SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC REASONS FOR THE RECRU ITING TO POLITICAL ISLAM

The European countries look in anxiety to the growth of Islamism south and east of the Mediterranean. The purpose of this article is to disc uss how demographic explosion, rapid urbanization and poverty constitu te major reasons for adhering to the Islamic movements, alongside reli gious and political motivations. However, during the last years the po pulation growth has slowed down; this gives reasons to hope that the v arious governments will be able to cope with the tremendous problems c oncerning housing, education and employment. Consequently the recruitm ent to Islamism may diminish. But for the same reasons the Islamists m ay concentrate utterly on religious and ideological motivations, and b ecome even more militant to tighten the grip on the adherents. Better living conditions may slow down the migration to Europe, whereas the g rowth of militant Islamism may lead to tension within the concerned co untries and to increased migration.