An Army officer once approached the family of a young man who had joined a terrorist organisation. The appeal was simple: speak to him, persuade him to give up the gun and come home.

The response from the family was startling.

They said that if he surrendered, they would kill him themselves.

Beyond the shock of those words lies a difficult question: how deeply can terrorism and extremist propaganda influence not only an individual, but also the people around him?

Representative image; characters and events depicted are fictional and for illustrative purposes only.


A young man does not become a terrorist the moment he picks up a gun. The transformation often begins much earlier.

It may start with a conversation, a new circle of influence or repeated exposure to extremist propaganda. Stories are told and retold until they begin to acquire the weight of truth. Violence is given a cause, terrorists are glorified, and rejecting the path of militancy can be portrayed as weakness or betrayal.

Slowly, the way a young person sees the world can change.

The organization's narrative begins replacing his own judgement. Its grievances become his grievances, its enemies become his enemies and its symbols become part of his identity. Acts of violence that might once have horrified him can gradually be presented as necessary, even honorable.

That is the unsettling power of radicalization.

And its influence does not necessarily stop with the individual carrying the gun.

Families, too, can be affected by the narratives around them. Repeated exposure to extremist ideas, the glorification of terrorists and the romanticizing of violence can gradually shape attitudes inside a home. A son involved in terrorism may come to be viewed through the language of sacrifice and cause, while the consequences of the violence itself recede from view.

Not every family responds in the same way, and influence should never be confused with collective responsibility. But extremist ideas can travel through families and communities just as they travel through individuals.

That is what makes radicalization so difficult to confront.

Terrorism is not sustained by weapons alone. It also depends on narratives that give violence legitimacy, turn terrorists into symbols and make another young person believe that following the same path has meaning.

The terrorist with the weapon is the visible end of that process.

The influences that brought him there are much harder to see.

And that is why the fight against terrorism extends beyond the battlefield. It is also a fight against the ideas that can make violence appear heroic, surrender appear shameful and a terrorist organisation appear more important than one's own family and future.

The gun is visible.

The radicalization behind it is not.

Author's Note: This article was submitted to The Honour Post by an individual who has requested anonymity and does not wish to be identified.