Europe – Terror As Usual
Vienna, 22/08/2017 – After the Barcelona and Cambrils attacks last week the question is raised, will that ever going to stop? Prof. Louise Richardson one of the world’s leading experts on terrorism would shortly answer „No, we have to learn to live with the terror“.
Since Charlie Hebdo, Europe has been targeted in a series of attacks that ISIL claimed for them. In that sense one could say, ISIL was successful in fulfilling some of its stated aims, namely, to cause fear and death and retaliation for Muslims who will feed the narrative of them.
Critics of the European counter strategy against ISIL see that repression alone will not make these terrorist attacks stop. Considering that others will feed their narrative, the phenomenon must be considered as long-lasting and persisting, which is likely to stay. ISIL already attracted 40.000 foreign fighters, 10.000 coming from Europe. As a reaction after losing ground in Syria and Iraq a so-called Online-Caliphate that has taken the place on the ground. Are we as Europeans able to solve or decrease the problem? It is unimaginable. Why? Europe and the West were heavily involved in creating those people as part of their own radicalization and patronization. Being financially and ethically superior is not a radically racist position, but a prove of history and course of most „developed“ societies of the 21st century. No question of amending history but using it as a weapon is quite usual. Believing in, „Being The First Matters“, modernism has created its winners and losers. Donald Trump even said wisely that he doesn‘t want to call the Manchester attackers „monsters“, because they would like that term, he will call them „losers“. Building up on a society’s narrative is cultural work. We certainly would need to prevent radicalization, but which radicalization are we talking about and how can that happen? After the attacks in Spain last week, Human Rights Activist Yasser Louati pointed out that instead of winning the battles of ideas against ISIL radicalization has become a blank term used to counter anyone who goes against the dominant narrative“. He is right. We do not know how many people are pushed into a „franchise-terrorism“ that anyone can pick up. We do not know how much terrorism was prevented or could have been prevented just because citizens all over the world, who are certainly not on one of the so-called fancy lists (like Sebastian Kurz’s list) when strategies and policies are being designed, but who shared responsibility against suppression and discrimination and therefor prevented others from going to be violent. Another problem the terror creates is that the raise of far rights politics, that gain political ground, goes along with the criminalization of Muslim communities and anyone who goes against the dominant narrative.
How did it come so far?
Which part of the responsibility shall western democracies carry?
What can we learn from the attacks so that beyond solely solidarity these conditions do not become the norm – terror as usual?
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In Studio: Dr. Di-Tutu Bukasa, Mag. Sintayehu Tsehay, Gilbert Moyen, Hubert Mvogo, Cyril Chima Ozoekwe, Ruud van Weerdenburg, Madge Gill Bukasa
