Analysis | Europe 2002–2025: The Expanding Shadow of Islamic Terrorism
With more than 1,100 killed since 2002, Europe must finally acknowledge the religious and ideological forces driving jihadist violence—and act before its social fabric erodes further
Over the past two decades, Europe has faced an evolving and persistent threat from radical Islamic terrorism. From Madrid to Paris, from London to Berlin, extremist violence has undermined the continent’s sense of security and its cultural and ethical identity. Understanding the origins and persistence of this threat is essential to designing immediate security measures and laws that will provide resilience for a European future based on realistic Western values.
Since the early 2000s, Europe has faced a relentless wave of extremist Islamic terrorism. Over the past two decades, dozens of attacks by radicalized Muslims—citizens, immigrants, or foreign residents—have claimed thousands of lives. This is not conventional political or nationalist terrorism but a religiously driven ideology that seeks to impose spiritual and cultural dominance through violence against Western civilization.
Some of the deadliest incidents mark Europe’s modern history: the 2002 Moscow theater siege (132 dead), the 2004 Madrid train bombings (192), the 2005 London transit attacks (52), and the 2015 massacre in Paris (130), including the Bataclan Theater. Since then, knife attacks, car-rammings, and bombings have struck major cities from Berlin to Nice and Brussels. My research shows that since 2002, more than 1,100 people have been killed and 7,900 injured in Europe by extremist Islamic terrorism—an assault not on one nation, but on Western society as a whole.
A broader study by the Fondation pour l’Innovation Politique (2024) identifies the same global trend: since the 1970s, Islamist terrorism has been a worldwide phenomenon rooted in religious and cultural motives. It has claimed about 300,000 lives and left millions wounded or traumatized around the world. In 2024, European intelligence services uncovered Hamas cells backed by Iran and its proxies, as well as ISIS groups operating both from outside and within the continent.
Despite this evidence, many European politicians and media outlets still avoid acknowledging the religious nature of the threat. Fear of being labeled “racist” or “Islamophobic” has created a kind of moral paralysis. Instead of confronting jihadist ideology, public discourse often shifts the blame to poverty, discrimination, or Western colonial guilt. Yet the data collected is unambiguous: the vast majority of terrorist attacks in Europe over the past two decades were carried out by Muslims claiming to act in the name of Islam. Comparable large-scale terrorism from members of other faiths is virtually nonexistent.
Europe’s postwar identity—rooted in universal human rights, openness, and secular tolerance—is now under severe strain. These principles were designed for immigrants seeking integration, not for groups intent on preserving cultural isolation or imposing religious supremacy on their host societies. The Arab Spring of 2011 and the refugee crisis of 2015 accelerated this challenge, bringing hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East and North Africa—many seeking safety, but some carrying values deeply opposed to liberty, gender equality, cultural and religious tolerance, and the rule of civil law. In parts of France, Britain, and Germany, self-governed enclaves have emerged where radical preachers and jihadist networks operate with limited state control.
Counterterrorism experts describe this as “voluntary moral blindness.” Out of fear of social backlash, leaders hesitate to act decisively, while human rights laws intended to protect individuals are sometimes used to shield extremists. Even the European Court of Human Rights has blocked deportations of radical Muslim clerics in the name of “individual rights,” weakening public safety.
Attempts at reform have faced resistance. France’s Islam de France initiative (2020–2021) sought to reduce foreign influence over mosques but encountered opposition from Islamist groups and sympathetic political factions. Britain’s Prevent program, aimed at identifying radicalization early, was perceived as stigmatizing, eroding trust in the state. Germany continues to face ideological enclaves supported by foreign funding from Turkey, Qatar, and others under the banner of religious freedom.
A quiet but significant shift has begun. A new European approach—sometimes called “safe liberalism”—recognizes that liberty and security must coexist. Governments are adopting pragmatic measures: linking citizenship rights to acceptance of national values, revoking citizenship for terrorists, monitoring religious funding, and requiring mosque sermons to be translated into local languages for transparency. Germany’s 2024 law mandating German-language sermons symbolizes this pragmatic turn.
Public attitudes are also changing. Where once any link between religion and violence was taboo, most Europeans now acknowledge that jihadist terrorism stems from ideological and cultural roots, not social despair. Support for stricter immigration controls and stronger counterterrorism laws has surged. Security agencies warn of a new threat—the “second generation of European jihadists”: young Muslims born and educated in Europe who nonetheless reject its values and identify with extreme Islamist movements abroad.
Europe’s leaders remain torn between tolerance and self-preservation, fearing to damage their nations’ image as inclusive societies. But the cost of inaction is rising: insecurity, social fragmentation, and the erosion of public trust. Today, it is clear: the counterterrorism act in Europe is still too little and too late!
Israel’s experience offers relevant lessons. As a democracy long exposed to terrorism, it has learned that freedom must have boundaries. It has been proven time and again to the Israelis that their nation's success rests on three pillars: uncompromising security vigilance, civic education promoting democratic values, and a legal system that distinguishes between legitimate dissent and incitement to violence. In Israel today, stricter laws are also needed to strengthen citizens' security against the threat of terrorism that regularly tries to raise its head. While not without dilemmas, Israel’s model demonstrates that moral clarity and decisive action are essential for survival against religiously motivated terror.
Europe now stands at a crossroads. The ideals of openness and human rights—pillars of its modern identity—are being challenged by an ideology that rejects them. Recognizing the religious and ideological roots of extremist violence does not mean labeling all Muslims as terrorists. Most are law-abiding citizens. Yet the incitement spread by radical Islamic leadership has driven many to commit horrific acts of terror on a scale unmatched by any other ideology in recent European history.
Only by acknowledging this reality, and defending liberal values with both conviction and courage, can Europe prevent the shadow of Islamist terrorism from darkening its future.
Yaron Hanan is an expert in risk management, resilience, and emergency management.
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