Not giving young Muslims the chance to talk about sex leads to hate

A former Islamist said he believes young British Muslim men are joining ISIS because they want sex.

Alyas Karmani said teenagers are at risk of being radicalised by terrorist groups because they feel isolated in 'sexualised' British society, and resent not having the same freedoms of Western youths to have girlfriends and intimate relationships.

The Bradford preacher now tours the country reaching out to young British Muslims to stop them turning to ISIS, after he was radicalised as a young man.

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Alyas Karmani speaking on ITV about why young British Muslims are tempted to join ISIS. He said young men are drawn to the organisation because they feel alienated and excluded from 'sexualised' British life

In a sexualised culture like Britain, Karmani said British Muslims often feel like outsiders when their communities' conservative values don't allow them to discuss sex which leads to 'a real sense of hate'

In 'Exposure - Jihad - A British Story', which aired on ITV on Monday night, he said young people struggle to turn to their families to talk about their sexual urges in typically conservative Muslim communities.

He said: 'This is all about sex... These guys just want girls. That's it.

'[My wife] said you can't say that because you'll get really lambasted for it, but guys do things for girls - and that's it.

'I'm there with my gun - which is more or less a penis extension... it is out there, 'look at me, I got my gear on' [sic]

'Because if you grow up and you are brought up with this value that you cannot have sex before marriage, that you cannot have a girlfriend, that you cannot be in anyway... this is something that is very big haram (sinful), a very big prohibition for an individual and you are growing up in a sexualised society, there’s a real sense of hate that you have that ‘I can’t do this’.'

Dewsbury teenager Talha Asmal is just one of hundreds of British Muslims who were radicalised and decided to join ISIS. He became Britain's youngest suicide bomber after setting off an explosive in Iraq, aged 17

Mr Karmani added that as he tours Britain to meet young Muslims and their families, he urges parents to tell their children they love and are proud of their kids, so they are less vulnerable to groups like ISIS

‘And that’s why I find greater sexual dysfunction sometimes in Muslim communities as a result of that.'

Mr Karmani added that as he tours Britain to meet young Muslims and their families, he urges parents to tell their children they love and are proud of their kids, to make sure they don't feel isolated.

The documentary interviewed a number of former extremists to explore the root causes and attractions among young people for waging jihad.

It comes after Talha Asmal, 17, became Britain's youngest ever suicide bomber after he set off an explosive in device in Iraq.