News: Europe – Page 27 – Eye on Islamism

UK Muslim group asks Tories to remove shadow justice secretary for ‘admiring’ far-right 'Ms (Kemi) Badenoch cannot allow what appears to be support for such Islamophobic and extreme content from a member of her shadow cabinet,' says head of Muslim Council of Britain

December 24, 2024 Burak Bir

(Anadolu) The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) on Tuesday called on the main opposition Conservative Party to remove Robert Jenrick from his position as shadow justice secretary over leaked messages showing his admiration for a far-right social media account. The MCB issued […]

Germany’s far-right AfD holds march after Christmas market attack

December 23, 2024 Ralf Hirschberger and Frank Zeller

(AFP) Germany’s far-right AfD party on Monday held what it called a “memorial” rally for victims of a car-ramming attack on a Christmas market that has newly inflamed debate on migrant and security policy. Meanwhile, an anti-extremist initiative called “Don’t Give Hate […]

‘Reckless’ man jailed after brandishing deactivated AK-47 in video on X during summer riots Habeeb Khan pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to making threats of death or serious harm contrary to the Online Safety Act.

December 23, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Sky News) A “reckless” father, who brandished a decommissioned AK-47 assault rifle as he threatened to “blow away” the English Defence League (EDL) in an “inflammatory” video, has been jailed for 27 months. The footage of Habeeb Khan in his living room […]

Suspected Isis terrorist who ‘recently converted to Islam’ accused of plotting mustard gas attack He allegedly expressed a desire to harm and kill infidels and members of the Jewish community

December 23, 2024 Eliana Silver

(GB News) A man suspected of becoming an Isis terrorist has been accused of plotting an attack using mustard gas, a court has heard. Jordan Richardson, 20, of Oliver Close in [Goole] appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday accused of engaging […]

Italy vows to push ahead with dormant migrant vetting centers in Albania

December 23, 2024 Colleen Barry

(AP) Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government vowed on Monday to open controversial migrant processing centers in Albania that have remained dormant after Italian courts refused to validate the transfer of the first two groups of migrants. Government ministers “repeated the firm intention […]

Magdeburg attack offers far right fertile ground despite suspect’s backing for AfD

December 23, 2024 Bethany Bell

(BBC) “I feel bad, I still do,” said Eidwicht, as she stood in the Christmas market close to the spot where the car sped through on Friday, killing five people and injuring more than two hundred others. “My granddaughter was here. I […]

Doctor who called Hamas leader a ‘legend’ suspended pending investigation Exclusive: General Medical Council launches 'full investigation' into Dr Rehiana Ali after Jewish News exposes slew of antisemitic posts

December 23, 2024 Michelle Rosenberg

(Jewish News) A doctor who praised Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar as a “legend” has been suspended pending a GMC investigation after Jewish News revealed a stream of unhinged antisemitic posts and conspiracy theories on her social media account. Responding to questions over […]

Children of French jihadists found in Syrian orphanage

December 23, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Radio France) Three French children living in an orphanage in Damascus could be repatriated to France now that the regime has changed in Syria. An RFI investigation has identified the children as orphans of jihadists who were killed during the international coalition’s […]

Omtzigt and van der Plas clash over Quran ban proposal during coalition talks

December 23, 2024 Unlisted Author

(NL Times) Pieter Omtzigt, leader of New Social Contract (NSC), and Caroline van der Plas, leader of the Farmer-Citizen Movement (BBB), publicly debated on Sunday over whether a proposed Quran ban had been part of coalition negotiations. The discussion followed comments made […]

Germany probes warnings about man who ploughed into Christmas market

December 22, 2024 Unlisted Author

(DPA) There were mounting questions on Sunday about whether the deadly attack on a German Christmas market could have been prevented after it emerged that various authorities across the country had received warnings and tip-offs about the perpetrator. Five people were killed, […]

Germany’s far-right stages anti-migration rally in Magdeburg A far-right protest was held late on Saturday in Magdeburg the night after the attack on the Christmas market.

December 22, 2024 Daniel Bellamy

(Euronews) Far-right protesters have held a rally in Magdeburg, following Friday evening’s attack on a Christmas market which left five people dead and hundreds injured. Police estimate around 1,000 protesters gathered in the city’s central square, calling for stronger controls on migration […]

Security questions over Christmas market attack in Magdeburg The attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg has raised questions about public safety and intelligence gaps in Germany. Police have described the suspect as 'atypical,' while experts have also blamed social media.

December 22, 2024 Ben Knight

(Deutsche Welle) German security forces faced a series of difficult questions at Saturday’s press conference in Magdeburg. Friday night’s attack, in which Talib A.*, a 50-year-old Saudi man, rammed a car into a crowd at a busy Christmas market in the Saxony-Anhalt […]

Pretrial detention for Magdeburg Christmas market suspect A court in Magdeburg has approved a pretrial detention warrant for the suspect in Friday's Christmas market attack. The 50-year-old faces five homicide charges, among other counts.

December 22, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Magdeburg police said in the early hours of Sunday that the suspect in the Christmas market car attack in the city on Friday night had been issued a warrant for pretrial detention. Magdeburg’s district court approved an appeal from the […]

AfD party calls for major rally after Germany’s Christmas market attack Leading right-wing figures in Europe have also weighed in, criticising the German authorities for failing to take stronger preventative action.

December 21, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Euronews) German far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is calling for a major rally following the attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg which left several people dead and hundreds injured. At a memorial site for the victims, AfD co-leader Tino […]

Iran is hiring children to attack Israeli targets in Europe

December 21, 2024 Heidi Taksdal Skjeseth

(Bloomberg) A 15-year-old boy gets into a taxi outside Stockholm hiding a loaded gun and asks to be taken to the Israeli embassy. A 13-year-old in Gothenburg is caught firing shots at Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems. At the same facility, a […]

‘Insane’ Magdeburg Christmas market attack turns up heat on Germany’s politicians Reports that suspect was a refugee from Saudi Arabia who hated Muslims raise complicated questions during German election campaign.

December 21, 2024 Nette Nöstlinger and Victor Goury-Laffont

(Politico) The German government is reeling from an attack on a Christmas market in the city of Magdeburg that saw at least five people killed when a car apparently driven by an “Islamophobic” Saudi Arabian refugee plowed into Friday evening crowds. With […]

Sorrow and fury in German town after Christmas market attack

December 21, 2024 Céline Le Prioux

(AFP) The German city of Magdeburg was in mourning Saturday over a car-ramming attack that brought death and carnage to its Christmas market, but the sorrow gave way to anger when the politicians showed up. Chancellor Olaf Scholz led a group of […]

Saudi Arabia warned Germany about suspect of Magdeburg incident

December 21, 2024 Unlisted Author

(DPA) Saudi Arabia had warned Germany about the man suspected of carrying out the incident at the Magdeburg Christmas market, according to Saudi Arabian security sources. Saudi Arabia requested the extradition of the suspect, named under German law as Taleb A., but […]

Suspect in deadly Christmas market attack railed against Islam, Germany

December 21, 2024 Céline Le Prioux and Frank Zeller

(AFP) The Saudi suspect in Germany’s deadly car-ramming attack on a Christmas market held strongly anti-Islam views and was angry with Germany’s migrant and asylum policy, officials said Saturday. Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the “terrible, insane” attack that killed five people and […]

Hungary’s Orbán blames immigration and EU for the deadly attack in Germany

December 21, 2024 Bálint Dömötör

(AP) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Saturday drew a direct link between immigration and an attack in Germany where a man drove into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers, killing at least five people and injuring 200 others. During a […]

French court hands activist five-month suspended sentence for ‘intifada in Paris’ call Pro-Palestine campaigner Elias d'Imzalene declares victory after charges 'could've resulted in 15-year jail sentence'

December 20, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Middle East Eye) A prominent French pro-Palestine activist has been handed a five-month suspended jail sentence for calling for an “intifada in Paris” during a protest earlier this year. Following a trial that began on 23 October, Elias d’Imzalene was sentenced and […]

London charity investigated over alleged links to Tehran

December 20, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Iran International) On Friday, the Times revealed that police in London and the Charity Commission are investigating Dar Alhekma Trust (DAT), a charity with alleged links to Iran. The investigation, led by a national unit focused on terrorist financing, follows a dossier […]

Man sent cryptocurrency to Islamic State group

December 20, 2024 Unlisted Author

(BBC) A man has been jailed for sending more than £16,000 worth of cryptocurrency to an Islamic State (IS) group. Amin Rahman, 24, from Luton, had admitted funding the Afghanistan-based IS franchise ISKP — Islamic State Khorasan Province — between last December […]

Man charged with promoting terror and supporting IS

December 20, 2024 Unlisted Author

(BBC) A man has been charged with distributing terrorist materials and supporting the Islamic State group. Abdullah Bellil, 29, was arrested at his home in Southampton on Wednesday, police said. The charges, covering a period from July 2023 to October 2024, include […]

Deadly Magdeburg Christmas market attack shakes Germany as election looms With voters going to the polls in February, the tragedy ramps up concerns about security.

December 20, 2024 Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing and Jürgen Klöckner

(Politico) A driver plowed a car at high speed into crowds of people at a Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg, adding further tension to an election campaign already riven by a bitter debate over migration. Right-wing parties seized […]

At least 2 dead and 60 hurt after a car drives into a German Christmas market in a suspected attack

December 20, 2024 Ebrahim Noroozi, Chris Stern and Geir Moulson

(AP) A car plowed into a busy outdoor Christmas market in the eastern German city of Magdeburg on Friday, killing at least two people and injuring at least 60 others in what authorities called a deliberate attack. The driver was arrested at […]

Pair deny alleged plot to attack Jewish community

December 20, 2024 Unlisted Author

(BBC) Two men have denied plotting an Islamic State group-inspired gun attack on the Jewish community in the UK. Walid Saadaoui, 37, and Amar Hussein, 51, pleaded not guilty on Friday to preparing acts of terrorism between 13 December [2023] and 9 […]

Italian court acquits Matteo Salvini in migrant ‘kidnapping’ case The far-right former interior minister prevented more than 140 migrants, including kids, from coming ashore in Italy.

December 20, 2024 Elena Giordano

(Politico) Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was acquitted Friday on kidnapping charges over his decision in 2019 to block a migrant rescue ship carrying more than 140 people from coming ashore in Italy. Salvini, who was serving as Italy’s interior minister […]

French court hands down heavy sentences in teacher beheading trial

December 20, 2024 Alain Jean-Robert

(AFP) A French court on Friday handed heavy sentences to several men convicted of having played a role in the jihadist beheading of schoolteacher Samuel Paty in 2020 — a murder that horrified France. Paty, 47, was murdered in October 2020 by […]

EU lawmaker: Dual nationals must be able to join ‘Palestinian armed resistance’ if allowed to serve in IDF

December 19, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Algemeiner) The Jewish community in France has lambasted a European Union lawmaker for arguing that French-Palestinians must be able to join the “Palestinian armed resistance” if their French-Israeli counterparts are allowed to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Rima Hassan, a […]

Italy’s Salvini faces verdict for blocking migrants at sea. Case weighs limits of stemming migration

December 19, 2024 Colleen Barry

(AP) Italy’s deputy premier, Matteo Salvini, has sounded defiant ahead of Friday’s court verdict in Sicily for blocking some 100 migrants at sea on a humanitarian rescue boat in 2019 when he was interior minister. Salvini, who leads the Euroskeptic, anti-migrant League, […]

Hamas supporter in PM knife emoji threat jailed

December 19, 2024 Unlisted Author

(BBC) A self-styled “keyboard warrior” and Hamas supporter who threatened Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer with a knife emoji on social media has been jailed for a year. Mohammed Nafees Ahmed, 32, from Tipton, near Birmingham, had previously appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ […]

Palestinian children must not have Belgian nationality revoked, says Myria

December 19, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Brussels Times) Federal migration centre Myria has called on the government to stop revoking the Belgian nationality of children of Palestinian descent born in Belgium. This request follows a report published on Thursday by the national migration centre. Since the summer of […]

Defendants face judgement for actions that led to beheading of French teacher

December 19, 2024 Hugh Schofield

(BBC) Eight people accused of abetting the jihadist murder of French teacher Samuel Paty are to learn their fate after a six-week trial in a Paris court. They include the father of a schoolgirl whose lie about Paty’s alleged discrimination against Muslims […]

Two Swiss nationals indicted for supporting Islamic State

December 19, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Swiss Info) The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has filed charges against two Swiss nationals aged 22 and 28 with the Federal Criminal Court. They are accused of supporting the banned terrorist group Islamic State. Both suspects already have a […]

Terrorism suspect in fatal stabbing at Rotterdam bridge says he was in psychotic state

December 19, 2024 Unlisted Author

(NL Times) The 22-year-old man arrested for stabbing people at random at the foot of the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam said he was in a state of psychosis at the time of the incident. The Public Prosecution Service currently suspects that Ayoub […]

Britain becomes ‘western capital’ for sharia law courts as 85 open throughout the UK The councils serve as informal bodies issuing religious rulings focused on marriages and divorces

December 18, 2024 Eliana Silver

(GB News) Britain has emerged as the “western capital” for sharia courts, with 85 Islamic councils now operating across the country since the first was established in 1982. These religious bodies have become increasingly influential, drawing Muslims from across Europe and North […]

Threat against UK ‘smouldering,’ top counter-terror officer warns

December 18, 2024 Daniel Sandford, Maia Davies and Hafsa Khalil

(BBC) The UK is facing a “smouldering” terror threat level with children as young as 10 accessing extreme online material, one of the country’s most senior counter-terrorism officers has warned. Deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans, senior national co-ordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, […]

Counter-terror police on high alert for jihadi attacks from potential British ISIS supporters returning from Syria Border officials are watching for potential British ISIS supporters freed from jail in Syria who may try to return to the UK.

December 18, 2024 Martin Brunt

(Sky News) Counter-terrorism police fear that uncertainty over the future of Syria could fuel jihadi attacks in the UK. Border officials are on high alert for potential British ISIS supporters freed from jail who may try to return to Britain. Vicki Evans, […]

Salvini’s migrant verdict to test balance between rights and security in Italy

December 18, 2024 Angelo Amante

(Reuters) Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister, faces a possible six-year prison term if a court finds him guilty on Friday of kidnapping a boat full of migrants who were held offshore Italy for almost three weeks in 2019. Salvini was interior […]

Germany jails Syrian for 10 years for Assad-era war crimes

December 18, 2024 Unlisted Author

(AFP) A German court handed a 10-year jail term to a Syrian former militia leader on Wednesday for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed under former president Bashar al-Assad. The man, named only as Ahmad H., 47, had come to Germany […]

Minister finalises 3 laws for ‘strictest refugee regime ever’

December 18, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Dutch News) Immigration minister Marjolein Faber has finalised three pieces of legislation that will be put to the vote in Friday’s cabinet meeting, broadcaster NOS has reported. Ministers have already given their informal blessing to the plans, sources in The Hague told […]

Italy’s Meloni warns EU court against blocking Albania migrant relocations

December 17, 2024 Angelo Amante and Giuseppe Fonte

(Reuters) Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Tuesday to dismiss objections to her government’s flagship plan to send sea migrants to Albania. EU judges have been asked to weigh in on the scheme by Italian […]

Muslim school sues French politician for defamation The school administrators claim French officials are going all-out to rescind the state funding of the last Muslim school in France.

December 17, 2024 Aymen Alami

(Morocco World News) The Al-Kindi school group, a Muslim private school in Décines-Charpieu, a commune in the region of Lyon in south-eastern France, is suing a French MP for defamation after the politician accused the school of “denying history” and not teaching […]

Parliament votes to ban Shia militia Hezbollah in Switzerland

December 17, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Swiss Info) Swiss lawmakers want to ban the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah in addition to the Palestinian organisation Hamas. After the Senate, the House of Representatives also voted on this measure on Tuesday. It adopted a corresponding motion from its Security Policy […]

‘No changes to refugee measures,’ Wilders warns coalition

December 17, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Dutch News) Far-right leader Geert Wilders has told reporters he is not prepared to give another millimetre on legislation to curb the number of refugees coming to the Netherlands and that without fast action, his party will be finished with the cabinet. […]

Netherlands still at high risk of a terrorist attack; young people radicalizing online

December 17, 2024 Unlisted Author

(NL Times) The risk of a terrorist attack in the Netherlands remains “substantial,” the fourth most severe threat level out of five, according to the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV). There is a “realistic” possibility of an attack, particularly because […]

Terrorist sues pub landlord over ‘deeply offensive’ Saracen’s Head sign claiming the image ‘scares him’

December 16, 2024 Danielle De Wolfe

(LBC) A convicted terrorist is suing a British pub over claims its sign is “deeply offensive” and the image “scares him.” Khalid Baqa, who has previously served four years behind bars for preparing jihadi propaganda, is suing the Saracen’s Head Inn in […]

Dutch court to rule on legality of discussing Muslim Jew-hate 'Facts can never be a criminal offense,' said Deputy Prime Minister Mona Keijzer, who has appealed after being charged with incitement to intolerance in July.

December 16, 2024 Canaan Lidor

(JNS) A Dutch court will need to determine if it’s illegal to discuss antisemitism in the context of Muslim culture, following an appeal by a deputy prime minister regarding hate crime allegations leveled against her. Mona Keijzer, who is also the minister […]

Anti-Semitism is being weaponised by politicians: A’dam mayor

December 16, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Dutch News) Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema has spoken out about anti-Semitism and anti-Muslim sentiment in a wide-ranging interview with the Volkskrant, in which she reflected on a turbulent year in the capital’s history. Halsema said she is “worried about human rights and […]