The roots of Islamist extremism in Belgium are deep and complex. In the wake of Tuesday’s attacks in Brussels, investigators are puzzling over the scope of the terrorist plot, in which bombs exploded in the capital’s main airport and on its busy metro, killing at least 31 people and injuring at least 270.
There has been criticism of Belgium’s security lapses and the dysfunctions dogging its multilingual police agencies. There is also focus on the country’s particular problem of radicalization: It has had a greater share of its population join radical groups fighting in Syria than any other country in Europe; a Muslim-majority neighborhood in Brussels appears to be at the heart of terrorist plots, including the Islamic State’s November assault on Paris.
The Saudi origins of Belgium’s Islamist threat
.........
