Article > Only a European re-think can tackle home-grown terrorism

SECURITY & DEFENCE

Only a European re-think can tackle home-grown terrorism

Spring 2010

by Thomas de Maizière

There’s no conflict between our freedoms of the individual and the demands of public security says Thomas de Maizière, Germany’s Interior Minister. What’s needed is new thinking on how to prevent the radicalisation of young people in our Muslim communities

Commentary:

by Hugo MacPherson

Islamist terrorism has in recent years become central to security policy in Germany and many other Western countries. The terrorists’ intention is to sow mistrust and stoke fears; their aim is to weaken the democratic rule of law and to shatter citizens’ trust in our society. On our side, we are determined not to let this happen, but the reality is that one frequent terror alerts do not help because they tend to increase rather than reduce insecurity among the population.

The debates across Europe on new security laws to fight terrorism have sometimes created the false image that states threaten rather than protects the freedom of their citizens. Frequently, it is assumed that there is a conflict between freedom and public security; even though in fact but there is none.

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Freedom and public security are not irreconcilable opposites. They complement and even depend on one another. Public security is a pre-requisite for the unfolding of freedom; and protecting freedom is at the core of a state’s responsibility for public security.

A state’s monopoly on the use of power is justified if citizens can rely on the state to provide for their security. But this does not imply that we need ever newer security laws. The prevention of threats, along with law enforcement that involves the prosecution of offenders, are crucial responsibilities, but they do not demand as a pre-requisite the adoption of new laws.

Of course, security authorities need suitable instruments to fight terrorism. First as terrorists take advantage of new technologies, the legal and technical means of security authorities must also be adapted. State intervention is right and important, but terrorism cannot be fought by the security authorities alone.

Prevention is better than repression. We should do everything in our power to avoid radicalisation, to interrupt radicalisation processes at an early stage, and to guide radicalised persons back to our society and values. An important task in the next years ahead will be to erode the foundations of terrorism, and this requires a commitment by everyone.

Western countries face a worsening problem of home-grown terrorism. Despite some of the more visible signs that may exist, society at large is often unaware of this radicalisation process. This is where we need to step in, and that means we need to find answers to three questions. First: Where and how do people radicalise, here in Germany and elsewhere? Second: Why are they attracted to radical ideas? Third: What can we do against it?

In Germany, radicalisation takes place to a large extent through radical mosque communities or private prayer rooms, and also through the internet. State surveillance is one possible counter-measure, and is used, but it is just as important to work closely with the Muslim population.

The signs of radicalisation can be spotted much earlier than at local level than by the security authorities. Parents, friends or even the imam are acting responsibly if they decide to contact the relevant state agencies in such cases. Doing so is not about denunciation but rather it is about helping these usually young people find their way back into society.

The state can nevertheless do much to provide support. The security authorities are responsible for monitoring the more visible signs of radicalisation, and other state agencies can help potential terrorism recruits to leave the extremist environment and because reintegrated in society. Nothing, though, can replace the support and help of these young peoples’ immediate environment.

The second question – why are some people attracted to radical ideas? – has been thoroughly explored both by researchers and security practitioners, who generally agree that these people are more inclined to accept radical ideologies if they do not feel part of society. This is especially true of young people who feel excluded, and who have experienced real or even just imagined discrimination. When they lack attractive social or professional prospects, they often think they could find a new and more welcoming home within a radical group.

Society’s task is therefore to give them a feeling of belonging, and to offer them a more enticing perspective on life. And that means a new sense of commitment by civil society as a whole. Social cohesion must become more than a mere catchword. Our society needs to engender a greater respect and acknowledgement of others. It needs to acquire more knowledge about different cultures and religions. And it needs to create a tightly-knit network of personal relations between the members of different social and religious groups. These are the essential ingredients of a new effort to overcome and eventually prevent prejudice.

It is equally important that our citizens should consider it their duty to commit themselves to the principles of liberal democracy. It is everyone’s task actively to counter extremism and speak out on radical statements, whether in the public or private sphere.

Muslims have a particular responsibility as regards the fight against Islamist extremism. Within their own communities, or in social frameworks such as youth work, they have the opportunities that others do not. Non-Muslims rarely have much contact with Muslims who are in the process of becoming radicalised, and in any case their arguments would not be so well received.

The UK and the Netherlands in particular have notched up a number of very positive civic engagement projects involving Muslims, and we in Germany intend to make use of the experience that has been gained by facilitating and supporting similar contacts with Muslim groups.

Another element of preventive counter-terrorism that is essential is that Europe and the Western world as a whole should cooperate much more closely with key Muslim countries. We need Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Maghreb countries as partners in the fight against Islamist terrorism, and that in turn means improved operational cooperation between security authorities. These countries have a clear interest in maintaining their own stability, and that means they should be anxious to allow terrorist groups as little room for development as possible in their territory. At the same time, it is in our interest to obtain from them as much important information about terrorist structures and activities as we can.

Improved cooperation shouldn’t stop there. We need to establish an extended dialogue with Muslims and with Muslim countries, especially those countries from which many of the Muslims living in Germany originate, and which have a great influence on their religious practices. That makes it doubly important that we should convince these countries to accept that their own Islamic authorities have a special responsibility in the fight against radicalisation. But protecting our citizens against the threat of Islamist terrorism is a responsibility shared by all of us – the Federal government, lawmakers, civil society, our EU partners and Muslims both in Germany and abroad. We need one another, and in many areas we can only make a difference if we act together.

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Re:Only a European re-think can tackle home-grown terrorism

Is home-grown terrorism a failure of integration policies or the symptom of a wider crisis?

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By Europe's World - Vox Pop on

2/22/2010