Homegrown terrorism remains a threat across Europe

Deutsche Welle - 7 July 2010

Five years after the London bombings, in which 52 people died, homegrown terror remains a concern across Europe. More dialogue and a coordinated strategy is how EU countries hope to tackle the problem.



Homegrown terrorism is a relatively new term - and a new phenomenon. But Europe has learned through experience that it is a danger from within that cannot be ignored.

Five years ago, on July 7, 2005, four bomb attacks on the London transport system left 56 dead and countless wounded. One year earlier, the Madrid attacks claimed the lives of 191 people.

In Germany, the so-called Sauerland terror cell had devised attacks on airports that were only prevented because the group's plans were uncovered shortly before they intended to carry them out.

Homegrown terrorism is different from attacks like those in the United States on September 11, 2001. The perpetrators come from the very countries they attack, where they grew up and went to school. Most come from secular immigrant families and are brought up without religious zeal.

They seem well integrated into society - until they come into contact with Islamist extremists. Some of these homegrown terrorists do not even have a Muslim background and only convert to Islam when they become adults.

Read more: Deutsche Welle