North York Central Library Blog

North York Central Library is excited to have author Mark Bourrie present on his novel, The Killing Game: martyrdom, murder and the lure of ISIS. The event will take place on Monday April 25, 2016 in the Auditorium from 7:00 – 8:00 pm. 

The Killing Game

A pro-ISIS Twitter account reported that John Maguire, a 23-year-old from the Ottawa Valley town of Kemptville, had been killed fighting Kurds in the Syrian city of Kobani. A few weeks before, Maguire had starred in a YouTube video threatening Canada for bombing ISIS forces in Iraq.

Just a week earlier, Dillon Hillier, a 26-year-old former Canadian army soldier and son of a Conservative politician, returned to his paren'ts' home near Ottawa after fighting in the Middle East. He had joined the Kurdish soldiers fighting ISIS and probably fought in the battle which Maguire had joined.

Why would two men who had so much in common (and with no Muslim/Arab heritage) decide to fight on opposing sides in a vicious conflict that really had little to do with them and with Canada?

The Killing Game delves into the lives of these two men, framed by the war that lured them from comfortable, ordinary lives, and examines what draws young men and women to join violent, social/political movements.

Mark Bourrie, a National Magazine Award-winning journalist, is also the author of The Fog War: Censorship of Canada's Media in WWII, and Kill the Messengers: Stephen Harper's Assault on Your Right to Know. 

Here is an examination of the lives of two men, framed by the war that lured them from comfortable, ordinary lives in a quiet corner of Ontario. Why were both of these men radicalized — one by the most extreme form of Islam, the other by a desire to fight it? Bourrie delves into the lives of these two young men as a framing device to examine what draws young men and women to join violent social/political movements. It looks at the psychology of young men and women today and the propaganda used by all sides in the Middle East conflicts, as well as the security laws and the political initiatives that have been designed to stop Canadians from being radicalized. 

Further Readings

Islamic State: the digital caliphate

Islamic State stunned the world when it overran an area the size of Britain on both sides of the Iraq-Syria border in a matter of weeks and proclaimed the birth of a new Caliphate. Based on extensive field research and exclusive interviews with IS insiders, Atwan outlines the group's leadership structure, as well as its strategies, tactics and diverse methods of recruitment. Atwan also shows how the group's rapid growth has been facilitated by its masterful command of social media platforms, the 'dark web', Hollywood 'blockbuster'-style videos, and even jihadi computer games, producing a powerful paradox where the ambitions of the Middle Ages have re-emerged in cyber-space. 

Why "good kids" turn into deadly terrorists : deconstructing the accused Boston bombers and others like them

The shock of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings was soon followed by a revelation that left many distressed and mystified. Two young brothers who were known and loved in their community allegedly acted intentionally to create carnage, terror, and radical disruption of lives and psyches, while ending their lives or at least the possibility of productive futures. Did their community fail them? As US President Obama asked: What would lead them "to resort to violence?". This book explains the many factors that contribute to the vulnerability of youth around the world to being recruited to violence and terrorism. In addition, it describes a way forward to inoculate youth against recruitment.  

Eurojihad : patterns of Islamist radicalization and terrorism in Europe

Throughout history, factors of radicalization have involved social and economic conditions and issues of identity. Patterns of Islamist radicalization in Europe reflect the historical experience of European Muslim communities, particularly their links to their home countries, the prevalence of militant groups there, and the extent to which factors of radicalization in Muslim countries transfer to European Muslim diasporas. Eurojihad examines the sources of radicalization in Muslim communities in Europe and the responses of European governments and societies. In an effort to understand the scope and dynamics of Islamist extremism and terrorism in Europe, this book takes into account recent developments, in particular the emergence of Syria as a major destination of European jihadists. Angel Rabasa and Cheryl Benard describe the history, methods, and evolution of jihadist networks in Europe with particular nuance, providing a useful primer for the layperson and a sophisticated analysis for the expert.

 
ISIS: the state of terror

In a world where terrorist groups have become a fixture of contemporary politics and warfare, the sheer brutality of the group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or simple the Islamic State, has shocked even the most jaded observers. This book is an analysis of the methods ISIS uses to both frighten innocent citizens and lure new soldiers – including the "ghoulish pornography" of their propaganda videos, the seductive appeal of "jihadi chi," and their startlingly effective social media expertise.

Hunting season : James Foley, ISIS, and the kidnapping campaign that started a war

On August 19, 2014, the jihadist rebel group known as ISIS uploaded a video to YouTube. Entitled "Message to America," the clip depicted the final moments of American journalist James Foley's life — and the gruesome aftermath of his beheading at the hands of a masked executioner. Foley's murder — and the choreographed killings that would follow — captured the world's attention, and the Islamic State's kidnapping campaign exploded into war. Hunting Season is a riveting account of how the world's newest and most powerful terror franchise came to target Western hostages, who was behind it, and why almost no one knew about it until it was too late.

United State of Jihad: investigating America's homegrown terrorists

Since 9/11, more than three hundred Americans — born and raised in Minnesota, Alabama, New Jersey, and elsewhere — have been indicted or convicted of terrorism charges. Some have taken the fight abroad: an American was among those who planned the attacks in Mumbai, and more than eighty US citizens have been charged with ISIS-related crimes. Others have acted on American soil, as with the attacks at Fort Hood, the Boston Marathon, and in San Bernardino. What motivates them, how are they trained, and what do we sacrifice in our efforts to track them?