Why is Belgium a central to recruit jihadists?
26/2/15
Among
Al-Qaeda forces and the Islamic State (IS) in Syrian and Iraqi, the most
fanatical warriors from Europe are the young Belgian
Muslims. This phenomenon is more evident after the death of two suspects in the
campaign against terrorism on January 15th, 2015 in Belgium.
According to analysts, the difficult integration of immigrants, ethnic
divisions and the illusion in a part of young Belgian towards terrorist
organization are the reason why Belgium
become a center to recruit jihadists from Europe...
When France and the whole world were shaken for
Charlie Hebdo Newspaper terrorist attacks committed by the name of God A-la,
then in Belgium,
the police discovered a plot to attack at large scale. Monitored and tapped subjects
were three Islamic militants who had just returned from Syria. This terrorist group has
headquarters in an old bakery, armed with pistols and AK47 rifles. According to
several witnesses, the police found closer, the soldiers had opened fire but
not withstand the counterterrorism force. After that, two suspects were killed,
the third one was arrested.
According
to Reuters , if the attack in Paris confirmed
concern for years that France
was considered radical Muslim subject to retaliation, on the other hand, the
Belgian was the country which provide personnel for the largest jihadist forces
in Europe, as a percentage of the population.
From late 2011 to the end of 2013, about 300 Belgian citizens went to Syrian
and Iraq.
Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said, among returning soldiers there
were 101 people are being monitored closely.
Currently,
Belgium
is pursuing a major case against members of the organization named
Sharia4Belgium in the largest ever anti-terrorism court in the country.
Prosecutors have accused 46 people of this terrorist organization to take people
to the Syrian for fighting and is expected to make a judgment in February.
Sharia4Belgium is an important factor to make Belgium
emerged as a source of extremist militants in the Middle East when enrolling
potential jihadis from the countryside of Belgium
and then taking to the Syria.
On January 16th, Belgian police arrested a Belgian teenager after
discovering his intends to join the jihad in Syria. This is the latest example
of the state of adolescents with extremist ideology alarming in Belgium, put this country on the frontline in
the fight against terrorism in Europe before
the terrorist threat from domestic and influenced by Islamic militants.
The
question raised that why does Belgium
become the center to recruit Islamist militants? According to Washington Post
of the United States, like
other European countries, Belgium
is suffering the effects of the less effective implementation of the policy on
integration of immigrants. Many members of the Muslim community in Belgium
said that the best long-term protection for the country will only come from
efforts to improve integration policies for immigrants, not from the measure to
enhance security. They exemplified the veil had been banned in 2012 eventually
led the Muslims even more discontent. According to estimates, Muslims accounted
for 6% of the population of Belgium
and a number of people, including those who have families have lived here for
generations, they face long-term challenges in a country where many Catholics,
the newspaper said.
In
addition, the unemployment rate among Belgian immigrants are always higher than
the other subjects. Researcher on Islamic terrorism, Mr. Matthew Levitt
explained that Brussels
is internationally known as the headquarters of the European Union (EU) but the
rate of unemployment in the suburbs up to 50%. Moreover, the divergence between
the Dutch-speaking Belgians and French-speaking Belgians also resulted in a
patchwork of policies on education, social welfare and even security. These
factors have led the young immigrants disappointed and when people feel lost
all hope in the future they will become prey to the terrorist organizations,
former Belgian Minister of Justice Laurette Onkelinx said.
All comments [ 10 ]
The Belgian teenager was determined to join the jihadist fight in Syria — so much so that, after his nation’s authorities rolled up an alleged militant cell
They tried to advertise it was the ultimate place with swimming pools and easy living.
Authorities believe about 100 of the Belgians who have gone to fight in Syria have since returned home. Some of them were among the group of alleged plotters arrested in recent days.
Muslim youth who feel cut off both from broader Belgian society and their ancestors’ cultures are especially vulnerable to radicalization.
The Islamic State is giving them what the Belgian government can’t give them — identity, structure
the Belgian government looked the other way when people started going to Syria. That was at a different stage of the conflict, when it appeared to be an extension of the Arab Spring pro-democracy revolutions.
many Europeans traveled to Syria not out of a desire for jihad but simply because they loathed its longtime leader, President Bashar al-Assad, and wanted to contribute to his ouster.
Then the conflict evolved, with an increasing role played by Islamist militants seeking to build a caliphate — but Europeans kept flowing there.
Belgian authorities are worried that some will come back radicalized and launch violent attacks at home. That has prompted them to take far tougher measures to prevent people from heading to the fight.
It’s clear that the things happening in Paris and the things happening here accelerated his thinking.
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