In The Nation, Lydia Wilson recounts her experience interviewing imprisoned ISIS fighters. She writes:

“Many assume that these fighters are motivated by a belief in the Islamic State… that fighters all over the world are flocking to the area for a chance to fight for this dream. But this just doesn’t hold for the prisoners we are interviewing. They are woefully ignorant about Islam and have difficulty answering questions about Sharia law, militant jihad, and the caliphate.”