Dr. Dina Lisnianskaya studies the rise of Islam in the West and sees how Europe is gradually changing its face. Alongside the growing opposition and the rise of the extreme right, it indicates a synthesis of Muslim and European values.
Ayelet Shani.
November 04, 2026, 16:48 "Haaretz" Tell us about yourself. I am a researcher and faculty member at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University. She studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where she defended her doctoral thesis. My research interests are Islam in the West and radical Islamic movements. I lecture and consult on everything related to Islam in the West and terrorist movements in Israel, Great Britain and the European Union. I have just returned from a lecture tour in Germany, where I spoke about political Islam in Europe and its impact on the upcoming elections. Why Islam in Europe? 20 years ago, when I wrote my dissertation, this topic really stood out from the general series. People didn't understand what it had to do with it at all. It was clear to me that it would become relevant, because I am interested in the interaction of cultures. I knew that the combination of conventional Islamic culture with Western culture could not end in an idyll. Even then it was clear to me that this was an explosive story. Protest against the ban on headscarves in schools, Vienna, November. "Muslim believers are committed to the principle of spreading Islam as the only good in the world, even if they don't want to be extremists." Photo: AFP/Joe Kalmar The Muslim population in Europe is heterogeneous. Many countries of origin, several generations and several waves of immigration. The most significant of them happened about ten years ago, after the civil war in Syria. When talking about the Muslim population of Europe, consider which generation or wave of immigration we are talking about, which country of origin and which country of destination. Great Britain or France, for example, are countries that had colonies in the past.