The article you linked has this to say:
"Their lives in the US and Europe lacked a strong purpose. A group such as IS that promises glory, order, and certainty in an idealized Islamic entity (“caliphate”) seems appealing."
That last part about an idealized Islamic entity is very important. ISIS, the Taliban, al-Qaeda and others (incorrectly) claim legitimacy by saying they are resurrecting the Islamic caliphate that existed shortly after the death of Muhammed. The first caliphate is widely considered the most "pure" form of Islam as a form of religion and governance. They can then claim that anyone fighting them is against this clearly superior way of living, and therefore enemies of Islam. Its in this nonsense that they can convince uneducated and misinformed American Muslims living thousands of miles away to join the Jihad against whoever it is they're fighting. Hell, many radical groups even put out full color, professional looking, English language recruitment pamphlets.
So in short, to answer your question, the conflict that attracts the American Muslims (and others that are not close to the fighting) is an ideological one.
Yes, I agree. The only distinction I've been trying to make is that there isn't some aspect of Islam that necessarily makes people act violently. It is certainly used as fuel to the fire, but that fire has to be set somehow.
