Some thoughts on the Age of Jihad in Europe

The Hunkpapa Lakota holy man Sitting Bull once said, “Let us put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children.”   Today we could paraphrase that and say, “Let us put our minds together and see how we can prevent our children being slaughtered by jihadis.”

My parents generation had to fight the Nazis. It fell to them to fight fascism and to endure a horrendous war which threatened to crush everything; all hope, all joy, and all freedoms.

It falls upon the current and it would seem the next generation to live in the Age of Jihad and deal with all the threats and events it imposes upon them.

The assumption is that the vast majority of people want to prevent further acts of violence, to protect the vulnerable, and to live in an atmosphere of peace, cooperation, and mutual respect.

Here’s a little brainstorm about the current situation in Europe.  I’ve tried to keep it factual but some opinions have crept in there too.  It’s not just about jihadis and islamism, it’s about mass migration too because the two things are intertwined.  You can’t discuss one without soon including the other.

1. Lack of border control means that inadequate checks are carried out on people arriving into Europe. The terrorists and criminals mingle freely with the innocent.
2. Lack of checks and intelligence combined with the criminality of those who play the system means that the difference between a war refugee, asylum seeker, and migrant is often blurred.
3. Germany appears to have become so sensitive to its recent past that many precautions and security practices that might help track terrorists or provide evidence of their actions are not implemented for fear of intruding on the privacy of its citizens. (It seems that may be about to change).
4. Homegrown terrorists are radicalised by clerics and other mentors who live freely and unchallenged among us. Some are even invited to speak at our universities.
5. Any non native person convicted of a violent act is rarely deported after serving his sentence, leaving them free to continue to exploit the system and commit further acts of terror or criminality.
6. Convicted criminals and terrorists are free to move about in Europe at will thanks to open border agreements within the Schengen Area.
7. Freedom of movement allows UK and European citizens to travel to Syria to join the jihad and return into the ranks of those also trained and radicalised.
8. The security services do not have the resources to monitor all of them and have to prioritise their efforts based on whatever intelligence they can gather.
9. Sometimes, as in the case of the Berlin attack, they stop watching someone who then goes on to carry out an atrocity.
10. Sectarianism and factionalism within Islam fuels violence. Peaceful Muslim sects like the Ahmadiyya are persecuted by others who regard them as heretics*.
11. When Ahmadiyya Muslims show sympathy and support after islamist atrocities the mainstream media reports on them as if they represent all Muslims.
12. Rival factions within the religion have been engaged in a vicious cycle of violence for millennia.
13. There is widespread ignorance of this same sectarianism and factionalism within the press, media, and public.
14. With continued mass migrations into Europe this violent factionalism is imported along with other cultural practices that are at odds with liberal western democracies.
15. Antisemitism has increased greatly in Europe in recent years. For many Jews life has become intolerable in some European cities and they have emigrated.
16. Segregation rather than integration is on the increase in many European cities, with large areas devoid of any sign of multiculturalism.
17. The mainstream media and left wing pressure groups are more concerned with the reaction to acts of terrorism than the atrocities themselves.
18. Worries about a rise in islamophobia are stronger than their concerns about the spread of islamism and violent jihad. There is almost a ‘we had it coming‘ attitude.
19. Voters are turning to right wing politicians for answers since the excessive liberalism of the centre and left seems to be not only ineffectual but the actual cause of the current problems.
20. Requests for stronger immigration controls are dismissed as racism and xenophobia and are quickly followed by another lecture on the benefits of immigration.
21. Requests for stronger immigration controls are seen as a condemnation of immigration itself rather than limiting it to sustainable levels.
22. Anyone, particularly politicians, who dares to point at the connection between mass immigration and the rise of islamism in Europe is dismissed as islamophobic.
23. Warnings from reformed radicals who know the islamist mindset only too well are often ignored.
24. Muslim reformers, converts to Christianity, and apostates are subjected to harassment and campaigns of violence on the grounds that they are blasphemers and heretics.
25. The Police are quick to respond to reports of alleged hate crime but not so keen when the alleged perpetrators are themselves from an ethnic minority due to fears about cultural sensitivities and of being regarded as racist.
26. Political Correctness has caused real and significant damage, pain, and distress by preventing the Police, Social Services, and other authorities from investigating numerous crimes recurring over many years.
27. Neither left nor right can claim to occupy the moral high ground.  Extremism and intolerance exist at either end of the political spectrum.
28. Lack of opportunity and socio-economic factors don’t radicalise people.  Some terrorists are educated and employed.

*Examples:

• Ahmadiyya Muslim shopkeeper from Glasgow Asad Shah murdered by Sunni Muslim from Bradford Tanveer Ahmed (stabbed in the head multiple times in ferocious and prolonged attack because he ‘disrespected’ Islam)
• Mohammed Hussain Syeedy from Rochdale murdered Imam from Rochdale called Jalal Uddin (head smashed in with multiple blows) because he disagreed with his theological ideas.

Suggestions

1. The media needs to make a strong effort to distinguish between Sunni/Shia/Salafi/Wahabi and other forms of Islam like Ahmadiyya or Sufi.
2. This pandering to political correctness must end as soon as possible.  We need to have frank and open discussions without resorting to labeling people and dismissing their concerns and viewpoints simply because we don’t agree with them.
3. Everyone is responsible for their own reactions.  If you’re offended then it’s your choice to be so.  It doesn’t make you right and your human rights have not been violated.
4. Security is everyone’s responsibility and we should all be vigilant to potential threats.  We have a duty to report suspicious activity to the relevant authorities.
5. Governments should pay more heed to those who understand the islamist mindset and give less attention to associations to those who are thinly disguised fronts for extremist viewpoints.

That’s it for the moment.  What are your suggestions?  What’s your analysis and how do you think we can prevent more people from being bombed, stabbed, shot, run over, assaulted, and otherwise hurt?