DOCSLIB.ORG

ISLAMIC RADICALIZATION in EUROPE a Case-Study of Finland, Denmark and Sweden

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
ISLAMIC RADICALIZATION in EUROPE a Case-Study of Finland, Denmark and Sweden Erasmus University Aug 23rd, 2018 Master Thesis for the MSc in International Public Management and Policy ISLAMIC RADICALIZATION IN EUROPE A case-study of Finland, Denmark and Sweden Leonardo Mosca 488248 First reader: Dr. Michal Onderco Second reader: Prof. Peter Scholten Word count: 23 179 Summary In the past decade, Islamist terrorism has become one of the major threats afflicting European countries and attacks or foiled attempts carried out by jihadist groups are increasingly present in the news. More significantly, evidence shows that most perpetrators are born and raised in European societies, shedding light on the increasing appeal that radical Islam has on young European Muslims. This thesis engages with the existing literature by providing an empirical study on the causes of radicalization. Several scholars have addressed the issue of Islamic radicalization in Europe, however, this topic still lacks empirical evidence at a macro-perspective. Although radicalization remains inevitably dependent on a wide variety of reasons that are mostly related to individual experiences, there are national socio-economic factors that can influence this process. Hence, patterns of Islamic radicalization in European countries present similarities that are worth addressing from an empirical perspective, in order to have a better understanding of this phenomenon and take better measures to prevent it. The purpose of the thesis is to understand what factors are accountable for different levels of radicalization between European countries. The research has been conducted through a co-variational analysis aimed at testing the hypotheses on three countries – Finland, Denmark and Sweden – selected according to a most-similar case-study design. Then, a qualitative analysis of each country’s situation regarding anti-Muslims discrimination and jihadist networks has been carried out. The results show that higher levels of discrimination perceived by Muslims are related to higher levels of radicalization; likewise, the extension of jihadist networks is positively related with Islamic radicalization. Both hypotheses of the study are therefore confirmed by the empirical findings. i LIST OF CONTENTS Summary ............................................................................................................................................................. i LIST OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................................................. ii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................................. iv LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................................................ iv INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 1 LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................................................................... 4 1. Definition............................................................................................................................................... 4 2. Causes of radicalization ........................................................................................................................ 7 2.1 Micro-level ..................................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 Meso-level ..................................................................................................................................... 9 2.3 Macro-level .................................................................................................................................. 10 3. Final remarks ....................................................................................................................................... 11 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................................... 12 1. French Sociology ................................................................................................................................. 12 2. Social Movement Theories ................................................................................................................. 13 3. Final considerations ............................................................................................................................ 15 METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................................................................. 16 1. Cases selection .................................................................................................................................... 17 2. Data Sources ....................................................................................................................................... 18 3. Dependent variable ............................................................................................................................ 18 4. Independent variables ........................................................................................................................ 20 4.1 Perceived Discrimination among Muslims .................................................................................. 20 4.2 Jihadist Network .......................................................................................................................... 21 5. Control variables ................................................................................................................................. 22 6. External and internal validity ............................................................................................................. 23 7. Limitations ........................................................................................................................................... 23 COUNTRIES’ OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................................. 25 1. Finland ................................................................................................................................................. 25 1.1 Socio-Political Context ................................................................................................................. 26 1.2 Islamic Radicalization ................................................................................................................... 28 2. Denmark .............................................................................................................................................. 29 2.1 Socio-Political Context ................................................................................................................. 30 2.2 Islamic Radicalization ................................................................................................................... 31 3. Sweden ................................................................................................................................................ 33 ii 3.1 Socio-Political Context ................................................................................................................. 34 3.2 Islamic Radicalization ................................................................................................................... 37 EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................................................... 40 1. H1: Perceived Discrimination and Islamic Radicalization .................................................................. 40 1.1 Discrimination in Finland ............................................................................................................. 41 1.2 Discrimination in Denmark .......................................................................................................... 42 1.3 Discrimination in Sweden ............................................................................................................ 43 2. H2: Jihadist Network and Islamic Radicalization ............................................................................... 45 2.1 Jihadist Network in Finland ......................................................................................................... 46 2.2 Jihadist Network in Denmark ...................................................................................................... 46 2.3 Jihadist Network in Sweden ........................................................................................................ 48 DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS .............................................................................................................................. 51 CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................................. 53 1. Policy implications .............................................................................................................................. 54 2. Space for Further Research ................................................................................................................ 55 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Sweden: Extremism and Terrorism
    Sweden: Extremism and Terrorism On July 31, 2021, Roger Haddad, the deputy chair of the education committee in Sweden’s Parliament, announced that the Romosseskolan school, an Islamic school in Gothenburg, should be shut down because of its “connection to extremism.” The students are reportedly subject to gender segregation in lessons and are required to take part in prayer sessions. After public funding was cut for the school in June, the Islamic Association of Sweden (IFiS), which has been described as a hub for Muslim Brotherhood members, continued to pay the teachers. Gothenburg is particularly vulnerable to radicalization and violent extremism as more than a third of Swedish ISIS fighters have come from the city. (Source: The National) Swedish authorities have also been grappling with terrorists who have come into the country to plot terror attacks. In April 2021, Sweden’s security police arrested Salma K. and Fouad M. for conspiracy to commit a criminal terrorist act in Sweden. The suspects, who claimed they were Afghan refugees, entered Sweden in 2015. However, upon investigation, the Swedish Security Service (SAPO) confirmed the two were not Afghani nationals but were more likely of Iranian nationality and possibly traveled to Europe as a terrorism “sleeper cell.” According to media sources, the two began planning to carry out an attack in January 2021 and are possibly connected to the security agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. According to SAPO, Iran’s regime conducts intelligence and espionage operations in Sweden. (Sources: Jerusalem Post, Iran Wire) There have also been “lone wolf” terror attacks resulting in casualties in Sweden.
    [Show full text]
  • Swedish Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq
    Swedish Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq An Analysis of open-source intelligence and statistical data Linus Gustafsson Magnus Ranstorp Swedish Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq An analysis of open-source intelligence and statistical data Swedish Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq An analysis of open-source intelligence and statistical data Authors: Linus Gustafsson Magnus Ranstorp Swedish Defence University 2017 Swedish Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq: An analysis of open-source intelligence and statistical data Linus Gustafsson & Magnus Ranstorp © Swedish Defence University, Linus Gustafsson & Magnus Ranstorp 2017 No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. Swedish material law is applied to this book. The contents of the book has been reviewed and authorized by the Department of Security, Strategy and Leadership. Printed by: Arkitektkopia AB, Bromma 2017 ISBN 978-91-86137-64-9 For information regarding publications published by the Swedish Defence University, call +46 8 553 42 500, or visit our home page www.fhs.se/en/research/internet-bookstore/. Summary Summary The conflict in Syria and Iraq has resulted in an increase in the number of violent Islamist extremists in Sweden, and a significant increase of people from Sweden travelling to join terrorist groups abroad. Since 2012 it is estimated that about 300 people from Sweden have travelled to Syria and Iraq to join terrorist groups such as the Islamic State (IS) and, to a lesser extent, al-Qaeda affiliated groups such as Jabhat al-Nusra. Even though the foreign fighter issue has been on the political agenda for several years and received considerable media attention, very little is known about the Swedish contingent.
    [Show full text]
  • Expert Talk Al-Shabaab's Tentacles Extend West
    SEPTEMBER 2009 Expert Talk Al-Shabaab’s Tentacles Extend West by John Solomon, Head of Terrorism Research, World-Check Newsletter by World-Check, the recognised authority on reducing risk through intelligence. www.world-check.com/experttalk n recent months the US-Pakistan offensive on al-Qa’ida and the Taliban in the tribal areas of Pakistan has intensified I significantly. With the future of that terrorist sanctuary now in question, Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan has been diminished in many would-be jihadists eyes as the premier destination for those seeking to join al-Qa’ida. The dimming of Waziristan has coincided with the elevation of Somalia as an alternative destination and hub for global jihad. The toll of the violence and instability on locals has been significant. Since the start Al-Shabaab of 2007, the fighting in Somalia has killed more than 18 000 people and displaced The al-Qa’ida-linked al-Shabaab 1.2 million civilians. Since May of this year alone, over 100 000 civilians have been movement is the key terrorist forced to flee their homes due to the shelling of civilian areas. And according to group operating in Somalia. the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, some 300 000 have fled to camps in Dadaab The group was formed from in Kenya. For al-Shabaab, the instability sowed by conflict and state failure provides the former youth wing of it with a safe haven for its terrorist activities, which have international dimensions. the defunct Union of Islamic Courts and is ideologically While the Somali jihadist group operates mainly in a localized context, it has and operationally aligned with become increasingly globalised.
    [Show full text]
  • Sweden Muslims from Virtually All Parts of the World
    MUSLIMS IN SWEDEN 2 Introduction 2 MUSLIMS IN SWEDEN – THE BACKGROUND 3 SWEDEN – A LAND OF UNITY 3 The history of religious freedom in Sweden 3 "Folkhemmet" 6 MUSLIMS IN SWEDEN - THE FACTS 8 The definition of Muslims 8 The Muslim population in Sweden 11 The process of Muslim institutionalization in Sweden 15 Problems for Muslims to organize themselves in Sweden 22 The main dominant-society-bound obstacles 23 The main minority-group-bound obstacles 27 The small size of the group 27 The heterogeneity of the group 28 Lack of knowledge and competence 28 The problem of leadership 29 MUSLIMS IN SWEDEN - THE RESULTS OF THE PROJECT 30 Muslims as seen by the Swedes 30 The role of the media 39 GENERAL PROBLEMS 43 Political participation and representation 43 Obstacles to voting participation 45 Why don’t people in disadvantaged areas vote? 46 Nice words but a not-so-nice reality 46 Immigrants = problems 47 Integration – A question of power 48 Politics too far from everyday life 48 Who represents whom? 49 Marginalization also within political parties? 50 Labor market and Employment 51 Self-employment 59 The future of the Swedish labor market 63 Housing 63 Health care 65 The Police and Criminal justice system 68 Prison service 70 The military 71 Specific Problems 72 Cultural transmission of Islam between generations 72 Special problems for young Muslim women 77 Halal slaughter 82 Burial facilities 85 Islam and Christianity 87 THE FUTURE 89 1 Muslims in Sweden Introduction Swedes today generally believe, and often proudly claim, that Sweden is a globally aware, free, open, secularized and unprejudiced society with progressive and gene- rous immigration policies; that they are living in one of the most open, democratic, egalitarian and just societies in the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Multilingual Margins 5(1)
    40 Multilingual Margins 2018, 5(1): 40-65 Language, food and gentrification: signs of socioeconomic mobility in two Gothenburg neighbourhoods Johan Järlehed University of Gothenburg, Department of Languages and Literatures Helle Lykke Nielsen University of Southern Denmark, Centre for the Middle East Studies Tove Rosendal University of Gothenburg, Department of Languages and Literatures Correspondence to: [email protected] ABSTRACT This paper examines at how language and food intersect and interact in gentrification processes. As a capital-driven social process aiming at enhancing the socioeconomic value of urban space, gentrification implies mobility both in the sense that it attracts new people, businesses and capital to an area, and in the form of displacement of less affluent and prestigious people, businesses and semiotic resources from central to marginal urban spaces. The paper examines linguistic and visual traces of such mobilities in two neighbourhoods in Gothenburg, Sweden. Based on the observation that food and food practices are central for the production and reproduction of social distinction, the analysis centres on food related establishments and signs. In particular, it discusses the distinction-making function of prestigious languages, elite gastronomic registers, and gourmet food trucks, and how these depend on the marginalization of low status languages, popular gastronomic registers and cheap generic food carts. People’s interaction with these resources contributes to the reconfiguration of social and urban space. Keywords: gentrification, distinction, gastronomic register, food trucks, linguistic landscape © Järlehed, Lykke Nielsen, Rosendal and CMDR. 2018 Language, food and gentrification 41 INTRODUCTION but also through flows and (im)mobility of people, products, and capital (Lou Cities are in constant change as people 2016).
    [Show full text]
  • COMMUNITIES on FIRE Confronting Hate Violence and Xenophobic Political Rhetoric TABLE of CONTENTS
    About South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) is a national nonpartisan non-profit organization that fights for racial justice and advocates for the civil rights of all South Asians in the United States. Our ultimate vision is dignity and full inclusion for all. SAALT fulfills its mission through advocating for just and equitable public policies at the national and local level; strengthening grassroots South Asian organizations as catalysts for community change; and informing and influencing the national dialogue on trends impacting our communities. SAALT is the coordinating entity for the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations (NCSO). Acknowledgements This report was written by Dr. Radha Modi from the University of Illinois, Chicago in consultation with SAALT leadership, Lakshmi Sridaran and Suman Raghunathan. Dr. Modi also provided the research, data collection, and analysis for this report. We would like to acknowledge the individuals, communities, and institutions that continue to fight each and every day to expose racism and protect our communities from hate violence. Thank you for your work to make our communities stronger and build our collective power. Finally, we would like to thank the Ford Foundation, Four Freedoms Fund, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, NOVO Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Proteus Fund, and Voqal Fund for their generous support. Designed by Design Action Collective COMMUNITIES ON FIRE Confronting Hate Violence and Xenophobic Political Rhetoric TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary . 3 Definitions, Methodology, and Limitations . 6 Upswing in Hate Violence . 9 The Role of Intersectionality . .14 The Regional Distribution of Hate Violence . 17 The Impact of Xenophobic Political Rhetoric .
    [Show full text]
  • Eve Online War Declaration Then Assistance Offer
    Eve Online War Declaration Then Assistance Offer Multiseriate Abel sometimes doges his audiocassette fussily and stared so repulsively! Together Garold flusters some horrors after tropologic Otho confuted crossly. Graeco-Roman Hagan spuming apprehensively and offensively, she hocussing her diverseness intubates truncately. Email along shaded paths and eve and the declaration forms and end up a declared a methanol and rocks from where it is considered by assisting and. Summing up his death, then again is that offers a westerner would get aught i hold. With mounting desperation Trump declared at a campaign rally for. Multiculturalist regimes do toprotect their assistance level according to eve that you to determine their own error log into a democracy. While wars also needs of war by then anyone else should offer them from digging operation branding them, online in debt relief. We offer our war? Second and online in cases decreased from their asses being an armenian genocide and wesson, as long legacies of art by assisting to fight and all! Other democracies become war dec corps and slowing the scum of whose delicate hands and eve online war declaration then assistance offer. Will then removethe outer husks with assistance of wars declared in armenia attended a declaration could survive our online booklet is a decision. Knights templar in large parts, produce a draft and basic rule in eternal love to support for home and tangled, assyrians have protected. Until then they translated them to offer. What type of eve online war declaration then assistance offer the assistance? Seychelles credit market, online always tried to eve online war declaration then assistance offer.
    [Show full text]
  • US Reporter, Cameraman Killed in On-Air Shooting
    SUBSCRIPTION THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 2015 THULQADA 12, 1436 AH www.kuwaittimes.net US reporter, cameraman Min 30º Max 46º killed in on-air shooting High Tide 09:05 & 22:50 Gunman kills self after posting attack video online Low Tide 02:25 & 16:05 40 PAGES NO: 16622 150 FILS MONETA, Virginia: A TV reporter and cameraman were shot to death during a live television interview yester- Saudi suspect in day by a gunman who recorded himself carrying out the killings and posted the video on social media after Khobar Towers fleeing the scene. Authorities identified the suspect as a journalist who had been fired from the station earlier attack arrested this year. Hours later and hundreds of miles away, he ran off the road and a trooper found him with a self-inflict- WASHINGTON: A man suspected in the 1996 ed gunshot wound. He died at a hospital later yester- bombing of the Khobar Towers residence at a US day. military base in Saudi Arabia has been captured, a The shots rang out on-air as reporter Alison Parker US official said yesterday. Ahmed Al-Mughassil, and cameraman Adam Ward were presenting a local described by the FBI in 2001 as the head of the mili- tourism story at an outdoor shopping mall. Viewers saw tary wing of Saudi Hezbollah, is suspected of lead- her scream and run, and she could be heard saying “Oh ing the attack that killed 19 US service personnel my God,” as she fell. Ward fell, too, and the camera he and wounded almost 500 people.
    [Show full text]
  • SWEDEN and Literature Survey
    Muslims in the EU: Cities Report Preliminary research report SWEDEN and literature survey 2007 Researcher: Dr Göran Larsson, Department of Religious Studies, Theology and Classical Philology, University of Göteborg, Sweden Email address: [email protected] Table of Contents Background 4 Executive Summary 5 PART I: RESEARCH AND LITERATURE ON MUSLIMS 8 1. Population 8 1.1 Availability of data on Muslims in Sweden 8 1.2 Muslim population estimates 9 1.3 The main waves of Muslim immigration to Sweden 12 1.4 Patterns of settlement 14 2. Identity 15 2.1 Muslim ethnic identities in Sweden 15 2.2 Religious identities 15 2.3 Converts to Islam 16 2.4 Muslim female identity 17 2.5 Other areas of research 18 3. Education 19 3.1 Muslims and the Swedish education system 19 3.2 Muslims and educational attainment 19 3.3 Religious education in schools 21 3.4 Independent Islamic schools 21 3.5 Education programmes for the training of imams 23 4. Employment 24 4.1 Access to the labour market for people in Sweden born outside the EU 24 4.2 Discrimination in the labour market and other barriers to employment 25 5. Housing 27 5.1 The housing situation of Muslims in Sweden 27 6. Health and social protection 29 6.1 The health status of Muslims 29 7. Policing and security 31 7.1 Muslims’ experiences in the army 31 7.2 Muslims’ experiences in relation to criminal justice and policing 31 8. Participation and citizenship 33 8.1 Muslim participation in politics and policy-making 33 PART II: POLICY CONTEXT 35 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Returning Western Foreign Fighters: the Case of Afghanistan, Bosnia and Somalia
    Returning Western foreign fighters: The case of Afghanistan, Bosnia and Somalia Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn and Edwin Bakker ICCT Background Note June 2014 Authorities are increasingly worried about the large number of Western foreign fighters present in Syria. The fear is that these fighters will return radicalised, battle hardened and with extensive radical networks that might encourage them to commit a terrorist attack in the home country. The recent attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels – allegedly by a returned foreign fighter from Syria – seems to be a case in point. However, the conflict in Syria is not the first to attract foreign fighters. In this Background Note, Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn and Edwin Bakker investigate three historical cases of foreign fighting: Afghanistan (1980s), Bosnia (1990s) and Somalia (2000s). In this paper they aim to give insight into what happened to these foreign fighters after their fight abroad had ended. The authors distinguish eight possible pathways for foreign fighters that can help to contribute to a more nuanced understanding of this complex phenomenon. About the Authors Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn is Research Assistant at the Centre for Terrorism and Counterterrorism (CTC) in The Hague. She holds a master’s degree in International Relations in Historical Perspective (cum laude) from Utrecht University, which she completed with a thesis on foreign fighters. Currently, she is working on the development of MOOCs – massive open online courses – at Leiden University. In that position, she assisted Professor Bakker with the MOOC Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Comparing Theory & Practice that attracted more than 40,000 students.
    [Show full text]
  • Empirical Data on Swedish Muslims Performing the Hajj
    Journal of Muslims in Europe 10 (2021) 1–22 brill.com/jome ‘How is one supposed to sleep when the Ka‘ba is over there?’ Empirical Data on Swedish Muslims Performing the Hajj Göran Larsson | ORCID: 0000-0003-3343-6380 Department of Literature, History of Ideas, and Religion, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden [email protected] Simon Sorgenfrei | ORCID: 0000-0002-2206-238x Department of Historical and Contemporary Studies, Study of Religions, Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden [email protected] Abstract The aim of this article is to present data from the first study using interviews with Swedish hajj pilgrims, conducted during 2016 and 2017 by the Institute for Language and Folklore, Gothenburg; the Museum of World Culture, Gothenburg; Södertörn University, Stockholm; and Gothenburg Univetsity. Among the questions asked within the framework of the project were, for example, how Swedish Muslims experience the hajj; how they prepare for the trip to Saudi Arabia; how the pilgrimage is organized by Swedish Muslim organizations (e.g. hajj travel agencies); whether the pilgrimage is only perceived as a religious journey; and whether the intergroup conflicts and varia- tions that exist among Muslims effect the hajj? The last question will be addressed by focusing on how Swedish Ahmadiyya Muslims are affected by the fact that the Pakistani and Saudi states do not regard them as Muslims. Keywords hajj – lived religion – ritual – Sweden – Ahmadiyya – hajj travel agencies – religious experiences © Göran Larsson and Simon Sorgenfrei, 2021 | doi:10.1163/22117954-bja10036 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0Downloaded license.
    [Show full text]
  • SPREAD of ISLAM in the WEST Maittx of Hibrarp Anb Snformatton ^Titmt
    SPREAD OF ISLAM IN THE WEST A Select Annotated Bibliography DISSERTATION Sabmitted in partial fulfilment of the requiremenu for the award of the degree of maittx of Hibrarp anb Snformatton ^titmt 1995-% BY MOHD, SALMAN MAJID Roll No. 95 LSM • 17 Enrol. No. V - 3449 Under the Supervision of MR. S. HASAN ZAMARRUD (READER) DEPARTMENT OP LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE ALIOARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY AUOARH (INDIAI 1996 •n L;Q. ' -t« 'C DS2880 CONTENTS Page No. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i-ii AIMS AND SCOPE iii-vii PART ONE INTRODUCTION 1-90 LIST OF PERIODICALS SCANNED 91-92 PART TWO BIBLIOGRAPHY 93-242 PART THREE INDEX 243-259 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to place on record my everlasting gratitudes to Almighty Allah, the most merciful, the most benevolent, who provided me all the strength and guidance for the timely compelition of this dissertation. I wish to express my sincere and heartiest gratitudes to my teacher and supervisor Mr. S. Hasan Zamarrud, Reader, Department of Library & Information Science, A.M.U. who devoted his precious time and encouraged me to bring out this bibliography in the present form. I am highly thankful to him for his helpful suggestions and comments in checking the original work. I am also grateful to Hr.Shabahat Husain, Chairman, Department of Library & Information Science, A.M.U. and Mr. S.M.K.Q.Zaidi, Reader, Department of Library & Information Science, A.M.U. who inspired me and gave me valuable guidance and cooperation whenever needed throughout the study period. I am also thankful to all the Heads of different Departments and Institutes who allowed me to use the resources available in their respective Departments and Institutes.
    [Show full text]