JI H AD I S T AN D E T H N O - N AT I ON A L I S T T E RRORI S M Jihadist movement worldwide While some of the affiliates of the ʻIslamic Stateʼ or of al-Qaeda have the intent to carry out attacks on Western targets independently, they do not have the necessary resources or access outside their main areas of operation. Western interests locally, however, remain legitimate targets for most of these groups. For example, a Swiss woman abducted in the Sahel region in Mali in January 2016 was still being held hostage by an al-Qaeda affiliate at the time of going to press. Furthermore, the ʻIslamic Stateʼ claimed responsibility for the attack on a group of Western cyclists in Tajikistan at the end of July 2018, in which a Swiss man was among those killed and a Swiss woman was among those injured. Switzerland is not an island Switzerland is affected by developments in neighbouring countries: Islamic and jihadist movements are more likely to stop at language barriers than at national borders. Accordingly, Switzerland’s language regions are much influenced by movements in neighbouring countries where the same language is spoken. Salafist organisations and adherents have come under pressure from the authorities in a number of European states in recent years. For example, the Koran distribution campaign ʻRead!ʼ, whose initiators come from Germany, is banned in some countries and has been severely pushed back in Switzerland. In 2018, Switzerland saw only isolated Koran distribution campaigns. Influences from abroad can also be detected among imams and preachers, who may contribute to the radicalisation of individuals in Switzerland. Like other states, Switzerland has imposed entry bans or other measures under laws on foreign nationals on numerous preachers, who glorify or legitimise violence. Jihadist radicalisation in Europe and Switzerland The success story of the ʻIslamic Stateʼ in 2014 and 2015 triggered a significant increase in cases of radicalisation – in Switzerland as well as abroad. The experience of recent years has shown that particularly adolescents and young adults were susceptible to radicalization in Switzerland. In individual cases, this may lead to a willingness to use violence and thus present a threat to Switzerland. Although religious fundamentalism is often a contributing factor, in Switzerland it seldom appears to be the sole cause of processes of violent radicalisation. In recent years, the FIS has observed that these can often be traced back to disruptive events in an individual’s life, personal crises, the perception of being disadvantaged or mar- 40 S I T UAT I O N R E PORT 2 0 1 9 | F I S