Yes, but why Europe produced so many angry young crusaders is also an interesting question that touches on gender and family issues. IIRC the Norman practice of dividing an estate among all surviving sons led, after a few generations, to large populations of land-hungry armed horsemen on tiny estates. Thus the Normans exported mercenary and conquering armies all over Europe, starting with England through the Crusades.
I agree that it is interesting to wonder why certain cultures are more violent and militant than others. My points, more clearly:
1. That # of Jihadist does not indicate how violent and militant a culture is because it is not a cross-cultural term.
2. That cross cultural measures of murder rates do not indicate that the Middle East is home to particularly violent cultures.
3. That the Middle East is home to lots of military action, but that it is produced by foreign and local interests and can be explained by financial motives rather than cultural ones.
