The U.S. has put much effort and money into combating the jihadist organization Islamic State, known as ISIS, but the group still has between 30,000 and 50,000 militants estimated to be fighting for it.
How is that possible? This is a question Dean David Perlmutter has sought to answer in his research. He is studying how the group’s has managed to be so “fabulously successful” in its recruiting.
Perlmutter, professor and dean of the College of Media & Communication, will present “The Visual Persuasion of ISIS: Branding, Social Media and the Fan Boys of Terror” on Nov. 11 at 6 p.m. in the University Library Croslin Room.
A discussion and question-and-answer session will follow. The four panelists are Rashid Al-Hmoud, associate professor of economics, Maj. Christopher Dawson, from the Texas Tech ROTC, Leo Eko, professor of journalism and electronic media who specializes in social media, and Atilla Hafizoglu, from the Dialogue Institute of the Southwest. Each panelist offers a different perspective on ISIS, Perlmutter said.
Perlmutter began researching ISIS because he was fascinated with the terrorist group that initially few people knew about. Suddenly, it got massive interest from the entire world.
“If you think about it, every country in the world is paying attention to ISIS,” Perlmutter said.
Perlmutter, who studies political persuasion through visual images and new media, has concluded that ISIS is powerful in part because of social media.
His research suggests ISIS persuades underprivileged young men to join the group, luring them in with promises of money and jobs. Middle-class youth are also lured with promises of action, power, adventure, glory and camaraderie.
Given the instantaneous reach of the Internet and social media, Perlmutter said, “everyone can be a producer, disseminator, or receiver through all platforms of social media.” Furthermore, anyone can create digital content, making it easier to express inner wants, needs, feelings and ideas, he said.
His research also shows ISIS is in some ways similar to Waffen-SS, a military wing of the World War II German SS.
“Just like Waffen-SS, ISIS groups foreign recruits into same-language and national origin units,” Perlmutter said.
Dawson, who spent four years deployed in a combat zone and 20 years in the military, said many researchers are trying to learn more about ISIS so they can propose ways to defeat the militant group.
“Some folks are under the assumption ‘This doesn’t impact me because I’m not in the combat zone,'” Dawson said. “Well, actually, it does, because they recruit children right off from underneath their parents.”
ISIS and its recruitment methods are a growing problem, he said; if left alone, it will continue to worsen.
“What they lack in the operational skill they make up for in recruiting,” Dawson said. “They’re very savvy on the social media front.”
ISIS has been recruiting from all over the world, even in the U.S., Dawson added.
Perlmutter said he hopes people will leave the panel discussion knowing how complicated the ISIS issue is.
“ISIS is not going for the conquest of the few hundred miles in Syria,” Perlmutter said. “They want global conquest. They believe they are destined to rule the world. They will fight the battle anywhere whether it’s in Lubbock, Syria, or Malaysia.”
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