Motivations of European islamists and jihadists

Abstract

Aim: The study presents the process of Islamist radicalization, and outlines a dichotomous social psychological model based on the push and pull factors of Islamist radicalization.
Methodology: After a critical review of the international literature, it formulates new aspects for subsequent research.
Findings: Identification with radicalism is based on three basic motives: a) personality structure that reflects sensitively on social injustices and prefers radical solutions; b) the moral panic due to the negative experiences of young Muslims in the countries of the Euro-Atlantic world, and finally c) the political and attitude towards the foreign policy of the (collective) West. At the current level of our social development, the social-economic and legal system based on Christian foundation are in irreconcilable contradiction with the social and legal interpretation imported from the Islamic world. Therefore, the separation of Muslim communities will continue for a long time and remains a source of heavy social conflicts. In the longer term, Hungary also have to reckon with the gradual expansion of the Islamic community and the emergence of Islamist radicalism.
Value: Based on the research by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi onto the flow experience, present study introduces a new approach to understanding the radicalization.