«It is already 18 months that terrorists attack civilians, now the target is becoming religious symbols, taking as a pretext our religion, we cannot stand that anymore» with these words Mohammed Karabila , the Imam of the mosque that arised on a portion of territory offered from the Catholic Church in Saint Etienne du Rouvray, commented the death of his friend and parish Jacques Hamel, as reported by Le Point, they were part of an interconfessional committee.
The terrorists attacks in Europe
Terroristic attacks were intensified in the last months, they have been continuous, without breaks. It is a step by step war that is trying to divide us on religious beliefs and ways of life. Only in 2015, as reported by Europol there were 211 between failed, foiled, and completed terrorist attacks. 151 people died and 360 were injured . According to the last data collected, 1077 people in Europe have been arrested for crimes connected to terrorism, 424 only in France. In 94% of the cases people who were under trial have been judged at fault and submitted to penalties.
The report by Europol on the situation of terrorism in Europe underlines two worrying aspects: the threat is reinforced because of a considerable number of returned foreign fighters and at the same time also the rise in nationalist , xenophobic, racist and anti-Semitic sentiments across the EU, each resulting in acts of right-wing extremism .
A large percentage of the foreign fighters travelling to Syria and Iraq is represented by women. There is no evidence that terrorists systematically use the flow of refugees to enter Europe: terrorists often have born and have grown up in our countries , they are second and third generation, often emarginated from the society with lives as thieves and criminals. A part from individuals and former foreign fighters we cannot forget the role of the lack of integration.
Terrorists are also the result of our banlieue, where fundamentalists recruit most successfully. But the drama is that not always there is a valid alternative to wait for them, there is a lack of social identity with respect to our society, from which many feel excluded since the beginning.
Strategies to fight against terrorism
Day by day the need of an European Intelligence becomes more urgent, with the need of an efficient information exchange between member states more efficient. That’s necessary in consideration of the rising of the presence of this phenomenon in our home countries.
But on the other hand we cannot forget there are different political actions that it would be urgent to implement at the local level. It desperate people, some with psychosis or some emarginated people abandoned to internet , where Isis recruitment find an easy way to recruit terrorists.
It could be a great idea to create a positive alternative on internet to attract this kind of people, a plan to implement integration policies and trainings at the local level. And of course there is also need to act on social networks. Walking around council housing in a quite central area of Brussels, it is not difficult to notice teenagers, young people and minors abandoned to themselves, on the street, looking away without any hope. Those young people easily attracted by little money to fight the boredom or the poverty even just for few minutes. Today it could be a theft, but what ‘s going to happen tomorrow?
«It is already 18 months that terrorists attack civilians, now the target is becoming religious symbols, taking as a pretext our religion, we cannot stand that anymore» with these words Mohammed Karabila , the Imam of the mosque that arised on a portion of territory offered from the Catholic Church in Saint Etienne du Rouvray, commented the death of his friend and parish Jacques Hamel, as reported by Le Point, they were part of an interconfessional committee.
