This thesis examines why European Muslim women have left their home countries to join ISIS in Syria and Iraq, as well as the process of radicalization that they have undergone before taking the decision of making hijrah, migration. The unprecedented number of European women that have joined the terrorist organization has attracted the attention of the scholars towards an under-researched field. In order to contribute to this vacuum of knowledge, the research has compiled a theoretical framework that explains the radicalization process and the motives for migration in a coherent and comprehensive way.
The Frame Theory applied to the Social Movement Theory is a cornerstone in this study that is also anchored in the sociological concept of dual cultural alterity and pull and push factors. This theoretical framework is the backbone of the quantitative and qualitative content analysis conducted in this study. The posts of European Muslim women living in Syria have been analyzed in order to understand their motives to migrate and the process of radicalization.
The results of the analysis showed the women claim to go to Syria because it is a religious obligation and because of the opportunity to live under the Sharia law. They also identified other incentives that the so-called Caliphate offered them as financial security or the belonging to a community. The grievances from the West such as the discrimination or the persecution of the Muslim community were less mentioned. Despite migration is not the only theme in the posts; the majority of those related with migration were aimed at recruiting other women. The results also indicated the existence of a recruitment network where some women are available to give information and help and a discourse focused on other Muslim women and Muslims in general.
Therefore, European Muslim women who have gone to Syria to join ISIS underwent a process of violent radicalization in a social environment, most probably through the social media, before taking the decision. This radicalization process led them to believe that going to Syria was mandatory and the only way to be able to practice ‘real’ Islam and be blessed with a place in heaven.