Increased terrorism in Europe fuels consequences and reactions

Events in Europe, in recent weeks, have drawn attention to the sharp increase in terror attacks in the region. While the U.K has steadily been targeted for terrorist activities, the number of attacks carried out in continental Europe has increased like never before, over the past year. These circumstances have caused a state of anxiety and instability throughout Europe, with citizens and governments alike on high alert.

According to a Europol report, terror attacks and arrests of suspects have doubled in the past two years throughout Europe. The same report also pointed out that 1077 people were arrested in the E.U for terrorism-related offences just last year. The increase in the number of those arrested displays that more terrorist attempts are being prevented. However, there are still many challenges in disrupting attacks attempted by “lone wolves”. Terrorists, who are not officially affiliated with any known terrorist organisations, very often, slip under the radar. The Europol report also emphasised how substantial numbers of returned foreign terrorist fighters pose one of the biggest potential threats to security. Whereas Jihadi-inspired attacks are becoming more frequent, according to the report, ethno-nationalist and separatist terrorist attacks on the other hand, continue to decrease.

In the most recent attack, on Tuesday, July 26, in France, two men disrupted a mass in a Church in Normandy and killed 85-year-old, Father Jacques Hamel, by slitting his throat. The two men, who were reported to be ISIS supporters, were shot dead by Police after about an hour of the tragedy unfolding when they appeared in a courtyard outside the Church. Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attack. The murdered priest, along with nuns and other worshippers, was taken hostage on Tuesday morning, according to the French interior ministry. Two weeks ago, also, 84 people were killed while celebrating Bastille Day in Nice in another attack claimed by Islamic State. Germany has also been victimised by terrorist attacks, with the country having experienced four attacks in the past three weeks; an axe train attack in Wuzerburg on Monday 18th July, a suicide bomb attack in Ansbach on Sunday July 24th, a machete attack in Reutlingen on the same day, and a shopping mall shooting in Munich on Friday July 22nd. Three of these attacks are reported to have been carried out by asylum seekers or refugees with inspiration from Islamist extremism.

Professor Charles Dokubo of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, suggested that this has become big issue. The refugee crisis has placed political Islam right “at the backyard” of western Europe.

The reasons that may be behind this drastic increase in terrorist activity in Europe include the growing marginalisation perception by Muslim populations, an influx of refugees into Europe and the continent’s overwhelmed security services, Europe’s involvement in the Middle-East (Isis-claimed territory), and social media and modern technology aiding the sporadic spread of extremism.

According to Dokubo, “There are various reasons why people in Europe are more threatened than ever before. The fact is that on the war front in Syria and Iraq ISIS has been having a pounding from the combined attacks from Russia, Syria and the American air support. So they’ve been under a lot of bombardment and they’re splintering and moving out; and also as a result sending out more recruits and adherents of the faith to Western Europe. So, Europe will continue to have these attacks of terrorism as a new normal. And a country like France that has been admitting people of Islamic origin for a very long time, they are going to have what we call internally radicalised Islamic followers, who are also French citizens. That’s where the problem lies. You don’t have to wait for terrorists from outside to come. They already have radicalised citizens.”

Dokubo also expounded upon the main motivations behind the attacks. “There is no war of religious conversion,” he said. “They are looking at symbols of authority. Symbols of western legitimacy of government. These are the things that they attack. The free life that the people in Europe are accustomed to. That is what they are targeting and if Europe relents, and withdraws to the shelf, then they will give a field day to the terrorists. It is political, as well as religious.”

Authorities throughout Europe, but especially in the worst affected countries, such as France and Germany, are on high alert and are being vigilant to possible future attacks. In Washington recently, defence officials from the U.K and U.S (among others) stated the importance of expanding the battle against ISIL, especially to defeat their core bases in the cities of Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq. They spoke also of enhancing non-military means of defeating the terrorist group through social media, better post-conflict stabilisation in Mosul and Raqqa, and other approaches.

Dokubo emphasised the point that “the issue of containing and trying to eliminate terrorism is that you must be adaptive to new strategies. Short-term fixes and long-term strategies must be part of this system. So definitely, the security agencies are not at peace. They will work hard. They are playing a catch-up in most cases.” On Tuesday, July 26, French president, Francois Hollande, stated that the country is at war with the Islamic State and that they would “win this war”. French law-enforcement have now been given authority to conduct searches without a court order. They are, also, now able to make house arrests without court approval. Moreover, if the original search produced material suspected to link to a terrorist agenda, they can now engage in “follow-on-searches”. An increase in video surveillance, in an attempt to prevent further attacks, is also predicted. The difficulty with this, according to Professor Dokubo, is that “the freedom that they so much cherish in their society will be traded for security. It is a difficult thing for the western societies to do. Because if they do that, it will be as if they are acceding to the demands of terrorism”.

Europeans have particularly become weary of the refugee populations that have recently began to come into the continent. Around 60percent of Europeans, according to a PEW survey conducted early June, are of the opinion that the likelihood of terrorist attacks taking place increases as more refugees arrive in Europe. People from 10 European countries were polled, the majority of whom appear to be suspicious of refugees. Germany has seen a surge in support for right-wing parties after the country took in over 1 million refugees last year. While these anti-immigrant and extreme right wing sentiments are not a surprising reaction, they certainly will not help matters. Muslim immigrants and refugees, who may already feel side-lined and marginalised, will feel even more isolated as xenophobic and islamophobic sentiments increase. This could further exacerbate the situation. Alienated Muslim immigrants and asylum-seekers may be easily lured by extremist propaganda. What would actually be helpful is if individuals kept alert to possible security threats.

Dokubo advised that, “security is not only a job for the security agencies. It is also for individuals and communities at every level of society. People must be adaptive to the contemporary issues around them, and then let the security agencies know. Every person is a security operative. We don’t have to leave it to the security agencies. They can do much more with the aid and assistance of citizens”.

This increase in terrorist activity in Europe will also have a wider consequence internationally, and will also affect Nigerians to a certain extent. As mentioned by Dokubo, more ethno-religious profiling may take place as Nigerians with Islamic names may now face greater difficulty in getting visas to travel to some of the European countries affected by a rise in terrorist activity. Nigerian Muslims who are already residents in those countries will also be affected as hostility towards them may result from these attacks.