Europe’s Angry Muslims: The Revolt of the Second Generation

Leiken (Why Nicaragua Vanished), director of the Immigration and National Security Program at the Center for the National Interest, explores “Muslim anger” in Britain, France, and Germany—the three European countries with the largest Muslim populations—in this extensively sourced and robustly argued treatise. Adopting a comparative approach, the author explores how rage has “played itself out” differently in different countries: riots in France, bombings in Britain. Leiken notes that “extremism in Europe is typically found not among migrants but among their children” and that radicalization has its roots most firmly in the “downward mobility” of the second generation. Leiken wisely includes case studies of individual mujahideen in each country to balance his scholarly focus. While his analysis stops short of recommending specific policies regarding homegrown mujahideen, the author clearly hopes that his study encourages governments to embrace “a theory of relativity in antiterrorism.” Timely and provocative, this is an important addition to the literature on Islamic terrorism. (Jan.)