Terrorism is second-rate security, but the first-class social problem

The danger of terrorism for democracy

Professor Mathieu Guidère from the University of Toulouse, said that terrorism is second-rate security threat for the country mainly because it has significantly less number of victims than any other security problem, such as traffic accident. Besides that, in most of European countries, including Serbia, terrorism is not able to undermine the monopoly of power in the hands of the state. “The essence of terrorist threat is not in the destruction of human lives and material goods, but in spreading the sense of fear within a society. Fear is incompatible with democracy and freedom because it changes the way of life, turns the citizens against the ‘inside enemy’ and encourages xenophobia and racism in our society”, concluded Guidère. Belgian inspector in the National team for the fight against terrorism and a professor at the University of Liege, Alain Grignard, added that “if you look at Muslim as a terrorist, you push him into terrorism,” and pointed out at danger of the growth of the radical right in Europe.

Changed form of radicals

They both noted the impact of globalization on changing the nature and operations of terrorists nowadays. Grignard reminded participants in discussion that Europe was affected by terrorist acts of the radical left in the 70s, and then terrorist acts inspired by nationalism prevailed. Those were movements that aimed to influence the situation in the countries from which they came, by acting against repressive governments such as in countries of North Africa or to ‘punish the West’, because it supports repressive regimes in its former colonies.

{image2} By the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, with the rising of Al Quaeda, individuals from different societies of different ethnicities have united against the “disbelief” of the West. Mobilization across borders and nationalities was enabled by communication means such as the Internet, mobile phones and similar. At the end of the nineties, typical perpetrators were the radical islamists, ie. Individuals who knew Islam well, but have interpreted it radically and strived towards realization of the political project within their own nation.

Nowadays, however, we have a case of islamized radicals, individuals who were first radicalized, e.g. through juvenile crime and other kinds of deviant behaviour caused by alienation from the original society. Only later they have discovered the simplified version of Islam, offered by Islamic State, said Grignard, and underlined that educational and social institutions are more suitable than security institutions in recognizing and adressing this problem .

Fahrudin Kladničanin from the academic initiative Forum 10 in Novi Pazar, higlighted that the individiuals radicalized until 2004-2007 in Sandžak and joined the Wahhabi movement, came mostly from the poorer layers, with lower level of education, with then unequivocal support from the Islamic community. However, young people susceptible to radical ideas today come also from wealthier families with higher level of education, including those with university degrees in Islamic studies, so it is more difficult to identify the dominant profile. They are now individually radicalized, mostly through non-formal religious education, provided by religious civil society organizations financially supported from the Middle East. The main change that has occurred since 2007 is that the Wahhabi movement in Sandžak has lost its institutional base it had within the Islamic community of Sandžak. Islamic community officials publicly oppose going to Syria and other areas where ISIS is fighting, but do not provide sufficient information and responses to questions posed by the Islamic State propaganda.

{image3}Possible answers

Discussion with the audience has raised the question of the most effective response to the threat of radicalization and terrorism. Both professors agreed that it is necessary to understand the reasons of those who are subject to radicalization, the arguments used by the Islamic State in their original form, hence, in the languages and the form in which it is communicated.

Professor Guidère advocated the alternative narratives, ie. the vision of relations in society and the world. Kladiničanin the other hand, stated: “In order to permanently eradicate terrorism, it is necessary to ensure normal conditions and healthy agenda to young people. It is not enough just to offer an alternative discourse, but also a real change of life”.

In conclusion of the debate, Sonja Stojanović Gajić, said that the hardest part is eliminating the fear and running all the capacities of a society, not only the security institutions, to provide valid and credible opportunities for young people and other groups who feel alienated from their community.

The panel was followed by a screening of the movie “Made in France”, which shows the dynamics within a  terrorist cell in Paris, from a perspective of a journalist who infiltrated into it.