Muslim radicalism: beyond the denial

On Wednesday, not just France but Europe as a whole was shaken by the cowardly attack on the editorial of the satirical weekly magazine Charlie Hebdo. “This murderous event confronts us with a reality to which we have been blind for too long,” says N-VA chairman Bart De Wever. “Radicalisation in certain European Muslim circles is an existing and acute threat to public safety. This phenomenon must no longer be played down.”

“The murders committed may well be the acts of isolated individuals that are condemned by the vast majority of devout European Muslim. However, the time comes when a line has to be drawn: this far and no further,” says De Wever. “We must have the courage to defend our values, to stand up for what we believe in and to take a clear stance against those that reject or actively contest those values. Not only in words but also in deeds.”

“Nobody can deny that Muslim radicalism threatens the peaceful society of different cultures and religious communities in Europe,” adds De Wever. “It feeds mutual distrust and lack of understanding and insidiously destroys the values that we, as Europeans, deem sacred and unassailable. What first comes to mind is the fundamental freedom of expression, which Charlie Hebdo symbolises now more than ever, as well as the separation of the church and state and the equality of men and women.”

Rapid measures
The federal coalition provides a number of measures that De Wever now wants to see introduced as quickly as possible, such as making it a criminal offence to take part in foreign armed conflicts, revoking Belgian nationality, refusing access to the territory, withdrawing residence permits and officially repealing them. “To increase our security services’ room for manoeuvre, we can, for example, deploy the army in the event of elevated threats. Our armed forces have the experience, the knowledge and the will to do so,” confirms De Wever.