Preventing another Brussels

Europe is in shock following last week’s double suicide attacks in Brussels; the capital of the European Union and NATO’s headquarters. Daesh has claimed responsibility but the attackers were all second- generation Belgians, most with criminal records and some on terror watch list. The attacks were linked to last November’s Paris carnage, which also emanated from Belgium and in particular the notorious Molenbeek suburb of Brussels.
Europe is bracing itself for further attacks and security has been tightened in all major cities. There has been talk about catastrophic intelligence failure as the hunt for culprits and other cells intensified. But Europe’s problem with its own Muslim radicals transcends intelligence gathering mechanisms and security cooperation. It is time for European countries to address the root cause of the radicalization of second-generation immigrants.
The challenge for Europe differs from what the Arab and Muslim worlds are facing. The question of why Muslims in Europe have failed to integrate or assimilate must be confronted as the continent ponders what do next. The potential threat by disgruntled, often unemployed and poorly educated European Muslims has nothing to do with the rise of jihadist movements in the Arab and Muslim world in the past few decades. The attacks in London, Madrid, Paris and Brussels, carried out entirely by European Muslims, will continue to haunt the old continent for years to come, even after Daesh is finally defeated as a militant group.
Europe must face the reality that more than 6,000 of its own citizens have made their way to Daesh’s self-proclaimed state in Syria and Iraq over the past few years. Foreign jihadists have proved to be the most radical and the least compromising among the militants in that group. While they represent a small percentage of the millions of Muslims now living in Europe; the vast majority of which are peaceful and moderate, the fact that they were radicalized to such an extent will continue to raise questions about Europe’s “Islamist” dilemma.
Daesh’s emergence and its appeal are not difficult to understand. US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the alienation of Sunnis by Iran-backed governments have contributed directly to the creation of a perfect environment for a radical ideology that has nothing to do with mainstream Islam. Daesh is an extension of Al- Qaeda, another militant group that believes in a clash of civilizations and seeks to create an imaginary utopian state. Their ideology is a product of this region’s complex and tumultuous history, foreign intervention, decades of social, economic and political injustice and the gross failure by regimes to build open and democratic societies.
While Daesh is on the retreat, both in Syria and Iraq, it is its ideology that constitutes the bigger danger. Military efforts and political compromises will eventually eradicate the group from both countries. But defeating its extremist dogma; the takfiri, nihilistic and rejectionist beliefs, will take time. This is the challenge for this region as it battles extremism not only through force but by presenting a counter argument coupled with much needed political, economic and social reforms.
For Europe it is a different challenge, and a more diverse approach. The backlash from the latest attacks will translate into the rise of right-wing nationalist parties that feast on people’s fears and xenophobia. Europe’s universal values will come into question. The depth and breadth of Europe’s existential goals will be tested. The challenge that most European countries face with their own Muslim communities will deepen. Away from the direct global threat of Daesh, Europe must look for answers within itself and it must look hard.
Those young men and women who were born and raised in closed European suburbs lacking a unifying identity and feeling detached from society at large found a refuge and a cause in extremist groups. Why they chose to go and join what they believed to be an ideal society in the self-proclaimed caliphate is a question that European leaders must face. How were they recruited and why they came back to blow themselves up in the heart of Europe is an intellectual exercise that will require boldness and courage.
The deadly attacks in Paris and Brussels have changed Europe’s priorities and may alter its course. The flow of refugees from Syria has exacerbated the problem. But it is vital to consider that in essence Europe’s dilemma today is home grown. It is in the ghettos of some European capitals that disenfranchised young Muslims have come to embrace extremist ideologies. This has nothing to do with refugees or conflicts in far-away countries.
While we in the Arab and Muslim worlds must face and deal with the challenge of religious extremism in our own way, the test for Europe requires a different path altogether. For long the question has been asked: Why have European Muslims failed to integrate or assimilate? Even more important is to ask why the majority feel marginalized and left out. Europe’s war against terror must go beyond security measures and it must locate and deal with the root cause at home.