Lowy Institute's data-driven analysis of Australian Jihadi terrorists, not contrite, no mental health issues & overwhelmingly Lebanese background
Friday, 22 November 2019
Typology of Terror
This project documents the characteristics of Australians’ contribution to global jihad in the Islamic State era. The dataset represents the largest open-source examination of Australian terrorist offenders to date. It collates data on Australian citizens and residents charged with terrorism offences or known to have joined radical Islamist terrorist organisations since the start of the Syrian civil war. Data has been gathered from a range of sources including court documents from terrorism trials; media reports; social media profiles; business and charity registration data; and associated interviews with journalists, government and law enforcement officials. To protect extended families no names are used. This interactive database is a live document and will be updated as new information becomes available.
This is the profile of the typical Australian Jihadi terrorist:
- Male
- Mid 20s
- Lives in Sydney
- Is or has been married
- Born in Australia to overseas-born parents who are still married (with one or both from Lebanon)
- No prior criminal record
- Completed high school at a government school
- Employed in a blue-collar job
- No mental health issues
- Not contrite and judged to have relatively poor prospects of rehabilitation
You can find the excellent Lowy Institute data-driven analysis here.