Preventing Violent Radicalism in Europe

Read excerpts of an interview conducted by Christian Grisales of the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spain, November 8, 2007, following Senior Advisor Pandith's remarks at the Ortega y Gasset Foundation.

Thank you, Jose, for that kind introduction. It is such a pleasure to be in Madrid, to be in Spain again. I want to thank the Jose Ortega y Gasset Foundation for holding this seminar on terrorism and preventing violent radicalism. I am humbled to be asked to speak at a forum that already has so many luminaries in attendance, and jumped at the opportunity to attend.

I understand that Ortega y Gasset was one of the great orators of the first half of the 20^th century, so I should set off by warning you that I am no Ortega y Gasset. But I can’t think of a better way to honor the man this foundation is named after than by holding such a seminar. Jose Ortega y Gasset is one of Spain’s most famous sons, and that’s no easy achievement in a country that has given the world so much in all fields, from art to literature to exploration.

In the case of Ortega y Gasset, the field was philosophy. He had many illuminating insights into trends and movements that would affect the last century. Interestingly, he had much to say about the intersection between freedom and circumstances, between freedom and fate.

One of Ortega’s most famous phrases was “I am myself and my circumstances.” This was not fatalism, but rather the opposite. The individual has a given set of circumstances, not all and not always of his own making. But within them he has choice; he has freedom. The life worth living, according to Ortega, was the one where the individual did not simply surrender to his surroundings. We have the freedom to act and create what he called our “project of life.”

Today we are here to speak about the circumstances in which many Muslim youth find themselves in Europe, what impact these conditions have on them and what choices there are to be made. Much depends on the Project of Life that European Muslims undertake.

We have heard, at this conference, from Mr. José María Contreras that radicalization in school is linked to integration and from Mr. Admani that young people shouldn’t be demonized, but the ideology of radicalization addressed.

I am an American, and a U.S. government official, and these are first and foremost European issues. Let’s face it, the U.S. hasn’t always done everything right with regards to immigration. Our history is that of taking in waves of immigrants from places like Ireland, the rest of Europe, Asia, and Latin America—and then going through attendant backlashes against these incomers. Currently, we are in the midst of a debate over immigration in the United States.

That should not obfuscate, however, the fact that we are an immigrant success story. One thing American immigrants learn eventually is to find a balance between their country of origin and their adopted country, between their past and their future. This balance has to be right for each individual, but it must also fall within the parameters of what’s comfortable for the larger society.

So by all talking together here, by sharing our experiences, we can discuss what best global practices are. As a Muslim American who immigrated to New England as a baby, I know a little bit about these issues. This is one of the reasons my government asked me to take up the post of Senior Advisor on Muslim outreach issues at the State Department’s Bureau of European Affairs.

There is a larger reason why we should discuss these issues. The entire world, including my country and government, has an interest in what is happening in Muslim communities in Europe. We have a stake.

The reasons are obvious, but it still behooves us to enumerate them. One, the simplest and most straightforward, is that Muslims are a group caught up in the wave of extremist violence aimed at the U.S. and other industrialized societies here in Europe.

In particular, the horrible attacks of September 11 were partly hatched in Europe, and its masterminds lived in Europe. Our government, therefore, recognizes that we cannot have a sound counterterrorism strategy or one that is truly global without tackling the complex issues of extremism and terrorist recruitment in Europe.

Radical movements have at their center a deep hatred of who Americans are, of the freedoms and choices we enjoy. Combine this ideology with the relative freedom of movement across the Atlantic and you have a dangerously volatile mix.

We will not be able to convince everyone, we know that. But we will strive to make sure that the problem is not one of communication. If people still have differences with us after seeing our side of the argument, at least they are informed. What we cannot allow is hatred that results from misinformation, from an intentional misrepresentation of U.S. policies.

While violent Islamic extremism is a global phenomenon, the nature of the problem in Western Europe is distinct–both in its character and in its potential to threaten the United States.

Some Muslims in Europe feel alienated for a variety of reasons. But first let’s recognize that we must always say “some” because alienation is by no means the state of all European Muslims. Many have successfully integrated and become productive members of society who engage in the pursuit of happiness. And the majority of European Muslims are peace-loving people who do not engage in or condone terrorist activity.

It is, however, to those who haven’t found their niche in the different countries of Europe that we turn our thoughts today. Although there are many Muslims successfully integrated in Europe, there remains a lot to do in this process.

The sometimes-marginal place of Muslims in European societies, and the identity crisis that ensues, can make some in this community particularly vulnerable to disinformation, especially susceptible to extremist indoctrination.

Just this week, the Head of the British Intelligence Service MI5, Jonathan Evans, gave a chilling speech on just this matter. He said there “remains a steady flow of new recruits to the extremist cause,” with more than 4,000 being suspected of involvement in terrorist activities and more than 2,000 posing “a direct threat to national security.”

And the recruits are getting younger, some as young as 15. Extremists, Mr. Evans said, are “radicalizing, indoctrinating, and grooming young, vulnerable people to carry out acts of terrorism.” One of the most powerful places to recruit these youngsters, said Mr. Evans, was the Internet.

As we also heard from the panelists yesterday, terrorists are using the internet as a weapon. And as Mr. Yusuf Fernandez said, accurately, only Muslims themselves can contradict the messaging.

The ideology of intolerance and religious chauvinism can be tempting to the uprooted, to those who have become too far removed from the country of their birth—or their parents’ birth—but not yet moored in their new society. The promise that you will belong to something greater than yourself, that you will never be alone again, that no one will victimize you again, has been a preferred ploy of totalitarians from Hitler through Stalin to Milosevic.

Why some haven’t assimilated is more than just an academic question. The answers are complex, but need not be convoluted. Let’s admit that the welcome mat hasn’t always been rolled out. In some parts of the U.S. and Europe, immigration is not always welcomed. Shared history, religion, and culture—and let’s face it, DNA—have sometimes trumped other values. Xenophobes everywhere have seized on differences and have made matters worse.

There is also a need to turn a critical eye to those immigrants who have made little effort to integrate, who for whatever reason have refused to compromise with the host society. For example, constraints on women’s freedoms, especially of movement, dress, and action cannot always be squared with laws in Europe or America, or indeed with societal norms. Women must be educated on what the Koran says are their rights. They must be able to read it for themselves.

Those within the Muslim faith need to pose probing questions, such as, for example, what practices truly are essential to religious observance and which are ancillary; which are due to true Koranic injunctions, and which are more cultural, derived even from the pre-Islamic habits of Indonesia, the Maghreb, or the Arab Peninsula?

Ambivalence among some of the newcomers and some members of the host communities sometimes results in the fact that some neighborhoods in modern European cities are Muslim-majority areas. Many Muslim Britons, Germans, and Frenchmen do not just pray only with their coreligionists, but also study, play sports, and socialize only with their coreligionists.

Technology, usually a liberating agent in society, a facilitator of communication, may have paradoxically contributed in some instances to the alienation of immigrant groups. Whereas the first wave of immigrants into Austria, Belgium, and Switzerland had no choice but to watch the television stations of those countries—and thereby became acculturated without noticing it—satellite and cable technology have enabled their children and grandchildren to watch TV stations from the Maghreb, or South Asia, or pan-Arab channels.

Technology, by the same token, may be part of the solution. For example—albeit a narrow example—electronic social networks can become support structures for young, modern Muslims looking for others like themselves. I am seeing that taking place in many cities that I have visited over the last six months. Again, private individuals are providing answers where governments can not.

I just hope that we can do more to encourage such things from bright, young, motivated Muslim entrepreneurs who have an interest in building stronger communities and getting young European Muslims into a frame of mind that encourages them rather than tells them they don't have a future.

The solutions we need must come, above all, from European Muslims themselves. As the U.S. Ambassador said (Ambassador Aguirre), “The overwhelming majority of the victims of Islamist terrorist attacks are Muslims themselves. This is tragic because the vast majority of Muslims reject violence.”

Becoming engaged in the political life of their country is important for European Muslims, either by voting or running for office themselves or joining the civil service. Good Citizenship is important; it is part of Ortega’s “Project of life.”

But answers need to be found beyond government. Whether in the private sector, or through civil society, European Muslims must act, find solutions by themselves. Government can be too overbearing. One size will not fit all in this case. To take Spain as one example, I know from my travels here that the issues concerning Barcelona are different from those of Madrid or Córdoba. In Barcelona, many of the Muslims come from Pakistan, and 80 percent of them are men. This phenomenon will have multifaceted consequences and requires further study and analysis.

All of us need to work to a solution to these problems. As Ambassador Aguirre said, the attacks in London and Madrid speak for themselves. We have touched on many issues today. Perhaps I should stop here. I would now like to hear from you. I need to learn from you—communication is a two-way process.

Here are some questions that we should think about. What can you do? How can you get your voice heard? What platforms do you have? How are you using the media to communicate with the broader audience?

I’ve got more questions, actually, specifically about books on Islam. How are you influencing the books available in Spanish that talk about mainstream Islam? If you don’t have books, how can you get them published? How are you monitoring which textbooks and versions of the Koran are in your mosques and prayer rooms?

Also, what technology platforms are available on the web? How are mainstream voices in Spain working together? How are mainstream leaders around Europe connected? How are you involved in your communities in giving back? Where are the learning centers for Islam in the context of Europe? As the panel before discussed, what is being done by all stakeholders to prevent a ripe breeding ground in prisons?

Many questions, I know. But it would be great to discuss your answers. Thank you for being such an attentive audience.