As the rise of Islam in the West continues to dominate headlines, there’s a crucial reality many are overlooking: Muslims in the West are more “radical” than Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa. Why? Because they simply get to practice Islam in its full capacity. They are being wholly Muslim, unlike their brothers and sisters under Islamic dictatorships, who face rulers who permit them to practice Islam as long as it does not threaten their political authority.
The evidence is striking. A 2015 report found that about 16,000 jihadists from the Middle East and North Africa went to fight with jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq. That region has about 414 million Muslims, 94 percent of its population. Western Europe, where Muslims numbered about 26 million in 2016, less than 5 percent of the population, produced more than 5,000. That is one jihadist for every 25,000 or so Muslims in the Middle East and North Africa, and one for every 5,000 in Western Europe, more than four times the rate.
