Islamism and the West: Europe as a Battlefield

Abstract While commentators have focused their attention almost exclusively on terrorism, the presence of radical Islam in Europe is extremely complex and multifaceted. European jihadists, a few thousand individuals scattered throughout the continent who openly challenge the societies they live in, unquestionably pose an imminent security threat, but other Islamist groups and movements, while not adopting violent means, pose an equally significant if not a greater threat to Europe, albeit one of a different nature. After examining the history, development, and modus operandi of the jihadists, the article analyses the characteristics of two other Islamist movements operating in the European arena. One is Hizb al‐Tahrir, a group that openly opposes any system of government not based on the shariʿa, but does not presently advocate ‘offensive’ jihad to further its goal of creating a global Islamic state. The other is composed of the networks that trace their roots to the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups that, while publicly purporting to support democracy and the integration of Muslim communities within the European mainstream, quietly work to radicalise Europe’s Muslim population.