Terrorism Index in Europe Warns of the Growth of Extremist Groups in the Old Continent.. Details
The annual report of the Terrorism Index in Europe, published by the European Center for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies, revealed an increased threat from Salafi-jihadi groups and religious extremism in several countries, in parallel with the growing threat of extreme-right forces seeking to change regimes in a range of European countries.
The report highlighted European efforts aimed at countering extremism and succeeded in reducing the frequency of terrorist operations in past years. It expects these efforts to intensify in the coming years, with serious possibilities of the growth and penetration of extremist groups within the European society.
France Concerned
France has succeeded in reducing the frequency of terrorist operations to levels not seen since the Paris and Brussels attacks, where terrorism was one of the most important challenges faced by the two European countries, but groups linked to violent religious and right-wing extremism continue to be a source of concern for the intelligence services despite security and intelligence efforts by their governments, according to the report.
Salafi jihadism poses the biggest threat to the French authorities, and Salafi jihadist activities are growing inside mosques in France with sermons inciting violence and hatred.
The European Terrorism Index report indicated that Salafi jihadism poses the greatest threat to the French authorities, and that their activities in mosques are growing with sermons inciting violence and hatred, and their ideological and intellectual base is in many French cities.
Fears are mounting within France of the influence of Islamism groups within the democratic process, especially after Islamism groups voted in 2022.
In tandem, France is facing a growing threat from violent right-wing extremists, who aim to create political tension and chaos. Far-right groups in France seek to change public order, and the propaganda of far-right groups has been able to attract many French society. French society is increasingly turning towards the extreme right.
Muslim Brotherhood Organization
According to the 2022 European Terrorism Index, religious extremism represents a major threat to Britain, and Salafi-jihadism and political Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood remain more cohesive and permeable within British society.
On January 14, 2022, British security services revealed that they had foiled 32 terrorist plots, 18 of which were carried out by jihadists.
Europe’s Efforts
Dr. Jassim Mohamed, head of the European Center for Countering Terrorism in Germany, says that religious extremism represents an imminent threat to Britain, and that Salafi jihadism and political Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood remain more cohesive and pervasive within British society.
Salafi-jihadist groups are active in British prisons, posing a threat to radicalize other detainees, and radicalizing inmates to carry out terrorist attacks, and Salafi-jihadist activities are growing at mosques in France with sermons inciting violence and hatred, he said.
He pointed out that Germany and Austria have witnessed continuous enhancement in the arsenal of laws, as well as security confrontation, to achieve the highest protection rates and to counter the activities of terrorist groups, and that Germany and Austria have made great efforts in the fight against extremism and terrorism during 2022, and have succeeded well in curbing the activities of extremist groups, by placing some organizations and associations under surveillance and others have been banned; The pace of terrorist operations has naturally decreased to unprecedented levels.
There is still a lack of understanding of the difference between associations of political Islam and Islam in general, but groups linked to religious extremism and right-wing racism are still a source of concern for Germany and Austria, despite the security and intelligence efforts of the governments of the two countries, he said, adding that the laws, legislation and procedures adopted by Austria have tightened sanctions on the environments hosting extremist groups and facilitated the monitoring process, especially monitoring hate speech and extremism and using the Internet to limit the activities of extremist groups.
European authorities have made significant efforts to combat Islamist and jihadist groups, have already passed a number of laws and expanded the powers of the police and intelligence services, he said, adding that the problem in the future lies with extremist and right-wing religious groups operating alone, which makes their detection and arrest difficult.
