It is certainly an interesting development that Romanian authorities have deported five students suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda and for trying to recruit Muslims to extremism. At first glance, it seems odd that Muslim extremists would target a country where the predominant religion is Romanian Orthodox and where there is no large discontented Muslim community. Romania has 140,000 Muslims in the country; 66,000 are Romanian citizens, and the rest are foreigners. Romania is one of the poorest countries in Europe and hardly influential in European and world politics. But, it does have NATO membership, aspirations to join the European Union, and is a supporter of the US War on Terrorism having sent a small contingent of troops to Iraq and Afghanistan . Romania also has weak institutions, rampant corruption, and a lagging economy, all issues that must be addressed for EU membership. It would seem possible, then, that al-Qaeda or other radicalized groups would be interested in Romania precisely because it is off the scope and a back door to Europe.

During the Balkans conflict, Islamic freedom fighters and radicals flocked to the region. Had the conflict occurred later or had they been as organized as they are now, it is possible that al-Qaeda would have been able to gain a foothold in the region. But, there are no Muslim brothers to save in Romania in terms of a large Muslim population, as is the case in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. The social and religious dynamics are different. However, it may be possible that radicalized groups may see Romania as a place they can gain a foothold quietly and perhaps use as a base of operations for entry to other parts of Europe. They likely made the assumption that the weakness of Romania?s institutions, while not a failed state, would give them cover to conduct their activities with impunity and undetected. Apparently, however, the Romanian authorities were paying attention to at least this group of students. The London subway bombings in July 2005 instigated a lot of discussion and inward-looking assessments in Europe on what to do with radicals in their midst and their role in recruiting terrorists.

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