Mogahed on the so-called “youth bulge.”

Dalia Mogahed:  I think a lot of people have written extensively on what is called the “youth bulge,” where the majority of the Muslim world is below the age of adulthood. And at the same time, this huge youth bulge is not being sustained; or its energy is not being utilized in economic growth, or in job creation. So we have a huge youth bulge in the Muslim world, but not the jobs to support it. And I think that that problem is one that we have to address.

But from my data, our analysis – my team’s analysis – shows that those who sympathize with terrorism are not actually more likely to be unemployed. I don’t think that takes away from the need to address this issue. I’m just not sure that it’s at the heart of the terrorism problem.

Recorded: July 3, 2007