Psychological Normality or Abnormality: A Case Study on Salafi-Jihadists in the Middle-East

The present study investigated Salafi-Jihadists in terms of mental health. The participants included 12 Salafi-Jihadists living in border areas of Iran, Kurdistan, selected using a purposeful sampling method. This primarily phenomenological case study gathered data, using open-ended interviews, field observations and in-depth clinical interviews. Results indicated that the participants reported no long-standing or acute mental or personality disorder. While they demonstrated abnormalities in their thought process and cognition, they were not severe enough to constitute symptoms of a mental disorder. The results indicate that situational and group factors, in conjunction with identifiable cognitive distortions, may play a more decisive role in fundamentalist radicalization than personality characteristics and mental disorders. Due to discrimination, feelings of oppression, cognitive distortions, and wrong attitudes toward other religious schools, some Muslims have decided to join Salafi-Jihad groups in order to feel a sense of belonging and identity.