Echoes of IS

Why do young Muslims head to Syria? What’s it like to be a Syrian refugee in the Netherlands? What happens to you if your son dies in the caliphate? How can radicalization be recognized, or even prevented, and why do some young people become radicalized? For the impressive, nuanced web documentary Echoes of IS, the makers brought together 12 people who represent a broad spectrum of perspectives on the theme of IS and radicalization. In three separate group discussions, they talk to one another about the role IS plays in their lives.

Viewers can watch miniature portraits of each participant in their entirety or as thematic interludes to the group conversations. The story of Dyana, a young girl from Raqqa, Syria who doesn’t feel safe in the Netherlands—let alone welcome—is particularly poignant. A father talks about how his 15-year-old son died waging jihad. Young Abdel Rahman describes the suspicion and intolerance he has faced as a convert to Islam, and how this, in combination with an overdose of naïveté, made him susceptible to radical views.