AbstractThis paper covers a small area of topics on the infamous organization, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). These topics include: a brief history of the organization, who ISIS is recruiting, why the recruits are joining, and the methods in which ISIS uses to recruit its members. Because of ISIS’s clever and effective recruiters and their methods of recruitment, they are on their way to establishing a caliphate, which refers to uniting all Muslims for the purpose of total, world domination. Recruitment Methods of ISISAccording to communication strategist and cyber war expert advisor, James P. Farwell (2014), in the summer of 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) made an ostentatious appearance onto the worldwide stage, with the desire to institute its religious authority across the world (Farwell, 2014, p. 49). ISIS developed a caliphate, led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (p. 49). The organization’s primary tool for increasing its influence across the globe has been “brute violence” (Farwell, 2014, p. 49). However, through their methods of recruitment, they have tried to establish credibility and implement legitimacy by skillfully advertising their propaganda through social networking and cyber technology, making it look attractive to prospective fighters (Farwell, 2014, p. 49). This paper will discuss who ISIS is recruiting, why the recruits are joining ISIS, and the recruitment methods that the organization uses to gather members, in order to accomplish their purpose of conquering the world.The slogan, “Baqiya wa tatamadad,” as stated by Amanda Borquaye (2016), is the slogan created by ISIS, meaning ‘“lasting and expanding,’” which has produced fearin many different areas around the world (p. 28). As recorded by author, Patrick Cockburn (2015), during summer of 2014, throughout the course of several weeks, ISIS altered politics in the Middle East (p. 1). Jihadi soldiers intertwined religious “fanaticism” and military experience to succeed in war against Iraqi, Syrian, and Kurdish forces (Cockburn, 2015, p. 1). ISIS aimed to destroy the Sunni opposition to the regimes in Iraq and Syria while it extended all throughout those areas (Cockburn, 2015, p. 1). ISIS did not show any concern that the list of their enemies grew greater over time, which included such areas as the United States and Iran (Cockburn, 2015, p. 1). As history has shown, ISIS generating enemies has not been a problem.  As Iraq and Syria began to disperse into their separate communities, the Shia, Sunni, Kurds, Alawites, and Christians were struggling to survive (Cockburn, 2015, p. 1). If someone was not in compliance with the ideology of Islam, they were labeled as “apostates” and “polytheists” and forced to flee or were brutally murdered (Cockburn, 2015, p. 1). The scare tactics and the forms of public violence that ISIS started using to torment their adversaries were the most extreme that had been seen in several decades (Cockburn, 2015, p. 1). The members of ISIS desire to restructure the world by committing violent acts (Cockburn, 2015, p. 5). Parts of this ideology can be attributed to the war in Iraq in 2003 and the war in Syria in 2011 (Cockburn, 2015, p. 5). Because of events like these, ISIS has discovered a new battlefield in which they are able to fight and flourish (Cockburn, 2015, p. 5). They have managed to accomplish this task by recruiting as many jihadists as possible. Who are they recruiting?ISIS prompts their recruits toinstitute and obtain a caliphate, which means ‘“a unified Muslim state runaccording to a strict interpretation of Islamic law’” (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28).As believed by dedicated jihadists, violence is the single method in which toachieve this caliphate (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). Over a significant amount oftime, ISIS has developed the abilities of recruiting Westerners, despiteviewing themselves as common enemies of the West and everything that Westernculture honors and represents (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). According to Lisa Blaker(2015), of the University of Maryland, there has been an estimated 3,000 ormore nationalists from Western countries that have immigrated to the MiddleEast to join ISIS, contributing to the extremist movement (3). Some of these Western nationalists thatISIS is recruiting are American teenagers. According to Husna Haq, a correspondentfor the news organization, The ChristianScience Monitor, there are four reasons why teenagers, especially Americanteens, are being seduced in joining ISIS (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). The first reasonis that organizations like ISIS are able to help young people to develop asense of identity (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). They intentionally target thisdemographic because these teenagers are lost and have no sense of belonging orpurpose (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). Joining groups like these makes them feel likethey finally have a family and a purpose in life (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). Thesecond reason is that ISIS functions as an advanced propaganda machine (Blaker,2015, p. 4). Because we live in the Internet age and it is popular among youngpeople, the Internet is an easy tool to lure members of this age group (Blaker,2015, p. 4). The third reason is that ISIS creates a sense of religiousobligation, which is why it is so attractive to American teenagers (Blaker,2015, p. 4). Lastly, ISIS has made females one of their biggest demographicsthat they recruit (Blaker, 2015, p. 4).  Thedemographic of young Muslim-American females seems to be very popular (Blaker,2015, p. 4). The most common group of Muslim-American females who join arethose who feel isolated from their non-Muslim peers (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). Surprisingly,there appears to be a great desire for the recruitment of females to join ISIS.One of the most popular demographicsthat ISIS recruits are women. In these cases, they have had success by womenrecruiting other women (Blaker, 2015, p. 5). One of the most effectiverecruiters is Umm Ubaydah, who immigrated from Europe to Syria in 2014 (Blaker,2015, p. 5). She has a blog that she uses as a recruitment tool for women(Blaker, 2015, p. 5). Her posts typically incorporate information on what tobring, the appropriate type of clothing, a sufficient amount of money, andincludes information about what everyday life for women is like in Syria(Blaker, 2015, p. 5). Additional information that she posts include support onhow to cope when leaving one’s family (Blaker, 2015, p. 5). A Senior CounterExtremism Researcher for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Erin MarieSaltman, claimed that women are successful as recruiters of other women becausethere is a sense of comfort manifested when communicating with fellow women(Blaker, 2015, p. 5). Conversing with a fellow woman provides a sense of consolationof leaving one’s family (Blaker, 2015, p. 5-6). As reported by CNN, about 1 in6 ISIS recruits are women (Blaker, 2015, p. 6).    According to Alberto Cerzone and AnitaPeresin (2015), professors of counterterrorism at George C. Marshall Center, roughlyten percent of ISIS’s Western recruits are females. As of 2015, it wasestimated that there were over 200 Western females who abandoned their homes tojoin ISIS, the majority of them from France (Cerzone and Peresin, 2015, p.499). The rest of the women were from other European nations, including theUnited Kingdom, Germany, Austria, and Belgium, with the numbers constantlyrising (Cerzone and Peresin, 2015, p. 499). The International Centre for Studyof Radicalization at Kings College London, found the majority of these femalesare between the ages of 16-24, but some are as young as thirteen (Cerzone and Peresin,2015, p. 499). The majority of these females run away to the Middle Eastwithout telling their parents, which raises concerns and questions for securityexperts and the general Western culture (Cerzone and Peresin, 2015, p. 499).They typically come from Muslim families or have converted to Islam, but ineither instance, families are appalled that their daughters are interested injoining this “violent jihad” (Cerzoneand Peresin, 2015, p. 499).    According to Lauren Vogel (2016), of CMAG News, ISIS has also been recruitingdoctors and health workers. The recruitment of these specialists began in 2015when ISIS increased its focus of establishing control over territory toinstitute a caliphate, which they believe will bring all of the Muslims togetherto conquer the world (Vogel, 2016, p. 1). Since the summer of 2015, ISIS hadadvertised the need for doctors through social media, blogs, splashy magazines,and high-budget videos to showcase the state’s emerging health system (Vogel,2016, p. 1). The advertisements show off the substantial amount of servicesthey provide, the latest facilities and equipment, experienced professionals,and two medical schools (Vogel, 2016, p. 1). ISIS is especially eager formedical professionals because a numerous amount of local doctors have left theorganization’s territory (Vogel, 2016, p. 1). There have been reports ofdoctors who were forced to treat patients at gunpoint, some who were targetedfor arrest, and others who were executed for refusing to provide care (Vogel,2016, p. 1). Like others that ISIS recruits, thereare various reasons why they are recruiting medical professionals. LorneDawson, co-director of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Securityand Society, said, “‘It’s a storm of factors, from a quest of significance andidentity, to maybe some experience of discrimination’” (Vogel, 2016, p. 1). Apopular reason why these professionals join is because of social justice(Vogel, 2016, p. 2). A large number of medical professionals are driven byaltruism, and the determination to assist others, and the radical message usesthat (Vogel, 2016, p. 2). Dawson says, “‘People find it amazing that a doctorwould want to be part of this ultraviolent group committing atrocities, but onthe flipside a lot of what ISIS does looks like humanitarian, social welfareand medical work’” (Vogel, 2016, p. 2). Another possible factor that drawsdoctors is discrimination (Vogel, 2016, p. 2). An American survey was done thatshowed that 24% of Muslim doctors often were victims of religious discriminationin their careers and 14% currently were experiencing it in the workplace(Vogel, 2016, p. 2). No matter for what reasons medical professionals areattracted to ISIS, they still go through the same radicalization process as anyother recruit (Vogel, 2016, p. 2).       Methods of recruitmentISIS’s skills of maneuvering media is asignificant factor in the way that they recruit (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). ISIShas used the Internet and online social media as a tool of circulating theirmessage (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). They use these forms of media in hopes ofrecruiting individuals, especially young people, to join them in the MiddleEast and fight alongside them with other jihadists, or simply to support theorganization (Blaker, 2015, p. 1). These supporting roles typically fall to theyoung women who join (Blaker, 2015, p. 1). ISIS has designated “sympathizers” tocarry out acts of violence wherever they may be when they are not able totravel to the Middle East (Blaker, 2015, p. 1). Social media networks, such asFacebook, Twitter, and YouTube do not have complete sanctions that restrictISIS propaganda from spreading across the world in real time (Blaker, 2015, p.1). UK surveillance chief, Robert Hannigan, said, “ISIS and other extremistgroups use platforms like Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp to reach their targetaudience in a language it understands. Their methods include exploiting popularhashtags to disseminate their message” (Blaker, 2015, p. 4). In 2015, John Greenberg, of the Tampa Bay Times, conducted researchwhich found that each day, there are up to 200,000 pro-ISIS tweets per day(Blaker, 2015, p. 1). This study also counted re-tweets and some that weregenerated through computer programs (Blaker, 2015, p. 1). Some of these tweetseven included death threats to Twitter’s CEO and other Twitter employees(Blaker, 2015, p. 2). According to extremism analyst, J.M. Berger (2015), therewere 46,000 Twitter accounts that were owned by supporters of ISIS as of theyear 2014. Since then, Twitter has suspended a great number of accounts by ISISsupporters, but the supporters simply create other accounts after suspension(Berger, 2015). As of today, there is estimated to be around 40,000 accountsowned by ISIS supporters, with about 2,000 who primarily tweet in English(Berger, 2015).    One form of social media advertisingthat ISIS uses that is extremely effective is videos. According to a reporterfor TheBlaze, Sara Gonzales (2017),ISIS posted a video this past April that featured a boy who seemed to be aroundthe age of six or seven years old, taking part in a double-beheading. The groupincreasingly uploads videos that are sophisticated, good quality, and withpictures that contain impressive visual effects (Blaker, 2015, p. 1). They postvarious videos, each one different from another (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). Thegoal is to make a different video that will appeal to each of the demographics thatthey are trying to reach (Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). Their most significantspeeches were uploaded to the Internet in seven languages and the videos theypost present similar violent characteristics to those used in Hollywood films(Borquaye, 2016, p. 28). Many of the videos that they publish have music withlyrics that have been translated to English and various other Europeanlanguages (Blaker, 2015, p. 3). The newest videos that they have publishedfeature English-speaking jihadists (Blaker, 2015, p. 3). Sean Heuston, whoteaches English and film studies at The Citadel, has done extensive research onextremist video propaganda (Blaker, 2015, p. 3). He said, ‘“It’sactually surprising how contemporary and hip-looking some of these things are,especially considering the fact that the messages that they are promoting areessentially medieval’” (Blaker, 2015, p. 3).  Thissort of recruiting technique has enabled the organization to disperse powerfuland emotional images (Farwell, 2014, p. 50). This narrative emphasizes that thestrength and dominance of ISIS is increasing, asserting that full control isinevitable (Farwell, 2014, p. 50). Many of these images are intended to portraythe organization’s members as fearsome warriors by showing gruesome beheadingsand executions that are meant to torment their adversaries (Farwell, 2014, p.50). However, ISIS also post images that display foot soldiers eating candybars and holding cats, communicating that although ISIS is strictly Islamic,they also advocate for the welfare of people, and not just killing them(Farwell, 2014, p. 50). As written by Imran Awan (2017), ISIS also portrays thefighters in their videos with a “‘moral conscious’” by showing them helping andprotecting civilians (p. 139). A number of their videos feature membersvisiting fighters in infirmaries and handing out candy to children (Awan, 2017,p. 139). This shows the attempt to showcase the supposed compassionate feature ofISIS.   Additionally,ISIS has developed their own app, which a person could download for free inorder to stay updated with current information on the group (Awan, 2017, p. 139).The app was titled “‘The Dawn of Glad Tidings’” (Awan, 2017, p. 139). However,the app was detected and suspended after it (Awan, 2017, p. 139). Once the appwas downloaded, users were able to view tweets, links, hashtags, pictures,videos and comments on their own accounts (Awan, 2017, p. 139). The majority ofthe information on the app was controlled by ISIS’s “social media arm” (Awan,2017, p. 139).   Dr.Anne Speckhard, Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University, and researcher,Lorand Bodo (2017), conducted a short study, measuring the dissemination ofISIS propaganda on the Internet. The study mainly included observing searchengines, such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). They basedtheir study on prior research that was gathered from Facebook (Speckhard andBodo, 2017). They used hashtags, keywords and phrases in English and Arabicthat were familiar to ISIS members, endorsers, and distributors on socialnetworks (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). As they expected, they found a good numberof social network accounts, Internet sites, and forums that were promoting ISISpropaganda (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Interestingly enough, they found thateach one of those sources were connected to the same source, which they calledthe “Daily Harvester” (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Inthis particular situation, the Daily Harvester is referred to as “Abu AbdellahAl-Ifriqi” (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). It is presumed that Abu Abdella is anofficial representative of ISIS (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Speckhard and Bodoobserved Abu Abdellah over the course of a month, while determining thekeywords and phrases that he was using to spread his message (2017). They foundfour specific stages that surfaced in monitoring his activity (Speckhard andBodo, 2017). First, Abdellah observed official ISIS media channels, like AmaqNews Agency and Al-Hayat Media (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Second, he gatheredaudio, files, news reports, pictures, and videos, in which he uploaded into onedocument (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Third, Abdellah posted documents only totwo websites, which were justpaste.it and addpost.it (Speckhard and Bodo,2017). These “‘paste-websites’” permit any person to post a link that may beshared (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Lastly, he posted the generated link onsocial networking sites, forums, and various different websites to reach asmany individuals as he can, with a wide “compendium” of the latest ISISpropaganda (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017).However, Abu Abdellah is not the sole Daily Harvester (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). There are many Daily Harvesters, each one as dangerous as the other (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). They are extremely dangerous because they are able to disseminate large quantities of ISIS propaganda, with just a click of a link, which makes it available to anybody (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Essentially, anybody who is capable of maneuvering Google can attain this information and simply input it into Google Translator to see and read in their own language (Speckhard and Bodo, 2017). Due to the ease of access of this information, it would be hard to stop or even attempt to counteract these methods that ISIS uses to recruit its members.   ConclusionThegoal of ISIS from the beginning was to develop a caliphate, in which they wouldunite all Muslims to achieve global dominance (Vogel, 2016, p. 1). Thus far,they have taken steps to accomplish that by performing significant acts ofviolence and making themselves known on the Internet, mainly through socialnetworking sites (Farwell, 2014, p. 49). Popular ways of doing this arecreating high-quality videos, and tweeting thousands of times a day fromthousands of pro-ISIS Twitter accounts (Berger, 2015). Because of theircleverness and the forms ISIS uses to promote their propaganda, it is not anoutrageous thought that total domination could be inevitable (Farwell, 2014, p.50).ReferencesAwan, I. (2017). Cyber-Extremism: Isisand the Power of Social Media. Society, 54(2), 138-148.https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs12115-017-0114-0.pdf. Berger, J. (2015, October 23). TailoredOnline Interventions: The Islamic State’s RecruitmentStrategy.https://ctc.usma.edu/posts/tailored-online-interventions-the-islamic-states-recruitment-strategyBlaker, L. (2015). The Islamic State’s Use of Online Social Media. The Journal of the Military Cyber Professionals Association, 1(1), 1-9. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=mca Borquaye, A. (2016). Countering the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria: Why the West Has it Wrong. JUIS. 2027-34. Cervone,A., & Peresin, A. (2015). The Western Muhajirat of ISIS. 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Canadian Medical Association. http://www.cmaj.ca/content/early/2016/01/11/cmaj.109-5217.full.pdfGet Help With Your EssayIf you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!Find out more