How Big is Islamic Threat to Europe?
Written by Haitham Sabbah on 24. April 2007, 1508hrs // Part of Haitham Sabbah's adventure in Islam, Religion, Terrorism // Other posts by Haitham Sabbah
[By bendib.com]
How funny can the world be? Let’s find out…
Thanks to Robin, she sent me a link for an article (By Kristoffer Larsson) titled:”The Islamic Threat to Europe: By the Numbers.” So far so good!
Larsson start his article by describing how and why the U.S. media is focusing best of its attention on Islamism (as he calls it) and so does our fellow Europeans.
Of course it goes without say that since 9/11, Islam is number one enemy for everyone, regardless if it matters what we (Arab and Muslims) says about terrorists or not, and regardless if we defend Islam and Muslims or not, we are all tagged as “THE BAD GUYS”.
Back to Larsson and his article he says:
Following this, you might think the journalists would be beside themselves with joy when the European Police Office (Europol) releases its first report on terrorism in the EU. I can assure you they weren’t. In fact, to my best knowledge, not a single Swedish paper or news-channel has paid any attention to it whatsoever. I haven’t seen it receiving much attention in other EU countries either (kudos to the EUobserver for having the decency to report on it). The report is namely a grave disappointment for the anti-Islamic campaigners.
There were 498 incidents in eleven EU countries last year labelled as “terrorist attacks.” The Basque separatist group ETA did best (136 terrorist attacks) and was responsible for the only deadly attack, killing two in Madrid. The remaining 497 fortunately cost no human lives.
So far so… I don’t know, good or bad? He then continues:
How about the Islamic terrorists then? Considering the perpetual warnings in our daily papers, the findings in the Europol report is, to say the least, surprising. The truth is that Islamists only carried out one out of the 498 terrorist attacks in the European Union in 2006. Don’t believe me? The entire report is available on Europol’s website (PDF). Had Islamic fundamentalists been behind a higher number of attacks-say 136-it would have been front page news at every big daily. One attack is simply too few–it won’t do if the image of an “Islamic threat” is to live on.
Wow! What can I say? It is NOT funny world as I said before, but stupid people to believe all what Bush and his administration is guiding the world by… Lies, lies, lies…
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April 24th, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Hatitham,
Though you may think, based on the current administration, that the US is full of the most racist law enforcement in the world, I just don’t think it is true. Yes, there are a number of incidents and much work needs to be done, but most American law enforcement are not racists. I would say the vast majority.
There are major issues with the justice system in the United States but I would say the great majority of those problems do not neccesarilly come from race relations, but poverty, access to the courts and most of all drug laws. Drug laws are the bane of my exsistence. I work in the courts currently and I also have worked in a District Attorney’s office. I can tell you that the major issue affecting the justice system in the US, agreed by all individuals involved in enforcement and administration, is the insane drug enforcement laws. I don’t care if you think drugs or good or bad, but everyone would agree that a rapist serving less time than a women carrying a quarter of crack cocaine is just crazy. Arrgh!! Sorry for the rant.
Also, living in a city with over a quarter of the population being Muslim and having many friends of the Islamic faith from a variety of countries, I can tell you from personal experinces that most of the time cops are great. They usually are helpful and they usually very courteous. Yeah you get some dicks but you get dicks in every profesion. And cops are distrustful of everyone, but they are trained to be like that. I know the airports are still ridiculous for many Muslims but I have heard that they are improving. So that condemn the whole US so quickly, we have our rough spots but show me a country that doesn’t. The administration if one thing, and the people are entirely something else.
April 24th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
Sean,
I don’t know if you have read my notes about this before or not, but let me assure you that I believe in all what you said.
I know and believe that majority of Americans are best people that one can have as friends and be proud to be with, however, unfortunately the minor ruling administration are those who I condemn, not the entire people of America.
Again, I have unlimited respect and love to American people and I’m proud to say that a lot of my online (as well offline) friends are American.
April 24th, 2007 at 7:17 pm
If you want to get REALLY interesting, the proof is in the pudding, the Europol study itself:
Total arrested on terrorism charges (includes preparation, planning, execution, recruiting, financing)
“Islamist” 257
Separatist 226
Leftwing 52
Rightwing 15
Total “Islamists” arrested 257
Total all others 293
(the above data is found on page 16 of the report)
Right ABOVE the table with the numbers arrested it states, “Despite the small number of “Islamist” terrorist attacks in the EU, half the arrests carried out were related to “Islamic” terrorism. HELLO!!! 257 “Islamist” arrests vs. 293 “others” is NOT half!!! Great Britain’s numbers are NOT broken down into categories of “Islamist” etc. The TOTAL arrested was 706, where is the author of this report getting his statistics from when 156 in GB are NOT attributed to any particular category? Yet on another page it states 340 “Islamist” terrorists were arrested. This is totally screwy!
On p. 21, it states (of “Islamists in this case) Less than 10% were arrested for preparation, planning or execution. Whereas with the “separatist” category, more than half were arrested for preparation and planning in Spain and France where the majority of arrests in this category took place (216 of the total of 226 total) So given those figures, 25.7 “Islamist” terrorists were arrested whereas more than 108 “separatist” terrorists were arrested for preparation, planning or execution. That is more than four times as many “separtist” terrorists arrested in the most agregious category as “Islamist” terrorists.
One more statistic, the report itself however lists “Islamist” terrorism FIRST and gives it eight pages of attention whereas it gives
THREE pages of attention to “separtist” terrorism. Perhaps it is much more comfortable to pay attention to a “foreign” entity such as Islam and blame it than it is to pay attention to EUROPEAN policies which homegrow these separatist and “Islamist” terrorist groups. After all, THAT might take some introspection!
Another key finding: “Right wing violence is mainly investigated as right wing EXTREMISM and not as right-wing terrorism”
Some other interesting wording, “Left wing and anarchist terrorist acts are motivated by domestic politics…..”
Its ALL in the semantics.
HELLO again, since George the Bush began his “war on terror”, so called “Islamic” terrorism has grown exponentially. How many Muslims have died as a result of the US invasion of Iraq alone? Some 750,000. Before that, some one million dead in Iraq due to sanctions (under Clinton). And almost every single time an American president speaks he invokes “God”. God bless America, God is on our side, In God we trust.
What are the statistics in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict? Answer- http://www.ifamericansknew.org/ (remember, Zionism claims a RELIGIOUS claim to this land)
Bottom line, NONE of this is GODLIKE and NONE of it has one damn thing to do with religion except to warp and twist it to suit a POLITICAL purpose. Islam vs. terrorism http://www.submission.org/terrorism.html
Ever heard the term “blowback”? It is a CIA/political term, NOT religious in nature. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20011015/johnson (this article pertains to the US, but the term “blowback” is applicable anywhere. Chalmers Johnson does subscribe to the “Islamic terrorists” account of 911- but his reasoning concerning natural consequences of a nation’s actions are sound)
April 24th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Haitham,
I have read your notes in the past, but sometimes with the deluge of bad news about America I think individuals can become jaded and lose hope in us. I am just trying to keep your faith that we are still vastly good folks over here not just state terrorists, like you guys over there are vastly good folks and not just stateless terrorists. It is just the losers that start the problems, cause destruction and get all the coverage.
April 24th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Agreed 100% with you Sean. It’ll be a glorious day when the whole world realizes this. A few major conflicts would simply come to a screeching halt if that happened.. Emphasis on “if” though, regarding how the media everywhere is subtly sharpening this image of an eternal war between “us” and “them”..
April 25th, 2007 at 3:06 am
I have a friend from Lebanon living here in Canada. He kept telling me he was Christian.
I just recently found out he was a Muslim. I gave him heck because I would not have judged him any differenly.
He just found out from me that I have visited his Mosque twice to understand.
I am doing everything I can to understand the world of Islam.
But when a Muslim in Canada is afraid to reveal his faith, there is something rotten in the “state” of Canada.
I now feel bad for giving him heck.
BTW, we still get along great. We understand each other even more and we will work together to educate everyone about the truth of Islam.
Let the radicals (Bush and Osama) fight it out amongst themselves.
April 29th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Islamist separatist!!! Well thats how it starts. He may not be linked to Al-Queda but he is using terrorism to further a cause for his Muslim people. Separatism is the reason for the terrorism. Separation from the rest of us non-muslims. Seriously I dont give a shit what their motivation is. The fact that 50% of the terrorists are muslims is enough. If you are only a small percentage of the population yet you perpetrate 50% of the terrorism means something. You dont seriously think that these 257 islamists are terrorists because they want to make a separate French Christian state? What the hell are thinking?
April 29th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Alright first of all, Islam isn’t about getting seperated from the non-muslims:
“Oh mankind, We have created you from a male and a female; And We have made you tribes and nations that you may know one another. Verily, the most honourable among you, in the sight of God, is he who is the most righteous among you. Surely, God is All-Knowing, All-Aware.” Quran 49:13
Second of all, 1.4 billion Muslims isn’t a small percentage. That’s more than a fifth of the world’s population. Assuming wildly that there are one million “Muslim” terrorists worldwide (clearly an exaggerated number), they would still make up 0.071% of all Muslims. That’s right, FAR below one percent. You’re also MUCH safer from ANY terrorist attack perpetrated by Muslims than you are from lightning. This practically makes “Islamic” terrorism statistically insignificant. If you’d look at other groups or religions, you’ll find exactly the same situation. But you know, the media tends to “forget” about KKK, neonazis, fascists, white supremacists, Red Army Faction, Kahane Chai, Apartheid, Army of God, militant Zionists, .. You’d get the impression that there’s barely any evil left in the world except that of violent Muslims.
April 30th, 2007 at 4:51 am
Great point The Sphinx.
I totally agree with you.
Just you left out Bush and Cheney.
April 30th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Thanks Kimmy =) I was rather thinking they’d fall under the category of “fascists”, but I guess they deserve an explicit mention too..
May 5th, 2007 at 12:54 pm
You didnt quite understand me. Muslims are like what 6% maybe 8% (I am guessing here) of the EUROPEAN population but 1/2 of the terrorists IN EUROPE were Muslims. Dont cloud the issue with these world figures. What happens in the world is a whole different story. I am talking about EUROPE, which is what the story was about.
Secondly you didnt address my second issue which is what exactly were these Muslims fighting for in EUROPE? Separatism, plain and simple and you know that which is why you didnt address it. Please do a little research and read up on Kosovo and Macedonia. What exactly is going on there? They want there own state based on their religion. The rebellion against the Serbs and Macedonians started in the 80’s. Read up before you respond.
Oh yes Kimmy, Cheney and Bush are one of the greatest evils of our time but they did not force Muslims in Sweden to wear t-shirts with separatist rhetoric written on them and march in the streets.
Sweden no less!! Of all the nations in the world Muslims cannot get along with the Swedes. Come on man!! How have the Swedes done you wrong? Why do the Swedes deserve this from you?
May 6th, 2007 at 2:13 am
Before you start blowing things out of proportion: Go to Europe. Go there and take a look around. I’m currently living and studying in Germany. When I read bullcrap sites like Jihadwatch or LGF I get the impression that there is another Europe that is already irreversibly “damaged” under the Muslim influence.
Come to Europe and look around you. You’ll be surprised how pathetically exaggerated things are.