>> I haven't had much contact with this immigrant minority, but from the media, I get the feeling that they are not really "respected" - their culture and herit

>> I haven't had much contact with this immigrant minority, but from the media, I get the feeling that they are not really "respected" - their culture and heritage is demonized left and right, they are "foreigners" and "people of color". Probably, this got much worse after 9/11 and other terrorist attacks (e.g. in the UK), and was quite bad even before (e.g. in France, from what I hear). I'm part of this minority (immigrant father, look like an immigrant, arabic name) and this part is completely true. And I can say this despite having a Dutch mother, being an atheist, having plenty of economic opportunities, a jewish girlfriend and having no affiliation with islam. The way people who look like me, or that have my father's religion, are treated here in the EU, is downright nasty. It stings my heart, again, even though I have limited affiliation with my heritage that's so vilified here. If I actually identified myself with islam it'd be very easy to feel as if it's 'us vs them'. But the economic melt-down. Look, I hear what you're saying, it does affect immigrants more harshly as they're generally in a socioeconomic position that's less well equiped to deal with economic hardship. (from the lack of a professional network, culture divide to the illiteracy of many first generation immigrants). And I've experienced my fair share of economic hardship, too, like picking the leftover damaged potatoes and tomatoes from the street after marketmen close up shop at night. but I don't really see this as a deciding factor at all. The story of Casablanca slums just don't apply (watch Horses of God if you're interested!), in my experience and opinion, to Europe. It does generate a certain sentiment, a pessimism, it can take away pockets of dignity, that make a person more susceptible to a crazy imam's rhetoric, but at the end of the day Europe is a pretty brilliant place to live when you're poor. I can't imagine a better place after Scandinavia. I think it's far from a deciding factor. If the above (cultural demonization and rash foreign policies) hadn't happened, even if there was twice as much unemployment, I don't think EU youth joining ISIS would've really been a problem. That having been said, in my opinion the whole eu youth joining isis is way overblown, but that's another discussion I won't invite myself to have! I'll be happy to discuss though if you want.