Anti-terrorism fight requires effort to live with different cultures

Seven people were killed or wounded in the gun attacks on a cafe in Copenhagen where a discussion on freedom of speech was being held and on a synagogue in the city. A 22-year-old man allegedly responsible for the attacks was shot dead by the police.

The attacker is believed to have been born to a family of immigrants with Palestinian roots and raised in Denmark. It was highly probable that he had been infected with Islamic radical beliefs.

The free-speech meeting was hosted by a Swedish artist who had caricatured the Prophet Muhamad. The Copenhagen case bore similarities to a January assault on the office of a weekly newspaper in Paris. In both incidents, places singled out as terrorist targets were ones where there were cartoonists known for caricatures related to Islam. Whatever the circumstances, such acts of violence attacks cannot be condoned.

The Copenhagen incident took place just after the European Union had agreed to toughen border security and share travellers’ information in response to the Paris case. It is shocking to realise that the terrorist incident in Copenhagen took place under heavy security. Despite increased efforts to prevent an influx of terrorists, it is extremely difficult for any nation to shut out acts of violence if there are persons who pose potential security risks at home.

The series of recent terrorist attacks illustrates the problems people born to families of immigrants with Islamic roots face. A number of such residents tend to become increasingly alienated from and discontented with the societies they live in, due to a mix of problems confronting them, including poverty, discrimination and job scarcity. Some are prone to be involved in extremism.

Correcting the underlying structural problems requires EU nations to carry out difficult medium- and long-term tasks aimed at making progress in integrating residents of Islamic descent into their societies to minimise the breeding ground for terrorism. 

Denmark is helping residents of Islamic descent who have come from Middle Eastern countries to find jobs and reintegrate themselves into society.

In France, there are areas in the suburbs of major cities that are densely populated with immigrants. These areas provide fertile soil for crime. Given this, there is a pressing need to provide these populations with vocational training and improve their living environment.

Germany has revised relevant legislation to make it easier for immigrants’ children to be granted German nationality. They are aided in learning the German language at nurseries at public expense.

It is necessary for any country to overcome racial and religious frictions among its people and persistently carry on measures in a wide range of areas such as education, labour and social welfare. This is essential for making the nation an even safer society.

It is disconcerting to see that jingoistic, far-right and rightist political parties that trumpet anti-immigration slogans have been increasing their power in European nations in recent years. This is adversely affecting efforts to deal with immigration-related problems at government expense.

One of the principles pursued by Europe in the post-war years has been the tolerance with which to accept and live with immigrants and refugees from other cultural areas. European nations will be tested over whether they can remain tolerant societies amid a growing tide of chauvinism and exclusionism against moderate Muslims due to the frequent incidence of terrorist attacks.