Liminality and Belonging among Muslim-Origin Youth in Europe: Rethinking Radicalisation through Experiences of Societal Exclusion
Drawing on interviews with Muslim-origin youth across four European countries, this article argues that radicalisation is better understood as a potential response to prolonged societal exclusion and liminality, where religious identification often serves as a vital source of dignity and belonging rather than an indicator of extremist ideology.
Original paper licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This is an AI-generated explanation of the paper below. It is not written or endorsed by the authors. For technical accuracy, refer to the original paper. Read full disclaimer
In the study of how people fit into society, researchers have long looked at the moment when someone moves from one culture to another. They often imagine this as a temporary bridge, a short period of waiting before a person fully settles into a new home. This idea, known as liminality, suggests that the state of being "in-between" is just a phase that eventually passes. However, a new line of inquiry suggests that for many people, this in-between state does not end. Instead, it becomes a permanent way of living, where a person is legally a citizen of a country but is treated as a stranger in their own daily life. When people feel they are constantly on the outside looking in, they often search for a sense of belonging elsewhere. This search can sometimes lead them toward tight-knit communities or strong religious identities. Understanding this process is crucial because it challenges the common belief that people turn to extreme political views simply because they are angry or poorly educated. Instead, it suggests that the drive to belong is a powerful human need that can be triggered by the quiet, persistent feeling of not being fully accepted.
A researcher led by Ayhan Kaya at Istanbul Bilgi University set out to understand this dynamic among young people of Muslim heritage living in Europe. They wanted to know how these young adults, who were born and raised in countries like Belgium, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, make sense of their place in society. The researcher conducted 151 in-depth, private conversations with young men and women, mostly between the ages of 18 and 30, who identified as Muslim and had Turkish or Moroccan backgrounds. The researcher did not look for people involved in violence or crime. Instead, they sought out young people who were thinking deeply about their identity, their faith, and their place in the world. The goal was to listen to their stories and see how their daily experiences of exclusion shaped their choices.
The study found that for many of these young people, the feeling of being an outsider is not a temporary stage but a lasting condition. Even though they hold passports and have lived in these countries their entire lives, they frequently encounter discrimination in schools, at work, and on the street. They are often stereotyped as potential threats or fundamentalists, regardless of their actual behavior. This creates a sense of uncertainty and humiliation. The researcher observed that this constant state of being "betwixt and between"—formally included as citizens but socially excluded—forces young people to look for a different kind of home. They found that for most of the young people interviewed, turning to religion was not a step toward violence or extremism. Instead, it was a way to find dignity, moral clarity, and a sense of self-worth in a world that often made them feel invisible or suspect.
When these young people spoke about their faith, they described it as a source of personal strength and a guide for how to be a good person. One young woman in the Netherlands explained that her religion taught her patience, how to care for the vulnerable, and how to make fair decisions. Another young man in Paris described participating in protests for causes like Palestine not as a political strategy for war, but as a way to shout out their anger and show that they were a community that cared about justice. The researcher noted that these expressions of faith and solidarity were often a reaction to being treated as less than equal. The young people were not abandoning their European identities; they were trying to repair the damage done by a society that refused to see them fully. They used their religious communities to build a sense of belonging that the wider society had denied them.
The study also highlighted how the experience of exclusion varies for men and women, yet leads to similar feelings of being misunderstood. Young Muslim women often reported that their choice to wear a headscarf was scrutinized more than any other aspect of their lives. They felt that society focused on their clothing rather than their skills or their humanity, often assuming they were forced to wear it or that it limited their potential. In response, many women described their headscarf as a symbol of their own agency and dignity, a way to define themselves on their own terms rather than accepting the labels others tried to put on them. Similarly, young men often felt that they were viewed with suspicion, particularly in the wake of global events that painted them as potential threats. In both cases, the feeling of being constantly judged and misidentified pushed them to seek out communities where they felt understood and respected.
The researcher concluded that the path to political radicalization is not a straight line caused by poverty or religious indoctrination. Instead, it is often a response to a deep, unresolved feeling of not belonging. When people feel that their citizenship is conditional and that they are never truly seen as equals, they may turn to alternative communities that offer them recognition and a sense of purpose. For the vast majority of the young people interviewed, this search for belonging remained peaceful and focused on moral guidance and community support. The study suggests that to truly understand why some people might turn to extreme views, society must first address the everyday experiences of exclusion and discrimination that make them feel like outsiders in their own homes. By focusing on creating a society where everyone feels fully recognized and included, the need to seek belonging in more extreme forms may naturally diminish.
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