"What Made Me Change": Transformative Experiences in the Jihadist Radicalization Process

Disentangling the roots of radicalization leading to violence is a worldwide challenge. Unfortunately, empirical data are scarce. Through fieldwork conducting face-to-face interviews to Muslim inmates in Spanish prisons, this research examines transformative experiences that may have influenced radicalization leading to violence. Incarcerated convicts because of jihadist terrorism (n = 30), common criminals who carry out proselytizing work (n = 22), and non-radicals (control group, n = 64) were asked about the turning point in their lives. Their responses were coded into exclusive thematic categories following an inductive-deductive mixed approach.