Merah and Breivik: A Reflection of the European Identity Crisis

While the cases of Anders Behring Breivik and Mohamed Merah clearly demonstrate the impact of social networks and the role of the Internet and prison on the radicalization process, the killings in Norway and France in fact expose larger issues that exist within contemporary Europe, including profound identity crises manifesting as Islamist extremism in some quarters and far-right extremism in others. This article discusses the individual pathways towards extremism of Merah and Breivik, the interconnectivity of two extremisms and how these can be understood as mirrored manifestations of an identity crisis in Europe.¹1. A shorter version of this article was presented at the international conference on “Europe and Islam in the 21st Century,” organized by the Monash European and EU Centre, Monash University, Prato, Italy, June 20–21, 2013. I would also like to thank Associate Professor Pete Lentini, and Dr Natalie Doyle for having inspired me to continue this research that is close to my heart.