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

TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 1 This is an Accepted Manuscript version of the following article, accepted for publication in Terrorism & Political Violence [Blanco, L., Lobato, R. M., Alba, B., Vázquez, A., GonzálezÁlvarez, J. L., Chiclana, S., … Gómez, A. (2024). “What Made Me Change”: Transformative Experiences in the Jihadist Radicalization Process. Terrorism and Political Violence, 1– 19. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2024.2437048]. It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 2 “What Made Me Change”: Transformative Experiences in the Jihadist Radicalization Process Blanco, L.1, Lobato, R. M.2, Alba, B.1, Vázquez, A.1,3, González-Álvarez, J. L.4,5, Chiclana, S.1,6, Chinchilla, J.1 and Gómez, A.1,3 1 Departamento de Psicología Social y de las Organizaciones, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain 2 Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Burgos, Burgos, Spain 3 ARTIS International, St. Michaels, Maryland, United States 4 Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Forenses y de la Seguridad, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain 5 Servicio de Psicología de la Guardia Civil, Ministerio del Interior, Spain 6 Secretaría General de Instituciones Penitenciarias, Ministerio del Interior, Madrid, Spain Corresponding Author: Ángel Gómez, Departamento de Psicología Social y de las Organizaciones, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Calle Juan del Rosal, 10. 28040 Madrid (Spain). Email: [email protected] Data availability statement: The participants of this study did not give written consent for their data to be shared publicly, so due to the sensitive nature of the research supporting data is not available. Disclosure statement: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors. Funding: This work was funded by the I+D+i projects "What I learned being in prison. Deepen into the nature of identity fusion, physical and spiritual formidability, and its underlying associated mechanisms" (PID2021-124617OB-I00), and "The motivational foundations and the challenges of social change: Gender, cultural and class perspectives for social transformation" (PID2021-126085OB-I00), both funded by the Ministry of Science, TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 3 Innovation, and Universities of Spain, the State Research Agency (AEI: 10.13039/501100011033), and FEDER “A way to make Europe”. This work was also funded by the ERC Advanced Grant 101018172 to Ángel Gómez. Biographical notes: Laura Blanco is a Social Psychology PhD student at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain. Her research delves into the psychosocial mechanisms driving extreme self-sacrifice and radicalization from a mixed-methodology approach, focusing on identity fusion and the perception of victimhood. Email: [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8314-6827 Roberto M. Lobato is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of Burgos, Spain. His line of research focuses on social identity, radicalization processes, political violence, and terrorism. Email: [email protected] https://orcid.org/00000003-4152-7020 Beatriz Alba is a Social Psychology PhD student at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain. Her line of research focuses on the psychological processes underlying violent radicalization, extreme behavior and intergroup conflicts, from a political and social identity approach. Email: [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-00034397-2777 Alexandra Vázquez is an Associate Professor at the Department of Social and Organizational Psychology at UNED (Spain) and research fellow at ARTIS International. Her research interests are focused on intergroup and intragroup relations, collective action, and social change towards equality. Email: [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-00026040-9102 José Luis González-Álvarez holds a PhD in Psychology and a MSc in Forensic Science and Clinical Psychology. He is a Colonel Psychologist of the Spanish Guardia Civil, TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 4 with 20 years of service in the Criminal Police. Since 2015 to 2022, he has been the Head of the Research and Training Area of the Secretary of State for Security in the Spanish Ministry for Home Affairs. His areas of interest are focused on the use of psychology in operational criminal investigation: interview and interrogation, profiles, lie detection and psychological autopsy. Email: [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9407-4929 Sandra Chiclana, PhD in Psychology, is Head of Services in the General Secretary of Penitentiary Institutions, Ministry of the Interior (Madrid, Spain) and Adjunct Professor at the Department of Social and Organizational Psychology at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain. Her research currently focuses on radicalization, hate crimes, gender violence and female inmates. Email: [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0929-2954 Juana Chinchilla is postdoctoral researcher at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain. Her research interests focus on social identity, morality, radicalization, and collective action. Email: [email protected] https://orcid.org/00000003-1606-5151 Ángel Gómez is Full Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Spain. He is the original co-author of relevant theories on violent radicalization and extreme behavior, such as identity fusion, spiritual formidability, and the devoted actor model. Email: [email protected] http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4287-4916 TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 5 Abstract 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. Jihadists and proselytizers identified experiences linking their personal identity to religion -ideological tiesas a transformative point that provided them purpose and sparked the desire for leaving their criminal lifestyle behind. Also, proselytizers referred to family-related experiences -familial tiesas a turning point which also prompted them to criminal desistance, whereas this was not mentioned by jihadists. All groups had in common the experience of incarceration as a major turning point and a moderate level of religiosity. Overall, these findings contribute to the understanding and prevention of jihadist radicalization. Keywords: jihadism; prison; radicalization; turning point; narrative analysis TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 6 “What Made Me Change”: Transformative Experiences in the Jihadist Radicalization Process Jihadist terrorism, a persistent global concern, holds a central position in worldwide and European policies (European Commission, 2020). Yet, the factors driving individuals towards extremist political and religious beliefs, and eventually to violence, remain unclear. Recent studies highlight the importance of delving into the life stories and turning points (transformative experiences that involve a significant change in life) of radical individuals, as these provide valuable insights into the radicalization process (e.g., Pemberton & Aarten, 2018) and can help prevent further jihadist radicalization. However, to the best of our knowledge, few studies analyze these key transformative life events, and none of them compare the autobiographical narratives of jihadists with those of proselytizers and common criminals. Our goal is to examine the nature of turning points in the lives of radical individuals in Spanish prisons and to explore potential differences in these transformative experiences based on the level of radicalization and the criminal profile of radical individuals. We conducted interviews with (1) inmates convicted of jihadist terrorism crimes; (2) inmates engaged in proselytizing activities within prison; and (3) non-radical Muslim inmates as a control group. Biographical Perspective of the Process of Radicalization Radicalization is a deepening commitment to extremist political or religious ideologies involving psychosocial factors that often include the desire to change society and the support of violence as the mean for change (Horgan, 2009). This process is complex, nonlinear, and dynamic, as there are many push and pull factors that interact and influence individuals on their path towards extremism (Horgan, 2008). Current research indicates that isolated and stable macro variables, such as objective economic or political marginalization, TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 7 are not effective predictors of why people join religious terrorist movements (Rink & Sharma, 2016). Instead, this process should be examined at a psychosocial level, accounting for potential changes in the lives of individuals who align with extremist causes (Sieckelinck et al., 2019). Criminological research has explored individual pathways to crime and radicalization through the life-course theory (Carlsson et al., 2020; Sampson & Laub, 2005). This theory seeks to understand criminal behavior by examining an individual’s development throughout their life, recognizing its dynamic nature influenced by various social, psychological, and environmental factors (Elder, 1998). Essentially, the life-course theory provides a framework to analyze how life events, experiences, and individual development shape beliefs and behavior over time (Laub & Sampson, 1993). It is grounded on the perspective that crime offending and desistance patterns are part of the same continuum, influenced by agency, age, social ties, and the experience of key life events as turning points (Sampson & Laub, 2005). This approach has been used to explore significant biographical and developmental events in the life of Islamist convicts (e.g., Moeller & Scheithauer, 2022). There is a growing interest in autobiographical narrative analysis within the lifecourse theory framework in criminology (Helfgott et al., 2020; Hockey, 2016). The study of narratives addresses the participants’ perspective and how they generate meaning, purpose and continuity from personal events that are part of their identity (McAdams, 2018). McAdams (2008, p. 242) defines narrative identity as “an individual’s internalized, evolving, and integrative story of the self”. To study changes in the life-course through narrative, McAdams (1985) developed a life story interview in which individuals are prompted to discuss critical scenes in their lives. These narratives, especially when detailing a pivotal turning point, offer greater complexity, meaning-making, and self-related insights than general autobiographical narratives (Grysman & Hudson, 2010). Turning points are accounts TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 8 of transformative, self-shaping experiences where individuals perceive a significant change in their life course (McAdams, 1985). Understanding the life stories of radical individuals, and particularly the role of turning points (Laub & Sampson, 1993), could contribute to disentangle the psychosocial mechanisms influencing their trajectories to radicalization (Copeland, 2019; Pemberton & Aarten, 2018). However, while turning points have received significant attention from criminology (e.g., Carlsson, 2012; Melde & Esbensen, 2011) and developmental psychology (e.g., McCabe & Dinh, 2018; McLean & Pratt, 2006), there are few psychosocial studies that explicitly analyze the turning points in radical individuals (e.g., Carlsson et al., 2020). The 3N Model: Need, Narrative and Network in the Turning Points The present research is grounded in a combination of the life-course perspective and the 3N model of radicalization, which comprises three elements: Need, Narrative, and Network. This model highlights the importance of the search for personal significance, that is, the desire to earn respect, gain positive recognition, and be someone (Webber & Kruglanski, 2016). According to this model, the search for personal significance is the fundamental need that triggers the process of radicalization (Kruglanski et al., 2014). When individuals face this loss, they are motivated to restore their significance, and they do so through a violence-justifying ideology or narrative (Webber et al., 2018). Then, the network – contact with others who endorse this ideology– validates and provides perceived support for the individual’s violent ideology (Bélanger et al., 2019). Given that literature has consistently shown that the quest for significance plays a crucial role in radicalization processes (Kruglanski et al., 2018; Lobato et al., 2023; Webber et al., 2018), jihadists may experience events related to the loss or recovery of meaning as significant turning points. Need TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 9 The loss of significance can be experienced due to many factors, such as social alienation, anomie, and perceived discrimination (Bélanger et al., 2019; Lobato et al., 2020; Troian et al., 2019). Several studies have also linked socioeconomic hardships, marginalization, and lower educational levels to the loss of significance and extremist attitudes and behaviors (Emmelkamp et al., 2020; Kanol, 2022; Lobato et al., 2023; Nawaz, 2024; Pedersen et al., 2018; Süß & Aakhunzzada, 2019). In terms of jihadist radicalization, Muslim immigrant populations are especially at risk of suffering socioeconomic difficulties, which might accelerate their loss of significance and willingness to endorse radical ideologies (Lyons-Padilla et al., 2015). Weggemans et al. (2014) found these topics in the life stories of jihadist foreign fighters, who expressed frustration about their social position and a lack of meaning in their lives. For them, engagement in the Syrian conflict appeared to provide a sense of purpose and belonging. Other studies have also connected socioeconomic grievances to jihadist radicalization and the decision to travel to conflict zones (Bakker & Grol, 2015; Coolsaet, 2016). Last, the loss of significance can also be triggered by a personal crisis due to a prolonged delinquent lifestyle (e.g., drug use, incarcerations, etc.; Klausen et al., 2020; Speckhard & Shajkovci, 2018). Some studies have found a connection between a criminal past and joining a terrorist group as a redemption (Basra & Neumann, 2016). These authors observed that many European foreign fighters had experienced a shocking event or crisis that led them to reevaluate their lives and be open to radical views. Basically, jihadist ideology provided redemption from criminality while fulfilling their personal needs. Narrative According to the 3N model, individuals adhere to a violence-justifying narrative to restore their significance. In the case of religious terrorism, the radical interpretation of religion is the legitimizing ideology (Lobato et al., 2020). In jihadist groups, an “ideologization” of religion often occurs, centered around the vision of an ideal Islamic state TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 16 the present, describing their “life chapters” and a “key scene” that represented a transformative experience that changed their life (turning point), based on the life story interview from McAdams (1985). The total duration of the interviews ranged from 30 to 60 minutes. In the second stage, data were collected through a survey using the offline version of the ARTIS Magi-Wise survey platform (see Gómez et al., 2021, 2022; Gómez, Vázquez, & Atran, 2023). From all the measures included in the questionnaire, only self-reported religiosity was considered for this study as a control variable. Additionally, penitentiary and sociodemographic information was gathered from the inmates’ penitentiary files. Data analyses Content Analysis The main goal of this analysis was to develop a system of categories that could capture the meaning of the transformative experience -turning pointmentioned by participants. Therefore, the descriptions of the turning point were transcribed and analyzed. Following Knott et al. (2022; see also Gómez et al., 2022), we used a mixed approach that combined inductive and deductive logic as an iterative process in the different phases of the analyses. First, from an exploratory perspective, we conducted an initial content analysis following an inductive approach. Then, we related emerging themes from the narrative to previous theories through a deductive approach and refined them to the final themes. Once the final categorical system was created, the coding process followed several cycles. In the first cycle, two judges read the transcriptions and divided all quotes that contained more than one predominant idea (unit of analysis). Some participants mentioned more than one turning point, assigning in these cases more than one code, one for each unit of analysis. Therefore, while the codes were not exclusive in terms of limiting each participant to a single turning point, they were exclusive in the sense that each unit of analysis from the turning points was categorized under a single code. In the second cycle, two independent judges read all the TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 17 quotes and coded each of them in a single category. The initial inter-rater Cohen’s kappa coefficient was .92. Disagreements between judges were debated with a third judge, modifying the coding when deemed necessary. The final inter-rater Cohen’s kappa coefficient was .95. Non-solved disagreements between judges were coded as “others” for analysis. The final codebook included six categories. Each category is described below, along with some examples. For each example, we label the groups as J (Jihadist), P (Proselytizer), and C (Control). Criminal Activity. Participants talked about how they had experienced the entry and/or stay in prison (“When I got into prison, now I’m better than before,” C99); events related to substance abuse, whether it was about the abuse itself or starting/quitting the abuse (“When I realized I couldn’t keep on living hooked on drugs,” J57); or crime-related experiences, such as committing a crime or being arrested (“When I was being arrested and a gun was pointed at me,” J48). Relational Ties. Participants talked about shared experiences with friends, other Muslims, or jihadists (“In high school, during puberty. Because of my friends. A lot of friends fell into drugs… I didn’t,” J5). Ideological Ties. Participants referred to experiences related to religion or jihad, especially how it became an important topic in their lives with positive consequences (“Reading books. Books of the Prophet, about the Prophet’s life, how he behaved, how he was. And the Quran. The interpretation. Reading those books changed me inside,” J13). Familial Ties. Participants talked about family or partner-related experiences, such as getting married or divorced (“Five years ago, I got married. This woman I have, may God bless her,” C92), becoming a father (“When my children were born. The sense of responsibility appeared. They made me happy,” C32), or losing a close relative (“The death TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 18 of my parents. In that moment was when I felt the change. The way of thinking, of interacting with people. Everything,” P20). Socioeconomic Status Change. Participants referred to immigration experiences, such as the trip from their country of origin to Spain, the contrast between their life in their home countries and their life in Spain, or their struggles adapt to the new culture (“When I came to Spain, because my standard of living improved,” C42); changes in their socioeconomic situation, positive or negative (“When I started earning money with my job and I realized I was at last a responsible adult,” J60); or educational milestones, like obtaining a diploma or attending to school or university (“When I got into prison and started studying and learning Spanish,” C95). Others. This category was created to include answers that did not fit in any of the previous categories. ATLAS.ti software (version 23.2.1) was used to support the coding process. Statistical Analyses First, we compared the three groups in the relevant penitentiary and sociodemographic variables. One-way ANOVA tests were used for continuous variables and chi-square tests for categorical information. Second, we used a chi-square test of homogeneity to examine the proportion of presence and absence of each category at the turning point between groups (presence = 1, absence = 0). Then, we performed post-hoc pairwise comparisons using chi-square tests. Third, we performed a Cochran’s Q test to examine intra-group differences between categories, followed by post-hoc pairwise comparisons through McNemar tests. In all analyses of categorical data, we provide the results of Fisher’s exact test when the expected frequencies were less than five or more than 20% of the cases (Kim, 2017). Since we regarded participants as cases, it was possible for a TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 19 participant to be present in more than one category. All pairwise comparisons were conducted using Bonferroni correction. The statistical package SPSS v. 27 was used for all analyses. Results Content Analysis The content analysis resulted in the six categories previously described. The percentage of appearance of each category is as follows: 60.3% of participants mentioned criminal activity, 1.7% mentioned relational ties, 6.0% mentioned ideological ties, 18.1% mentioned familial ties, 12.9% mentioned socioeconomic status change, and 9.5% mentioned others. Turning Point Intergroup Analyses Considering the coding of the turning points, we conducted chi-square tests of homogeneity to test whether any of the categories were mentioned more often by any group. Significant differences were found in ideological and familial ties (see Table 2). No significant differences were found in relational ties, socioeconomic status change and criminal activity categories. The “others” category was also equally present across the three groups. Given that and considering that the “others” category included a wide array of unrelated factors, we decided to exclude it from the remaining analyses. [Insert Table 2] Pairwise comparisons were conducted between groups to further explore the differences (see Figure 1). Jihadist participants mentioned ideological ties as a turning point, while control participants never did, χ2(1) = 5.94, p = .015, V = .31. Specifically, they considered religion as a source of great change in their lives, regarded it as something that allowed them to gain significance, and highlighted the relevance of experiences of religious reinterpretation or “rediscovery”. This “rediscovery” usually came along with positive consequences for their futures, helping them leave behind a harmful lifestyle. TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 20 [Insert Figure 1] For instance, Participant J11 said his turning point was: “When I became a Muslim. I was in Ceuta, awakened by the Imam’s call from a mosque. From that moment on, I promised myself I would not drink alcohol anymore.” Participant J13 also talked about a positive change in his life thanks to Islam, but this time in prison: This time I have spent in prison, I have changed, I am not the same I used to be. (…) I have been listening to inmates who have spent more time than I have in prison, how they spent their lives in prison. And they are here because of it, jihadism. (…) I have also read the books… (…) Books of the Prophet, of the Prophet’s life, how he behaved, how he was. And the books… The Quran. The Quran… the interpretation. Reading those books changed me inside. (J13) Nevertheless, two jihadist participants also described their process of adhering to an extremist ideology without linking it to delinquency. For instance, one of them expressed how his conversion to Islam led to a significant change in his search for meaning in life: There was a change for me when forming myself as a person. The spiritual part had an influence. Because I became a Muslim here in Spain. (…) One way or another, an individual always searches for what they are in this life. There is always a search, one way or another. (…) In my family they were orthodox, so this topic was a little bit of a taboo. (…) I was discovering the topic of Islam step by step. (J129) Both jihadist and proselytizer participants mentioned ideological ties as a turning point with the same frequency (p = .999). Furthermore, proselytizers mentioned ideological ties more often than control participants, χ2(1) = 5.45, p = .020, V = .32. Proselytizers also viewed religion as a positive change in their lives and as an aid to leave their harmful past behind. Mostly, this inclination toward religion and transformation was based on a desire for TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 21 redemption, and unlike jihadist participants, they did not separate their ideologization of religion from delinquency. For instance, one participant narrated how he was able to discern right from wrong when he started reading the Quran in prison and fearing potential punishments: Thanks to God, I have changed… (…) Before, I used to get into fights a lot. Now, I don’t have any disciplinary punishments or anything because I know how it is. What made me change was this: reading the Quran a lot. Because… threats with the punishment of fire… that really scares me, the fire. And that made me change a lot. It [the Quran] talks a lot about fire, about very harsh punishments, and that made me change a lot. Not robbing people, not hurting people, not speaking badly to people, not looking at people… If you can help people, then help them. Everything that is good, do it; what is bad, don’t do it. That’s what made me change. Because before, I couldn’t distinguish between both things. Before, I could only go forward. I could only go to the evil. (P21) Regarding familial ties, proselytizer participants talked about events related to family or intimate partners as significant turning points more often than control participants did, χ2(1) = 5.16, p = .023, V = .24. However, when compared to proselytizers, jihadist participants barely referred to this kind of ties (χ2(1) = 9.24, p = .002, V = .47), although there were no significant differences between them and control participants, p = .122. Proselytizer participants regarded the death of a close relative as a moment of change (e.g., “The death of my parents. In that moment was when I felt the change. The way of thinking, of interacting with people. Everything.” P20), when they saw the suffering of relatives or intimate partners due to their imprisonment (e.g., “What I went through with my wife is also my turning point in life. My wife […] came the first time [to prison], she trusted me, she was crying and all.” P17), and when their children were born. They tended to regard these events as something TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 22 that made them realize the responsibility they bear within their families, thus making them want to leave behind harmful habits and avoid more suffering for their families. For instance, one participant narrated how his mother reproached him of his bad behavior, which led him to change: My mom told me: “What’s going on with you now? Are you going to continue committing crimes, robbing, entering prison, and then stay there for who knows how many years? What, aren’t you going to start a family, aren’t you going to have an honest job, aren’t you going to have children? If you keep going on like this, you will end up killing me, always going in and out [prison].” So, I stopped there… Four or five years ago I quit everything: joints, coke, everything. (P1) Another participant talked about how a call from his family led him to decide that he was going to quit his criminal lifestyle: There was something, I don’t remember what it was. A call, I think. A call from my family. There was something and it made me change. I keep thinking that is when I was the most fucked up, and, at that moment, I changed and said: you are not going to face life this way, you are going to be better than you were before entering [into prison]. (P63) Last, proselytizer participants did not mention events related to a socioeconomic status change as a turning point, whereas jihadist participants (Fisher’s exact test, p = .033, V = .31) and non-radical convicts (Fisher’s exact test, p = .104) did. There were no differences between jihadist and non-radical participants in socioeconomic status change (p = .326). Participants from these two groups mainly talked about getting or losing a job (e.g., “When I started working at 15-16 and started helping my mother,” J8; “When I started earning money with my job and I realized I was at last a responsible adult,” J60), finishing their studies and obtaining their diploma (e.g., “When I turned 16. I graduated from secondary school, and I TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 23 got out of the juvenile center,” C45), or when they came to Spain from their home country (e.g., “When I came to Spain, because my standard of living improved,” C42). However, when jihadist participants talked about socioeconomic status, they mainly referred to positive changes, whereas control participants talked about positive and negative changes equally. Regarding immigration topics, jihadist participants expressed their arrival to Spain in more negative terms (“I will go back to my country when this is over. I will go back, I will leave. With great regret, because I came here when I was 17…”, J16). In contrast, non-radical participants talked about their arrival as a positive change in their status and lives (“Here in Spain, you can make a future”, C108). Intra-group Analyses We analyzed the intra-group differences between categories (see Figure 2). [Insert Figure 2] Jihadists. The Cochran’s Q test revealed that the distribution of the different categories was not homogeneous, χ2(4) = 22.76, p < .001. Events related to criminal activity were more mentioned as a turning point than familial and relational ties (ps < .020). The remaining categories were equally mentioned, ps > .190. Proselytizers. The Cochran’s Q test revealed that the distribution of the different categories was not homogeneous, χ2(4) = 25.83, p < .001. Events related to criminal activity were also more mentioned as a turning point than socioeconomic status change and relational ties (ps = .005), but equally mentioned than ideological and familial ties (ps > .350). Familial ties, in turn, were more mentioned than socioeconomic status change and relational ties, ps = .039. The remaining categories were equally mentioned, ps > .999. Non-radicals. The Cochran’s Q test indicated that the different categories were not homogeneously distributed, χ2(4) = 104.77, p < .001. Events related to criminal activity were more mentioned as a turning point than the rest of categories, ps < .001. Socioeconomic TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 24 status change and familial ties were equally present (p = .999), and both were more mentioned than ideological and relational ties (ps < .019). Discussion This study aimed to explore significant transformative experiences (turning points) in the lives of radical individuals (convicts of jihadist terrorism and proselytizers), as well as non-radical Muslims incarcerated in Spanish prisons. Additionally, we wanted to compare the content of the turning points based on the group of participants to look for differences. To that end, we conducted life story interviews in prison with participants from the three groups and asked them to choose a significant turning point in their lives. The content analysis revealed five main topics: criminal activity, relational ties, ideological ties, familial ties, and socioeconomic status change. Turning points related to criminal activity were mainly focused on incarceration or arrest as transformative experiences, consistent with other life story studies with inmates in general (e.g., Vignansky et al., 2018). No significant differences were found between groups, supporting that incarceration or arrest is a transformative experience regardless of the radicalization level. Regarding events related to relational ties, participants discussed personal connections with other Muslims or radical individuals. This strong bond between group members has been reported in terrorist organizations (Milla et al., 2019) and its consequences in the disposition to endorse extreme behavior have been thoroughly studied as well (Bélanger et al., 2019; Swann et al., 2014). Although no significant differences were found between groups in this category, only jihadist participants mentioned them. Despite the importance of these ties, previous research in Spanish prisons has shown that jihadists tend to express a higher commitment to religion than to their group – the Muslim community - (Gómez et al., 2022). The lack of differences could also be due to the online nature of many of the terrorist TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 25 crimes committed in Spain during the last years (Núñez, 2022), and therefore, our participants may have not established a solid, in-person network. One of the most relevant findings concern ideological ties, where the results revealed a reinterpretation of religion as a turning point in the life of radical individuals, which aligns with previous findings (Milla et al., 2019; Scull et al., 2020; Speckhard & Shajkovci, 2018). Similarly, the search for meaning was often present in turning points related to ideological ties. Literature has consistently shown that the need for significance plays a crucial role in the radicalization process (Kruglanski et al., 2018; Lobato et al., 2023; Webber et al., 2018), and in jihadist extremism, it is deeply embedded in the life stories of individuals who eventually join the group (Milla et al., 2019). In fact, both jihadist and proselytizer inmates mentioned ideological ties more frequently than control participants, who did not mention this category at all. Radical participants viewed the discovery or reinterpretation of religion as a significant, transformative point in their lives, often linked to redeeming from a criminal past, and allowing them to find a new purpose and meaning in their lives (Basra & Neumann, 2016; Kruglanski et al., 2018). This difference between radical and control participants indicates that the experience of religion as a turning point and as a means of restoring significance, a phenomenon that has been reported in the life-course framework (Fiori et al., 2004), could lead to extremism. However, some jihadist participants talked about their adherence to extremist beliefs without a redemption script, whereas all proselytizers based their ideological narratives on their desire to leave a criminal lifestyle behind. This points at their potentially different pathways to extremism. In addition, the lack of differences among groups in their self-reported level of religiosity confirms that it is the ideological interpretation of religion and not the religiosity per se the key factor in explaining radicalization (Kamenowski et al. 2021; Larsen & Jensen, 2021; Wolfowicz et al., 2021). TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 32 (2021). Admiration for Islamist groups encourages self-sacrifice through identity fusion. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8(1), 54. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599021-00734-9 Gómez, A., Chinchilla, J., Vázquez, A., López‐Rodríguez, L., Paredes, B., & Martínez, M. (2020). Recent advances, misconceptions, untested assumptions, and future research agenda for identity fusion theory. 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Campbell Systematic Reviews, 18(3), e1266. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1266 TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 40 Table 1 Penitentiary and Sociodemographic Information of Participants of the Three Groups (N = 116) Variable Jihadists M (SD) Proselytizers M (SD) Non-radicals M (SD) Age 36 (10.36) 38.05 (9.04) 36.03 (8.99) Serving time in prison (in months) 51.13 (50.16) 63.76 (53.89) 52.36 (46.79) Number of entries in prison 1.73 (1.31) 2.30 (2.47) 1.97 (1.38) Number of disciplinary punishments in the last year 0.69 (1.00) 2.40 (3.39) 3.07 (9.42) Self-reported religiosity1 3.56 (1.74) 3.24 (1.79) 3.11 (2.06) Variable Jihadists n (%) Proselytizers n (%) Non-radicals n (%) Country of origin Spain Rest of Europe and Asia Africa Others 10 (33.3) 3 (10.0) 17 (56.7) 0 (0.0) 3 (14.3) 3 (14.3) 15 (71.4) 0 (0.0) 6 (9.4) 6 (9.4) 51 (79.7) 1 (1.6) Marital status Single Married Divorced 15 (53.6) 11 (39.3) 2 (7.1) 8 (42.1) 8 (42.1) 3 (15.8) 31 (53.4) 21 (36.2) 6 (10.3) Education level Illiterate Non-finished primary studies 0 (0.0) 6 (27.3) 1 (5.9) 3 (17.6) 3 (5.6) 15 (27.8) TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES IN RADICALIZATION 41 Primary studies Secondary studies or more 6 (27.3) 10 (45.5) 10 (58.8) 3 (17.6) 19 (35.2) 17 (31.5) Note. Missing values were not included in the table; percentages were calculated without missing data. 1 Scores range from 0 (not religious at all) to 6 (very religious).