The terrorism paradox

It seemed like such a noble idea. When the European Union knit the continent into a single, postmodern entity, nationalism and religious affiliations from centuries past were supposed to give way to a broader, more enlightened identity. But the EU's idealistic creators did not foresee how stubborn national identity can be — ask the Greeks today how they feel about the Germans (and vice versa). Nor did the EU anticipate the influx of millions of immigrants uninterested in assimilating Western ideals of secularism, women's equality, and free speech. Homegrown Islamist terrorism has now shocked EU leaders into a re-examination of their policies, such as letting citizens move freely among countries without so much as a passport check. Up to now, the EU has not even maintained a no-fly list or even a central database of suspected terrorists. Such aggressive security measures seemed so excessive, so backward, so…American.

This is the central conundrum of our times: To protect their liberal ideals from illiberal fanatics, Western societies are tracking millions of phone calls, spying on emails and Facebook pages, and using scanners to look through airline travelers' clothes. France is now even arresting Muslims for expressing forbidden ideas. Provoking an overreaction is one of terrorists' goals; the West has succumbed to that temptation more than once. But there is no choice but to react when alienated jihadists detonate homemade bombs in Boston, hack off heads in London, and launch commando attacks on magazines and kosher supermarkets in Paris. Will modernity ultimately outsmart and outlast Dark Age fundamentalism? We will not have a final answer for decades.

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