COPENHAGEN — Arrested for stabbing a 19-year-old passenger
on a commuter train in November 2013, Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein blamed the
effects of hashish for his brutal, random and nearly fatal attack, telling a
court last December that he had been gripped by wild fear and thought his
victim wanted to hurt him.
Last weekend, just two weeks after his release from prison
for the knife attack, Mr. Hussein went on another violent rampage, killing two
strangers and wounding five police officers. But this time he was gripped not
by drugs, but by a fanatical strand of Islam whose mission, according to a
message he posted on Facebook shortly before the attacks, “is to destroy you.”
Mr. Hussein’s journey from drug-addled street thug to
self-proclaimed jihadist declaring loyalty to the Islamic State has stirred
soul-searching in liberal-minded Denmark over whether Islam, in fact, was
really a prime motivator for his violence, or merely served as a justifying
cover for violent criminality.
"This is a very difficult question to answer,” said
Manu Sareen, the minister for integration and social affairs, who shortly
before the attacks began a program to combat radicalization through outreach to
parents, schools and other efforts.
That same question squarely confronts other European
countries and the United States. As President Obama holds a conference on ways
to combat the lure of jihad in Western nations, he has come under criticism for
his cautious language distancing violent extremism from Islam.
The link between the two is now a wellspring of debate in
Europe, as societies grapple with the same messy knot of motives and influences
after recent attacks in Denmark and France and a thwarted plot in Belgium. All
involved angry, alienated young Muslims.
Often the attackers invoke Islam. But just as often, well
before they had found religion, the professed jihadists built up long track
records as violent criminals. Though many have become radicalized in prisons,
they often seem determined to find an outlet for their violence.
Amedy Coulibaly, one of a trio of gunmen responsible for the
killing rampage that terrorized Paris in January, similarly fit the bill,
chalking up at least six arrests before his embrace of anti-Semitism and
Islamic extremism led him to storm a kosher supermarket and kill four people.
“This is classic trajectory into jihadist terrorism in
Europe,” said Thomas Hegghammer, an expert on jihadist movements at the
Norwegian Defense Research Establishment. “There is not a single pathway, but
this one is very worrying. They are misfits who find a solution to their
problems in radical Islam.”
Newcastle United fans have urged far-right activists to stay
away from their city, amid growing tensions over the anti-Islamic movement
Pegida’s first rally in Britain.
Supporters of Pegida – a new populist anti-immigrant group –
have staged marches in several German cities in recent months, with a UK
offshoot planning its first demonstration in Newcastle next weekend.
There are fears that the rally, which is due to be held on
the same day as Newcastle United home match against Aston Villa, could attract
as many as 2,000 people and spill over into violence.
Last night the NUFC Fans United supporters group made it
clear that far-right protesters were not welcome in Newcastle, saying the city
was “famous for its tolerance, integration and warmth of spirit”. In a
statement, they warned: “There is a fear that Newcastle United supporters who
are of the Islamic faith or origin may be singled out for abuse by this group
and we say that the authorities cannot allow any of our community, whatever
their race, creed or religious belief to be treated in such a manner in our
city on match day or any other day.
“What kind of message does it send to those who come to
study in our colleges and universities, or who visit as tourists to wonder on
the splendour of our heritage history? What message does it send to those who
may be offered the opportunity in the future to come and work in a city that
has prided itself on its warm welcome but will now be tarred with being a city
that allowed itself to be associated with those of the German Far Right. Is
this the message we want our city to be remembered by and tarnished with?” On
its Facebook page yesterday Pegida warned extreme far-right groups to stay away
from the demonstration, insisting it wants it to be peaceful.
Matt Pope, of Pegida UK, insisted that the movement believes
in “freedom of expression and speech”.
“In an ideal world we would love the extreme right-wing
element to leave us to it,” he said. “But this isn’t an ideal world. As long as
everyone behaves themselves, this should go without incident.” Pegida UK is an
offshoot of the group which began in Dresden, Germany, last October. Its name
translates as Patriots of Europe Against the Islamisation of the West.In
Dresden earlier this month, 25,000 supporters joined a rally which was
condemned by the Chancellor Angela Merkel for being xenophobic. She said the
organisation’s leaders have “prejudice, coldness, even hatred in their hearts”.
Pegida says it merely opposes radical Islam and hate
preachers and believes “Muslims need to adapt to our way of life in the west
instead of us adapting to them”.
Professor Matthew Feldman, an expert in fascist ideology at
Teesside University’s far-right research centre, said Pediga UK had emerged
from nowhere and, unlike other far-right groups like the BNP and EDL, appealed
to some middle-class people who are concerned about multiculturalism and
Islamist extremists.
“They want people to take families to the demonstration and
be the acceptable face of anti-Islamisation,” he said. “They are clearly trying
to develop the brand.”
He said it’s difficult to pinpoint the leadership, as so
much is done via social networking sites, unlike the physical structure of the
EDL and the membership system of the BNP.
Matt Pope: Pegida organiser
Matt Pope, the self-styled organiser of the Pediga UK rally
in Newcastle on Saturday, was born in Stevenage and now lives in
Cambridgeshire. The 29-year-old previously worked as a nurse and says he is now
a social worker.
Pope became involved in Pegida after studying Islam for
around 11 years. He says he has Muslim friends and the organisation isn’t about
antagonising the Muslim community, but challenging extremism.
Pope says despite a suggestion on the internet that he has
an assault conviction, he has none. He describes himself as “a very liberal
person”.
Credit to Helen Carter
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