If this guy can be believed, many of the people belonging to ISIS joined up for the pay. The economy is so bad in Syria that ISIS is the only business hiring. See An ISIS defector explained a key reason people continue joining the group:
According to Abu Khaled, a large number of people are joining ISIS because they need money. After joining the militants, people are paid in US dollars instead of Syrian liras. Abu Khaled said that ISIS also runs its own currency exchanges.
ISIS members receive additional incentives to fight for the group. “I rented a house, which was paid for by ISIS,” Abu Khaled, who worked for ISIS's internal-security forces and "provided training for foreign operatives," told Weiss. “It cost $50 per month. They paid for the house, the electricity. Plus, I was married, so I got an additional $50 per month for my wife. If you have kids, you get $35 for each. If you have parents, they pay $50 for each parent. This is a welfare state.”
And those financial benefits are not just limited to the organization's fighters. According to Abu Khaled, any member of ISIS, ranging from construction workers to doctors, receives similar compensation. In war-torn Syria, these salaries are a powerful lure for people who might not otherwise be able to support their families — or for people just hoping to get rich.
We scoffed at State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf 's remark when she said the way to fight terrorists was to give them job opportunities. Maybe she was onto something. Although what it would boil down to is simply giving them money for an unenforceable promise to behave.
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