Colleen Renee LaRose, aka Jihad Jane, has been held in prison since October of 2009 for recruiting men and women to kill Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks whose 2007 drawing of the prophet Muhammad as a dog had angered Muslims across the globe. Colleen is not the average terrorist, however, as she was born and raised in the United States, lived in Philadelphia, and had never attended any Islamic services. So why then would a 46 year old, white, suburban, American woman become mixed up with an extremist terrorist group?
Psychopath or Terrorist?
In order to decide whether LaRose is a psychopath or a terrorist we must first look at the definitions of both words.
What is a psychopath?
Although pop culture throws around the term “psychopath” in nearly every prime time criminal television show, the commonly used terminology is “Antisocial Personality Disorder”. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition, or the DSM IV for short, personality disorders are characterized the following traits:
-Thoughts and behavior that deviates radically from the individual’s culture
Obviously, LaRose’s thoughts and behavior do not line up with the average Pennsylvania suburbanite’s worldview. After the events of 9/11 as well as the ongoing war with various Muslim extremist groups, it is clearly countercultural to want to “wage violent jihad in South Asia and Europe” because of her desperation to help Muslims.
-Failure to conform to laws that lead to arrest
Although the fact that LaRose has been charged with plotting to murder Vilks, conspiracy to provide support to terrorists, making false statements to officials, and attempted identity theft, more than satisfies this requirement; she has run into the law before. In 1997 she was arrested for a DWI and for writing a bad check in Texas.
-Disregard for self or others
In December of 2008, LaRose was frequenting various extremist websites and chat rooms and was emailing a co-conspirator about becoming a “shahed” or martyr. Coleen LaRose was not Muslim, and according to her boyfriend of five years had never attended an Islamic service. Further, her lifestyle choices did not conform to traditional Islamic Law or “Sharia” which includes rules about marriage, praying, fasting, purification, as well as other aspects of everyday life. In certain situations it is understandable when someone ignores the wants and needs of themselves or others such as rescuing a child from a burning building, fasting to achieve a higher state of mind, or sending a criminal to prison where his personal freedoms will be taken away. In her situation it is illogical that she would martyr herself for a religion that she was not apart of and for a group that she had only communicated with online for the bulk of the time.
-May be unable to sustain a monogamous relationship
Not much of Colleen LaRose’s personal life has been talked about in the media for obvious reasons. What we do know about her is that she has been divorced at least two times, had a boyfriend until August of 2009, and at the time of her arrest the following October, had an Egyptian boyfriend that she felt would be “an honour and great pleasure to die or kill for”.
-Are more likely to die from suicide, accidents, or homicides than the general population
In 2005 LaRose attempted suicide by swallowing up to 10 pills of cyclobenzaprine, a muscle relaxant, and drinking alcohol. According to a report from Pennsburg Police Officer Michael Devlin, she was depressed about the death of her father.
-Has a lack of remorse
People with antisocial personality disorder have a lack of remorse for their actions because they either are indifferent to others or because they rationalize their behavior. LaRose has never made a public announcement on her personal feelings about her attempt to start a holy war in South Asia and Europe. What we do know is that she traveled to Sweden so that she could train with jihadists and eventually kill a person who drew a derogatory picture of a prophet that evidence suggests that she did not follow.
What is a terrorist?
According to Princeton University’s online dictionary “WordNet”, a terrorist is the following:
“A radical who employs terror as a political weapon”
In LaRose’s written statements the focus of her thoughts and behaviors about her criminal actions surround herself rather than any political movement. Instead of talking about how Vilk’s murder would send a message to the world, she talked about how she “had to get to work on important[t] matters”, made killing Vilk her goal, how she would kill him or die trying, how she could blend in because of her blonde hair and blue eyes as well as other statements that focus on herself. She has never been quoted as saying anything about her support of Muslim extremist ideas.
“Uses religion as a cover for terrorist activities”
It is hard to believe that LaRose could possibly use Islam as a cover for her behavior. Until her most recent pictures she was not dressed conservatively. In fact her former boyfriend of five years had never seen her wear a hijab, or headscarf, or burka, the full body covering that is commonly worn by conservative Muslim women. She was not a member of nor did she attend a Mosque. All in all, her lifestyle choices clash with the traditional viewpoints of Muslim extremists.
“Organizes with other terrorists in small cells”
Although LaRose herself organized a group of four men and three women in order to kill the Swedish artist and was taking orders from another conspirator, it is not enough to label her as a terrorist; only as a person who is psychologically ill and dangerous.
Regardless of whether she is considered a psychopath or a terrorist one thing is clear; Colleen Renee LaRose should be punished for her actions to the full extent of the law.
References:
http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=terrori st
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/10/jihad.jane.profi le/index.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article /2010/03/09/AR2010030902670.html