Islamic terrorism has become a prevalent problem in the past ten years. Although much research has been done to understand the causes of such terrorism, there remains a lack of analysis on the effects of the schooling of young Muslims in extremist forms of Islam, especially when combined with other factors. This study seeks to understand the effects which such education, along with youth unemployment and the strength of security institutions, can play in the onset and sustainment of domestic Islamic terrorism in Middle Eastern states. As such, the study employs a case study analysis of these factors in Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Tajikistan. The study shows that high levels of schooling in conservative Islam and high youth unemployment can lead to larger amounts of youth susceptible to recruitment by Islamic terror groups. Weak security institutions allow these groups to carry out activity within these countries.
