Publication

From 2012 up to 2016, European Muslims accounted for 20% of the 27,000-31,000 individuals who joined jihadist groups fighting in Syria and Iraq. To explain this unmatched number, the author of this commentary looks at 1) the different levels of jihadist mobilization that have occurred in EU states; 2) the self-marginalization and self-exclusion that have afflicted Muslim communities on the continent; and 3) the ability of external jihadist organizations to exploit certain Muslim congregations and religious cleavages within Europe.