State Responses to ‘Muslim’ Violence: A Comparison of Six West European Countries

Abstract

This essay examines contemporary state responses to associations between Muslims and violence in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain. It stresses the critical role of violence as a spur to recent policy developments, but argues that state actions since 9/11 have to be seen in the context of rising associations between Muslims and violence since the 1980s. States have responded to these associations with an overlapping three-pronged strategy that consists of enacting generic anti-violence policies, repressing religious violence and integrating religious minorities.