Neither crazy nor ignorant, the « soldiers of God » are even more dangerous…

This work presents the cognitive frameworks (ideologies, doctrines, visions of the world, values) developed by thirteen Islamic jihadists who carry out attacks in France in the name of Al Qaeda or the Islamic State. While much has been said about the paths taken by these islamic militants and their networks, we know very little about what motivates them and the hatred that dwells inside them. We don’t now about their ties, if any, to France, to democracy, to politics, to the world that surrounds them. And we certainly know little about their relationship to violence which they defend and justify or to the religion they claim to worship.

That is the subject of this book, in their own words. Excerpts of interviews with these jihadists are presented into chapters that are organized by subject matter.

Xavier Crettiez is a political science profressor and adjoint director Sciences Po Saint Germain en Laye and a researcher at Cesdip (CNRS).

Bilel Ainine is a doctor of political science and researcher at Cesdip (CNRS).