Brussels, 03/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - Islam does not encourage violent behaviour on the part of young people. This behaviour is more likely to be triggered by situations of discrimination and social marginalisation, according to a report published by the European Union Agency Fundamental Rights (FRA) on 27 October. “Young people who are discriminated against and feel socially marginalised, and those who have been a victim of violence, are more likely to use violence towards others. This pattern holds true for both Muslim and non-Muslim youth,” said Morten Kjaerum, the director of the FRA. According to the Agency's most recent report, entitled “Does Discrimination Foster Violence?”, “there are no indications that young Muslims are more or less likely to use violence than non-Muslim youths (…) when other aspects of discrimination and marginalisation, and other characteristics of the lives of the young people, have been taken into account”. The comparative study is based on a survey carried out among 3000 young Muslims and non-Muslims aged between 12 and 18 years, in France, the United Kingdom and Spain, “three member states of the European Union which have experienced terrorist attacks related to radical Islamism or urban disturbances involving young immigrants coming mainly from a Muslim background,” states the Agency. Young Muslims in France and, even more so, in Spain have experienced more situations of discrimination than the other young people, according to this report, which stresses that there is a “strong link” between having been a victim of discrimination and the perpetration of violence. “All policies which seek to fight the threats to our society, terrorism or juvenile delinquency, for example, should therefore tackle the daily situations of exclusion and discrimination which affect all our young people,” the FRA concluded. (B.C./trans.fl)