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Many of them, particularly the women, often say that it was not really a radicalization story but rather a romantic journey of some kind

Al-Muzaqzaq had a lawyer present during his testimony, the report said.

In order to be together, Al-Muzaqzaq’s wife flew to Lebanon, where she was taken to his parents’ home in Tripoli, Lebanon, where they were married, he said. Specific dates were not given.

When his wife, who was not named in the report, was five months pregnant, they decided she should return to Canada to give birth and then he would try again to immigrate, this time as a spouse and father of a Canadian, the report said.

Photo by AP Photo/Raqqa Media Centre

Friends told him it would be easier to get a visa in Turkey than in Lebanon, so he went to apply at the Canadian Embassy in Ankara. His request was again turned down, he said.

While in a hotel in Turkey, he was identified as an Arabic speaker and approached by a recruiter for ISIL. Al-Muzaqzaq said the recruiter encouraged him to move to Syria to live and work, saying the cost of living was much lower, according to the report.

He agreed, but not out of a desire to fight, he said: “Because I am suffering from a financial crisis.”

He moved to Raqqah, Syria, ISIL’s de facto capital.

When he arrived, ISIL officials interviewed him and asked what his profession was. He told them he was an auto mechanic and he was assigned to repair ISIL vehicles for a monthly salary of $50.

He said he did not engage in any military or security operations and did not carry weapons.

He said his wife agreed to join him in Raqqah, saying she “never hesitated,” according to the report. He said he contacted her from Raqqah and asked her to leave Canada for Turkey, where she was met by ISIL facilitators who brought her to be reunited with her husband in Syria.