{"id":6479,"date":"2016-03-23T11:10:17","date_gmt":"2016-03-23T10:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/soerenkern.com\/?p=6479"},"modified":"2016-06-14T05:04:32","modified_gmt":"2016-06-14T04:04:32","slug":"belgium-ground-zero-european-jihadists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/soerenkern.com\/web\/2016\/03\/23\/belgium-ground-zero-european-jihadists\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Belgium is Ground Zero for European Jihadis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/soerenkern.com\/2016\/03\/23\/belgium-ground-zero-european-jihadists\/belgium_attacks\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-6480\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-6480\" src=\"https:\/\/soerenkern.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/belgium_attacks.jpg\" alt=\"belgium_attacks\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/soerenkern.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/belgium_attacks.jpg 600w, https:\/\/soerenkern.com\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/belgium_attacks-300x175.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Several factors help explain why Brussels, the political capital of Europe, has emerged as the jihadist capital of Europe.<\/em><!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>Why Belgium is Ground Zero for European Jihadis<\/h3>\n<p>Soeren Kern | <a href=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/7677\/belgium-jihadists\" target=\"_blank\">Gatestone Institute<\/a> | March 23, 2016<\/p>\n<p>The terrorist attacks on the airport and metro in Brussels are casting a spotlight, once again, on Belgium\u2019s ignominious role as a European haven for jihadists.<\/p>\n<p>Several distinct but interconnected factors help explain why Brussels, the political capital of Europe, has emerged as the jihadist capital of Europe.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Large Muslim Population<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Muslim population of Belgium is expected to reach 700,000 in 2016, or around 6.2% of the overall population, according to figures <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pewforum.org\/2011\/01\/27\/future-of-the-global-muslim-population-regional-europe\/\" target=\"_blank\">extrapolated<\/a> from a recent study by the Pew Research Center. In percentage terms, Belgium has one of the highest Muslim populations in Western Europe.<\/p>\n<p>In metropolitan Brussels \u2014 where roughly half of Belgium\u2019s Muslims currently live \u2014 the Muslim population has reached 300,000, or roughly 25%. This makes Brussels one of the most Islamic cities in Europe.<\/p>\n<p>Approximately 100,000 Muslims live in the Brussels district of Molenbeek, which has emerged as the center of Belgian jihadism.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Parallel Societies<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Belgium\u2019s radical Islam problem originated in the 1960s, when Belgian authorities encouraged mass migration from Turkey and Morocco as a source of cheap labor. They were later followed by migrants from Egypt and Libya.<\/p>\n<p>The factories eventually closed, but the migrants stayed and planted family roots. Today, most Muslims in Belgium are the third- and fourth-generation offspring of the original migrants. While many Belgian Muslims are integrated into Belgian society, many others are not.<\/p>\n<p>Growing numbers of Belgian Muslims live in marginal districts \u2014 isolated ghettos where poverty, unemployment and crime are rampant. In Molenbeek, the unemployment rate hovers at around 40%. Radical imams aggressively canvass the area in search of shiftless youths to wage jihad against the West.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gatestoneinstitute.org\/7677\/belgium-jihadists\" target=\"_blank\">Continue Reading Here<\/a>\u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several factors help explain why Brussels, the political capital of Europe, has emerged as the jihadist capital of Europe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[63,48],"tags":[184,161,127,128,21,169,30],"class_list":["post-6479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-belgium","category-islam-in-europe","tag-belgium","tag-counter-terrorism","tag-demographics-2","tag-european-jihadists-in-syria","tag-immigration","tag-islamic-state","tag-terrorism"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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