The increasing evidence of radicalisation of a small number of Muslims in Europe has been one of the most disturbing developments of the past year and the UK has become a particular target, a leading think tank said today.
"Along with the various crises in the Middle East and the growing extroversion of new great powers such as China, the revelation of the extent of Muslim radical disquiet in Europe has become a key strategic issue," John Chipman, Director General of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) told reporters here.
The increasing evidence of radicalisation of a small number of Muslims in Europe has been one of the most disturbing developments of the past year and the UK has become a particular target, a leading think tank said today.
"Along with the various crises in the Middle East and the growing extroversion of new great powers such as China, the revelation of the extent of Muslim radical disquiet in Europe has become a key strategic issue," John Chipman, Director General of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) told reporters here.
Launching the Strategic Survey 2006, Chipman said "five years after 9/11, one of the most disturbing developments of the past year has been the increasing evidence of radicalisation of a small number of Muslims in Europe." "While the tendency towards 'home-grown' terrorism is evident in several countries, the United Kingdom has been a particular target with the July 2005 London bombings followed last month by arrests in connection with an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic aircraft. There have also been several trials for terrorist offences." He said the solution to the problem appeared to lie at least as much in social and economic policies as in the application of security measures.
Year 2006 was an especially hyperactive one for the world's diplomats and mediators due to a number of events and trends including the Lebanon war, stalled India-Pakistan talks, the virtual revival of the Sri Lankan civil war, instability in Nepal, multiple conflicts in Sudan, delicately poised electoral results in Latin America and frosty East Asian relations, he added.
