent and viciously totalitarian organization of our age. Yet they are now its worst enemies.”

“Our recommendations are for governments and activists to recognize the value and credibility of defector narratives; provide defectors with opportunities to speak out; assist them in resettlement and ensure their safety; and remove legal disincentives that prevent them from going public,” the report adds.