One of Britain’s problems with assimilation manifests itself in the rate of British Muslims joining the armed forces. More British Muslims have reportedly gone to fight in Iraq and Syria than serve in the military. Approximately 640 Muslims are members of the armed forces, while 1,500 have attempted to leave Britain to join ISIS in the past four years.
This is an alarming statistic that suggests Britain has a serious integration problem on its hands. Their Muslim community is more likely to be motivated to join a terrorist group than to join the military to fight terrorism. We should be proud—and relieved—that this isn’t the case in America, where only 250 Americans have tried to go fight with ISIS, while the military estimates there are nearly 5,900 Muslims now serving.
Military enlistment is also a sign that an immigrant is headed towards integration, especially because it indicates he is likely not getting into trouble with the law. This is important because prisons are an epicenter of Islamic radicalization in Europe as well as America. Counterterrorism experts warn the level of radicalization in British prisons could pose a national security threat. There are similar concerns in the United States, as well as France and Belgium. One of the attackers who killed a French priest last week, Adel Kermiche, was radicalized in prison. So were French terrorists Mohamed Merah, the Toulouse shooter, and Amedy Coulibaly, the attacker at the kosher deli in 2015.
Members of the military are much less likely to land themselves in prison, where, if they come from a Muslim family, they are likely targets for indoctrination by radical Muslim inmates or prison clerics.
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