Wilson Center Experts

This project examines the role of the puritanical Salafi movement in the prevention and promotion of radicalization and terrorist recruitment among Muslim youth in Western Europe. Existing explanations of rising Salafism and radicalization, such as globalization and socio-economic marginalization, fail to account for participation by a Europeanized middle class and the role of sub-trends—political, apolitical, and jihadi, among which these participants switch allegiances—that indicate Salafism as both a potential stepping stone toward Jihadi terrorism and a bulwark against it. My project will examine the relationship among these sub-trends and participants’ rationale behind switching from one to the other.

The research location is the Netherlands where multicultural policies have been in favor of Muslim group rights, despite growing right-wing populism. One important question is why Salafism has expanded and, in part, radicalized under these conditions. What role is played by government policies, by social context, and by the characteristics of the Salafi movement itself and its adherents? The answers are of enormous importance to other European countries where state policies have been less favorable to multiculturalism.