Jihad in Europe : a survey of the motivations for Sunni Islamist terrorism in post-millennium Europe

Abstract

This report surveys the motivations for Sunni Islamist terrorism in post-millennium Europe. It provides in-depth case studies of four terrorist plots in Europe after 2000, attributed to Sunni Islamist militants. The analysis is based mainly on the press coverage of the investigations and trials of the terrorist cells. The aim of the analysis is to determine whether these acts of terrorism should be understood primarily within the framework of alQaida’s global jihad, or largely as a spill-over effect local Islamist insurgencies or “jihads” in the Middle East and North Africa, or as an emerging “European jihadism” motivated by grievances generated in the European Muslim diaspora. The report provides an overview and some general observations about the recent patterns of Islamist terrorism inside Europe. The appendix of the report contains a list of thwarted terrorist plots against targets in Europe attributed to Islamist militants. It also contains profiles of radical Islamist movements, which are believed to maintain structures inside the region.