An overarching ideology trumps every other consideration in terrorists, according to psychologist Jocelyn Belanger, of New York University in Abu Dhabi, who was able to interview banned Islamic terrorists to understand what creates their particular mental makeup. Italian magazine Focus.it.
As reported in the "Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society", the main point in them is to place an ideology at the center of their identity that explains and regulates everything, then to read the world only through it.
Do not kill: This mindset leads to four processes that pave the way for terrorism: moral surrender (ie, the collapse of any internal norm such as: "don't kill") that allows you to commit crimes without feeling remorse.
Then the hatred, which is unleashed against anyone who questions the ideology. The restriction of social relations is reduced with like-minded people.
Finally, the "psychological reaction", i.e. a resistance, often unconscious, to any order or advice that comes from close people, such as relatives and friends.
This means that trying to change their minds with rational belief is, unfortunately, futile.
The only way, experts say, is to "satisfy the terrorists' need to be part of a support group by finding them a non-violent group that is also able to make their lives more satisfying than that of previous".