What I feel is being left out is why these Muslim fanatics do what they do in the first place. Let's say you have an 18-year-old kid sitting in a small village in Oman. He is Muslim and never been to school. All he sees on T.V. and hears on the radio are reports of white Christian American military members invading other Muslim countries and dropping bombs from UAV's on Muslims in other countries. This kid has no money, no education and has been preached to since he was a young kid about the evil Americans. And you wonder, if offered a decent amount of money, why he would become a fanatic in the name of Islam? Guys, you have to put yourself in this position for just a moment. I'm not justifying anything. Just trying to explain it's not as simple as you all make it out to be.
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mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} </style> <![endif]--> Most studies on the topic overwhelmingly disagree with this line of thinking and have found there is no link between poverty and becoming an engaged, active Muslim terrorist. In fact, most that fall into the lifestyle are well educated, employed, have families, fit into a “normal” social structure, would be considered middle or upper class.
To my surprise, there typically is not a strong religious background either and the vast majority is led to this way of life for more political or personal reasons. Most would be considered religious novices. Most join this movement while they are living in a country that they were not born in, either away for employment or educational purposes. These organizations actually target the wealthy and educated compared to the uneducated and poor.
Poverty plays a huge role for these groups, but it used more for acceptance than recruitment. It’s a means to justify and/or legitimize their actions and have the masses support, without active involvement, or simply overlook.
There are countless studies out there you could check out, if interested, but you just have to watch out for the ones conducted by extremists. I believe the Rand Corporation, British Intelligence Agency MI5, CIA, Colombia University, Social Science Network are some of the more reputable one off the top of my head.