Is #Molenbeek Europe’s jihadi central? It’s not that simple
▻http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/17/molenbeek-jihadi-isis-belgian-paris-attacks-belgium
The Brussels district is home to two brothers involved in the Paris attacks, but as someone who works with its community I know it’s far from a hub of Isis supporters
Meanwhile why Molenbeek? The fact is that if as a citizen with Moroccan roots you want to hide in Brussels (which has 19 municipalities), or “disappear” in a poor, densely populated area, then, you will probably come to lower Molenbeek (there is a richer, other Molenbeek). In lower Molenbeek some 50% of the inhabitants are of northern Moroccan provenance. And North Moroccan jihadism is a reality today, just as the north African communities in France and Belgium are the communities from where proportionally most European jihadis emerge.
But again, let us retain a sense of proportion: Molenbeek has more than 100,000 inhabitants, 40,000 of whom are of Moroccan provenance. The population is young, but has a very high unemployment rate (some 40%). It means that there are thousands of Molenbeek residents of Moroccan provenance under 30 years of age and without jobs. Militant Salafism may have a huge impact on some of these young people, who, after a process of radicalisation, may later be persuaded to turn their own demise into a “heroic” death. It makes them, at least once in their life, heroes in the eyes of their comrades and in the eyes of Allah.
Does it mean that most young people in Molenbeek are disposed to become violent jihadists? No, fortunately most of them, even if their economic situation is sometimes all but promising, still prefer to invest in normal family life and would abhor the notion that killing your neighbour makes you a good Muslim.
For the authorities there is a double lesson: invest in the future of the children (improving schooling), so that young adults see a future for their children (if not for themselves). Secondly: show respect for the inhabitants. Avoid facile slogans like “we will clean up”. Stop treating people as potential murderers, because they are not. You need them as a social cushion against jihadi-recruiters, drug dealers and hate preachers.