Islam versus Europe

In Germany there is a state agency called Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution). It is a bit like MI5 but not as secretive. Indeed, it issues periodic public reports on supposed threats to the German constitution. The latest one has just been posted and includes some comments on the Counterjihad movement in Germany and around Europe. An extract has been posted on PI, which I have translated below:

For some time the far right spectrum has been disseminating the theory of an “islamification of Europe”. In this, Islam is presented as the enemy by drawing an equivalence between Islam and the danger of Islamic terrorism as well as reducing social problems and societal grievances in an unbalanced way to the alleged conduct of Muslims who cannot be integrated. What started out as nationally-oriented campaigns on this subject have in recent years developed into efforts at cooperation on a European level between right-wing extremists and right-wing populists.

The alliance founded in 2008 “Städte gegen Islamisierung (Cities Against Islamisation)” brings together a number of partners who form part of this spectrum (thus, for example, the Flemish “Vlaams Belang” (VB), the “Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs – FPÖ [Freedom Party of Austria], the French party “Mouvement National Républicain“ (MNR) and the Spanish “Plataforma per Catalunya”). “Bürgerbewegung pro Köln e.V.” [Pro-Cologne Citizens Movement] / “Bürgerbewegung pro NRW” [Pro-North Rhine-Westphalia Citizens Movement] (suspect case)

The most important alliance partners on the German side, with close ties of personnel and ideology, are “Bürgerbewegung pro Köln e.V.” [Pro-Cologne Citizens Movement] (“pro Köln”) / “Bürgerbewegung pro NRW” [Pro-North Rhine-Westphalia Citizens Movement] (“pro NRW”).
After “Anti-Islamification congresses” were held in 2008 and 2009, “pro Köln”/”pro NRW” hosted an “Anti-minaret congress” between 26 and 28 March 2010 – picking up on the results of the Swiss referendum on a minaret ban in November 2009. Numerous guests from other European countries also participated in this. At the congress it was decided to study the possibility of carrying out an EU referendum on banning minarets across Europe: minarets are seen as symbolic expressions of aggressive Islamic power.

Source: PI