Trinidad for Caliphate! (part 2)

We have already addressed extensively the issue of the Islamic radicalization of Trinidad and Tobago, in the by now classic article: “Trinidad for Caliphate!

We now want to return briefly to the issue, because we can not forget about this plague.

The Caribbean state of Trinidad and Tobago is traditionally most famous for its spectacular annual carnival, its cricketing prowess and of being the birthplace of calypso music.

But more recently it’s been getting a more disturbing reputation – as the nation with the highest recruitment rates of ISIS fighters in the Western Hemisphere.

So why have so many young Trinidadians been driven to travel thousands of kilometres to participate in the conflicts in Iraq and Syria against the civilized World?

According to Imam Yasin Abu Bakr, the leader of the Jamaat al-Muslimeen group, one of the main reasons why young black men are joining ISIS is their marginalisation. And you know, there’s no better way to get attention than to cut some throats and load the videos on YouTube. “The Africans are going to a pool of unemployment. They just sit in the ghetto and do nothing the whole day. And then drugs come in and it’s a haven for the drugs. And now the guns are in and so the murder rate is just spiralling out of control,” says Abu Bakr. Inactivity, drugs, weapons … From there the step is short to take the next step, a flight to Raqqa or Mosul.

Al-Jazeera “People & Power” sent correspondent Juliana Ruhfus and director Dom Rotheroe to investigate how the Caribbean island nation has become a recruitment hub for ISIS. Above the 25 minutes long video on the topic.