Extremism in Europe

Yesterday I visited a lecture by Dr. Erin Saltman about "Extremism in Europe". Because of the title I expected her to talk about Extremism in Europe in general but she just referred to ISIS. I think that the process of radicalization works for every kind of extremism. It doesn't matter if you look at religious or political extreme groups. Pointing that out is important in my eyes so people don't form stereotypes against certain groups, but see the danger of extremism in general.

Moreover I think it is important to point out what we define as "extreme". Is it extreme to wear a headscarf? Or are we already talking about extremism when people visit mosques once a week? Is it a sign that people will decide very soon to join a "holy war"?

To jump the definition-part can cause many misunderstandings and can lead to even more stereotypes and fears against Muslims. I don't think that she meant to do so, but still I see the danger behind that kind of argumentation.

Religious Radicalization is a huge topic in Germany at the moment. Young people really often join Salafi  groups because there they get attention and can flee from everyday problems. Young Muslims are facing to kind of challenges in Germany: On the one hand they are always told that they aren't belong to Germany because of their roots, religion or skin-color. On the other hand they don't can define themselves as "German Muslims", still feeling more Arabic or Turkish than German. . Because of this identity issue it is easy for radical groups to give them a identity that they like them to have.

And it is the same with right groups. People don't feel accepted, so radical groups can easily get access to their minds.