The Transatlantic Gap on Islamism

Summary

On Tuesday, November 24, 2020, the Program on Extremism (PoE) at The George Washington University hosted a discussion regarding the substantial transatlantic gap on the issue of Islamism, highlighted by recent terrorist attacks in France. As exemplified by the positions of French President Emmanuel Macron and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, many Europeans are increasingly perceiving Islamism, and not just terrorism of jihadist inspiration, as a major challenge to their societies. These concerns have been met on the opposite side of the Atlantic with reactions mostly ranging from apathy to strong condemnations.

A discussion followed panelist remarks, moderated by Program on Extremism Director Lorenzo Vidino. The panelists included:

• Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies and Director of the Institute for Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East at Princeton University.
• Hannah Stuart, Director of Research at the Counter Extremism Group and previously Head of Research at the UK Government's independent Commission for Countering Extremism
• Hugo Micheron, Postdoctoral Research Associate at Princeton University's Institute for Transregional Studies and author of Le jihadisme français