Europe is at risk of going numb. First it was Nice, on Bastille Day, an attack not just on the French but on holidaymakers enjoying what should have been a memorable night on the beach ...
26 JULY 2016 • 11:51AM
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| Emergency workers after the Ansbach explosion |
Membership in Isil, which could be defined by a 'like' or a post in Facebook, should be criminalised by the European Justice system
Then it was Ansbach, Germany, in a bar by a Syrian asylum-seeker. The bombing happened during a three-day music festival, raising horrible memories at the slaughter at the Bataclan in Paris earlier this year.
Perhaps the attack today at a church in Normandy will turn out to be the latest. Perhaps, once more information comes out, it will not. But it will certainly happen again. Each time it does, we think "it could have been any street, anywhere". And then it is.
The thing about so many of these attacks is that the weapons are raw and common. Just look around you and you will see thousands more like them. Some may be ordered bi the so-called Islamic State (Isil), but each could equally have been a suicidal airline pilot or a self-radicalised lunatic achieving a self-defined goal. So now voices in the West are raising the question: has the time come to ban Islam entirely from the US and Europe?
That this question is even being asked indicates that fear and hatred of Muslims is reaching unprecedented heights. We have to fight fascist Islam, but this means defining its borders and its leaders while working with mainstream Muslims to strengthen and empower them. They have to speak up against this new kind of terror, because if they don't, in the mind of the public, they will be implicated, guilty by association with these murderous attacks. Muslim religious leaders have a big role to play to set a tone that will be reflected within their communities.
It also means investing in education. We can't sit by and let those of any faith and none attack our liberal democratic values. Religious leaders need to actively encourage their followers. By doing this, I firmly believe that we can change the attitude of a generation. This begins in schools but must be echoed at home, on our streets and in every corner of our lives. Just this week I witnessed a full blown argument in a shop about which line a customer was standing in. This complete lack of tolerance and respect leads to individuals feeling marginalised. Each of us individually can set the tone for the society we want to be a part of, and religious leaders must take more responsibility than most.
We cannot legislate against "lone wolf" attacks, but we can create an inclusive society where education about tolerance and respect permeates every corner. In time, that will make them less likely.
Even as we fight prejudice, however, we also need short term solutions that will ensure our streets are safe today and tomorrow. The internet has played a huge part in creating this problem and internet providers have a huge role in beginning to solve it. The European Commission has taken the first step in cracking down on hate speech, but it is not just about what is being said; it's about what people are reading, absorbing and translating into the horrific action we see on our streets.
You no longer have to travel to some distant and far flung land to be radicalised by any ideology. It is available in your kitchen. The minimal amount of time which was needed to radicalize Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who only began visiting a mosque in April and was not known to counter-terror authorities, shows to what extent our communications and communities have changed with the onset of the internet and the social networks.
So as membership in the SS was criminalised by postwar courts, membership in Isil, which could be defined by a "like" or a post in Facebook, should be criminalised by the European justice system, allowing the preliminary arrests of potential terrorists. For if we want the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, the bars of Ansbach, and the whole of Europe to return totheir peaceful past, the Bouhlels of this world have to be found as early as possible.
Sites that contain information that leads to radicalisation need to be monitored, tracked and where appropriate blocked. For the time being, security services across Europe – even in the UK – need to monitor trends and ensure they are on top of anyone they deem to be a risk. I do not like the idea of being watched, but I far prefer it to the images from Nice. When any vehicle anywhere in the world is a weapon, we need to take measures to ensure that we are not at risk.
In doing so we must be careful of not stoking the very prejudice I describe above. With waves of migration from Africa and the Middle East, Europe is changing. It's true that the Ansbach attacker was a refugee, or at least posing as one. But the 7/7 bombers and Jihadi John were both brought up in the UK, while Bouhlel had moved to France more than ten years ago. We cannot our fears blind us to "homegrown" threats, nor lead us to reject immigrants and refugees who are only seeking a better life. Instead we must be alert to the fact that threats are all around us and look to influence those around us.
Further intelligence can reduce the threats we are facing, while emphasis on tolerance in our society will mean positive change in the long term. The incident in Nice is perhaps the scariest of its kind to hit us in recent months, but we can ensure that our values stay alive. Our society can change for the better. But we will all be haunted by these scenes for years to come. And there will be new ones, soon, if we do not act now.
Pinchas Goldschmidt is the Chief Rabbi of Moscow and the President of the Conference of European Rabbis
Key Isil attacks on Western targets
Tributes to the 49 killed in an Orlando gay club, by a gunman claiming links to Isil
The main attacks by those pledging allegiance to Isil, since the announcement of the caliphate in 2014
Summer 2014
Jihadi John beheadings
The beheading of five British and American journalists and aid workers kidnapped in Syria. Their deaths were filmed and broadcast in the summer of 2014 and carried out by British jihadist Mohammed Emwazi, dubbed Jihadi John.
October 2014
Soldier shot in Canada
A Muslim convert in Canada shot and killed a soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa and then stormed Canada's Parliament, firing multiple times before authorities killed him
January 2015
Charlie Hebdo attacks
A coordinated attack on the Paris offices of the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine left 12 people dead.
January 2015
Attack in France
A French Muslim of North African descent, Yassine Salhi, decapitated his employer Hervé Cornara and drove his van into gas cylinders at a gas factory in Saint-Quentin-Fallavier near Lyon, France.
March 2015
Tunisian museum attack
Isil sympathisers shot dead 22 people, mostly Europeans, at the Bardo museum in Tunis, Tunisia
May 2015
Dallas shooting over Prophet Muhammad cartoon
Two men opened fire in a Dallas suburb outside a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest.
June 2015
Tunisian tourist attack
Thirty-four tourists, including 30 Britons, were shot dead by a lone gunman professing support from Isil in Sousse, Tunisia.
Oct 2015
224 dead after Russian plane bomb
Russian Metrojet crash over the Sinai in which 224 passengers and staff were killed. Isil claim to have planted a bomb on board.
November 2015
Paris attacks leave 129 dead
In its most ambitious attack on Western society, more than 10 members of the Islamic State killed 129 people across Paris.
December 2015
14 dead after California mental health facility
Inspired by Isil, couple Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik shoot dead 14 people and injure 22 after opening fire at a mental health facility in San Bernardino, California
January 2016
Suicide bomber strikes in Istanbul
A Saudi-born Isil suicide bomber detonates near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. 11 people, all foreigners, are killed, and 14 are injured
March 2016
Bomb attacks in Belgium kill 31
Isil claims responsibility for two bomb attacks in Brussels, Belgium that left at least 31 dead and more than 220 injured. The attacks occurred at Zaventem Airport and at Maelbeek metro station.
June 2016
Orlando gay club attacks
A gunman who pledged allegiance to Isil leader Baghdadi killed 49 people when he opened fire inside a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Also in June, an Islamist stabbed to death a French police chief and his wife at their home, before releasing a video calling for more attacks
June 2016
Istanbul airport attack
Isil are believed to have been behind a gun and bomb attack on Istanbul's Ataturk airport, in which 41 people are killed and over 230 injured.
