August 3, 2005
Rocky Relationship between Europe and Radical Islam
With the London bombings dominating the headlines this past month, a few other significant developments in Europe's increasingly rocky relationship with radical Islam have gone largely unnoticed. On the positive side, we have France. It may surprise some to learn that the French--no friend of the U.S. when it comes to the war in Iraq--have been a staunch ally in the greater War on Terror. For instance, a top-secret counterterrorism center, code-named "Alliance Base," currently operates out of Paris. According to the Washington Post, since 2002, six Western governments have shared intelligence and coordinated counterterrorism operations from Alliance Base.
Perhaps even more importantly, France has refused to allow its restless Muslims--who are estimated to make up about 10 % of the French population--to separate and isolate themselves from French society like they've done in Britain (they call it "Londonistan" for a reason). Just last week, France announced that it would be deporting 12 radical Muslim clerics for promoting jihad against the West. The French have already booted a number of these preachers of hate since 9/11, and more are soon to follow. The Brits have also vowed to begin deporting their radical imams, but don't hold your breath--Britain's counterterrorism laws are so weak right now that it's a good bet we'll be seeing the likes of Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed and Mohammed Al-Massari continue to pollute Britain's airwaves for months to come.
But back to France. The Chirac government's refusal to allow Muslim girls to wear the Islamic veil (or hijab) in France's public schools--while wildly unpopular in the Muslim world--has caught on in one other European country. Italy announced last week that it is banning the Islamic "burqa"--the black, head-to-toe covering that women in Afgahinstan were forced to wear under the Taliban. The burqa-banning measure comes under tough new Italian anti-terror laws that provide two-year jail terms and E2000 ($3200) fines for anyone caught covering their face in a public place. It's a welcome sign that Italians don't plan on allowing the kind of anti-Western "country- within-a-country" atmosphere so prevalent in Britian's Muslim communities become the norm in Italy. At least some Europeans still want to hold on to their culture and civilization--and hold off the increasingly aggressive Islamic push to turn the Old Continent into "Eurabia."
But some European countries still don't grasp the severity of the radical Islamist threat which seeks to replace Europe's churches with minarets. Two disheartening pieces of news out of Germany recently: One, a German court has ruled that the wiretapping of suspected terrorists and violent criminals there is illegal and an unconstitutional infringement of civil liberties. One needs to look no further than the 9/11 hijackers--a few of whom helped plan the Sept. 11 attacks while living in Hamburg, Germany--to see that Germany is making a huge mistake here. We already know that German intelligence is surveilling at least 300 suspected jihadists. Wouldn't wiretapping and monitoring these mens' phone conversations be a great place to start?
Even more disturbing is the case of Mamoun Darkazanli, a Syrian-born German citizen who is suspected of providing financial support to Al-Qaeda. Last month, Germany's highest court released Darkazanli, saying that his arrest warrant was invalid under the German constitution. Spain had wanted Germany to extradite Darkanzanli so he could stand trial in Madrid with other suspected Al-Qaeda members. Just how close is Dakazanli to Al-Qaeda? Well, authorities say he appeared in a 1999 home videotape of a wedding reception in Hamburg--right alongside two of the 9/11 hijackers. Now he's a free man. Question to Germany: if you can't keep a guy who cut wedding cake and caught the garter with the 9/11 hijackers off the streets, just who can you lock up?
A closing note: a recent poll shows that 52 percent of all British Muslims say they are Muslims first, and Brits second. God save the Queen.
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