[DW] A rude Caribbean awakening: The jihadist group "Islamic State" is recruiting in the island state of Trinidad and Tobago, just a short flight from the United States. Why are they targeting the Caribbean?
"Our situation socially and economically is a driving factor," says Umar Abdullah, the leader of The Islamic Front in Trinidad. He told DW that people weren't just going to war for religious reasons: Part of their motivation was that they couldn't find jobs. Also, according to Abdullah, "The government has shamed Moslem men and women and locked them up, and accused them of crimes, and accused them of wanting to commit terrorist acts."
Around 1.3 million people live on Trinidad and Tobago. Six percent of the population identifies as Moslem. According to information from the local Ministry for National Security, in the past four years 130 fighters and numerous family members have traveled to Syria. By way of comparison, in the United States, with 320 million inhabitants, that figure was 250. |