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Dutch Intelligence: Radical Islam Spreads
 The Netherlands' intelligence service warned Thursday that radical Islamic ideology is spreading to thousands of young Dutch Muslims through Internet sites and online chat rooms. The agency, known by its acronym AIVD, identified the potential threat in an overview of domestic fundamentalist Islamic movements compiled for the Home Affairs Ministry in the wake of the country's first terrorist attack.
| Perhaps, as a matter of self-preservation, you should track them down and kill them... |
The publication comes nearly two months after the murder of film director Theo van Gogh, who was shot and stabbed to death on a busy Amsterdam street. A letter pinned to his chest with a knife threatened politicians and other "infidel nonbelievers."
| ... since they're already in the process of tracking down and killing you. |
The 60-page report said a variety of sources of radical Islam pose a threat to the country, ranging from Salifist mosques openly preaching anti-Western, antidemocratic ideas to an underground political movement backing violent jihad, or Islamic holy war. "Europe and the Netherlands have been confronted with extreme violence," the report said, referring to Van Gogh's murder Nov. 2 and the train bombings in Madrid, Spain, last March 11.
| So what kind of extreme measures are you gonna take to counter it? |
The spread of radical Web sites as an alternative to traditional outlets of Islamic teaching, such as mosques, makes it harder for authorities to isolate potential threats, the report said. "Especially the youth have found their way to Web sites of radical Islamic spiritual leaders," it said. "These Web sites increasingly contribute to the radicalization of Muslim communities in the Netherlands."
| So that would seem to indicate you've got to do some serious intel work, scarfing their IP addresses, tracing them back to their residences, infiltrating, that sort of stuff... |
The report lists 20 guidelines for reducing the threat of radicalization, such as promoting positive role models and the emancipation of Islamic women.
| I'm sure that warm milk is very tasty. Are you gonna do anything serious? |
But it warns against focusing on terrorist groups and ignoring social problems that lead some young people to militancy.
| Apparently not. It's too much work, isn't it? And it would be so unpleasant... |
The agency also sees problems in "dawa" movements, which are not violent but promote radical Islamic ideology. Among them are al-Takfir, which seeks to convert immigrant Muslims in the West back to the fundamentalist Islam of the 7th century.
Posted by: Fred 2004-12-24 |
