[1] Rik Coolsaet (ed.), Jihadi terrorism and the Radicalisation Challenge in Europe. London, Ashgate, 2008 Zeitgeist and (De)Radicalisation 1 Rik Coolsaet & Tanguy Struye de Swielande It takes more than the speeches of bin Laden to turn an Islamist into a terrorist. It takes years of feeling abused. Rachid, a 31-year old Algerian, living illegally in London (2003) 2 arge parts of the world population fear terrorism. Yet, at the same time this fear seems to be receding somewhat. In January 2007, in the annual CEO poll at the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos, terrorism ranked only 11 th as a major threat – down from the 5 th place in 2004 and the 1 st place in 2003. During the meeting itself, the issue largely dropped off the agenda, as the focus turned to climate change. This slipping of terrorism as a major concern is a trend that has gone on for several years, notwithstanding major terrorist attacks that have occurred since 9/11. This changing atmosphere might help in decoupling two issues that for far too long have become closely intertwined in people’s mind in Europe: integration and terrorism. Especially since the 2001 attacks, integration, multiculturalism and national cohesion were increasingly viewed from a national security perspective, thus confusing issues whose origins, dynamics and remedies fall within different categories. The riots in the French suburbs in 2005 offer a case in point. Almost immediately after the first riots broke out, speculation arose about manipulation by Islamist radicals. Even after the French Renseignements Généraux confirmed that the involvement of Islamists was nil, some media have continued to refer to the rioters as ‘Muslim’, thus obfuscating the social and political causes driving these events. The sloppy use of the word ‘Muslim’ is characteristic for the debate about radicalisation and terrorism in Europe. Many tend to privilege 1 We would like to thank Dr. John Horgan, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (University of St Andrews) for his timely remarks on the draft of this epilogue. 2 Quoted in The Observer (2003), 9 March. L