London Mayor Boris Johnson, during an interview on Thursday, said religious extremists who get lured by terrorist groups like Islamic State are "w*****s" who are obsessed with pornography as they cannot attract women due to low self-esteem.
According to The Times, Johnson said that this information was revealed post an MI5 probe into Britons fighting in Iraq and Syria. The British politician, who will stand as a Conservative parliamentary candidate in the general elections, further told The Sun that most of the young men opting for the extreme path are battling low self-esteem.
After countless attacks on civilians in Syria and Iraq as well as the recent Charlie Hebdo incident, many believe terrorist groups like Islamic State are a curse on humanity. However, there are a few who empathize with the jihadist militants and think of them as heroes who are sacrificing their lives fighting a holy war.
On the other hand, Johnson believes it all has to do with low self-esteem of the young men.
"If you look at all the psychological profiling about bombers, they typically will look at porn. They are literally w*****s. Severe onanists," Johnson said.
"They are tortured. They will be very badly adjusted in their relations with women, and that is a symptom of their feeling of being failure and that the world is against them. They are not making it with girls and so they turn to other forms of spiritual comfort - which of course is no comfort.They are just young men in desperate need of self-esteem who do not have a particular mission in life, who feel that they are losers and this thing makes them feel strong - like winners."
He suggested that efforts to handle such extremism should come from within the communities.
According to estimates, as many as 500 Britons have joined Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
