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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Islamic State can’t win in Brussels – we are fighting hate with love | Islamic State can’t win in Brussels – we are fighting hate with love |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| My city is in pain and mourning. Dozens of innocent people have lost their lives; more than 200 are wounded. Brussels is locked down, once again. | My city is in pain and mourning. Dozens of innocent people have lost their lives; more than 200 are wounded. Brussels is locked down, once again. |
| After the Paris attacks last November, Brussels was locked down, too. Some of the terrorists who hit Paris came from here. Since then, the police and army have been present in public spaces and on every corner of the city centre. | After the Paris attacks last November, Brussels was locked down, too. Some of the terrorists who hit Paris came from here. Since then, the police and army have been present in public spaces and on every corner of the city centre. |
| The commune of Molenbeek, where I work, was at the centre of a media storm. “The jihadi capital”, the media called it. Because of a few individuals, a community of 100,000 people is now considered a dangerous place filled with terrorists. | The commune of Molenbeek, where I work, was at the centre of a media storm. “The jihadi capital”, the media called it. Because of a few individuals, a community of 100,000 people is now considered a dangerous place filled with terrorists. |
| As if the media’s reporting wasn’t bad enough, we have politicians who make scathing statements about Brussels and Molenbeek on a daily basis. Jan Jambon, Belgian minister of interior affairs, declared right after the Paris attacks that he would “clean up” Molenbeek. | As if the media’s reporting wasn’t bad enough, we have politicians who make scathing statements about Brussels and Molenbeek on a daily basis. Jan Jambon, Belgian minister of interior affairs, declared right after the Paris attacks that he would “clean up” Molenbeek. |
| I work in various Brussels schools as a youth coach. Many of my students live in Molenbeek and were shocked by such statements. “Is it because we are Muslim?” they asked me. “Is it because we are of Moroccan origin?” “What did I and my parents do wrong?” | I work in various Brussels schools as a youth coach. Many of my students live in Molenbeek and were shocked by such statements. “Is it because we are Muslim?” they asked me. “Is it because we are of Moroccan origin?” “What did I and my parents do wrong?” |
| Most of these young people are in a precarious situation. Some 40% of Brussels youth live in poverty. More than a quarter leave school without a diploma of secondary education. Youth unemployment is huge. Many young people have no prospects and low self-esteem, and share the wider fear of terrorism and other violence. Verbal and physical violence towards migrants in Belgium, in particular Muslims, has increased by 50% in the last five years. | Most of these young people are in a precarious situation. Some 40% of Brussels youth live in poverty. More than a quarter leave school without a diploma of secondary education. Youth unemployment is huge. Many young people have no prospects and low self-esteem, and share the wider fear of terrorism and other violence. Verbal and physical violence towards migrants in Belgium, in particular Muslims, has increased by 50% in the last five years. |
| Young people, I, all of us will have to continue with our lives, just like people did in Ankara, Beirut and Paris. Together we must refuse to resign ourselves to the fear that is sown by terrorists – and by politicians and the media. | Young people, I, all of us will have to continue with our lives, just like people did in Ankara, Beirut and Paris. Together we must refuse to resign ourselves to the fear that is sown by terrorists – and by politicians and the media. |
| Politicians and the media are falling into the terrorists’ trap. Movements like Islamic State have a clear goal: to sow panic and distrust. Terrorism specialist Béatrice de Graaf has aptly called this the “theatre of fear”. It’s not only Belgian politicians and media that are giving the terrorists what they want: look, for example, at the reaction of French president François Hollande. The answer to terror is not vengeance or fear. We cannot fight fear with fear, or violence with violence. | Politicians and the media are falling into the terrorists’ trap. Movements like Islamic State have a clear goal: to sow panic and distrust. Terrorism specialist Béatrice de Graaf has aptly called this the “theatre of fear”. It’s not only Belgian politicians and media that are giving the terrorists what they want: look, for example, at the reaction of French president François Hollande. The answer to terror is not vengeance or fear. We cannot fight fear with fear, or violence with violence. |
| This does not mean that we should not tackle terrorism. As well as addressing socio-economic misery, we need a foreign policy that rejects militarisation and wars in favour of political solutions and dialogue. | This does not mean that we should not tackle terrorism. As well as addressing socio-economic misery, we need a foreign policy that rejects militarisation and wars in favour of political solutions and dialogue. |
| Moreover, it is important to offer an alternative. We need to strengthen vulnerable communities and groups. We need to invest in young people so that they develop self-respect and engage in society. We need to offer them clear prospects. This is one of the most effective ways to fight terrorism. | Moreover, it is important to offer an alternative. We need to strengthen vulnerable communities and groups. We need to invest in young people so that they develop self-respect and engage in society. We need to offer them clear prospects. This is one of the most effective ways to fight terrorism. |
| And to those who sow fear we must respond with love, because love is a powerful weapon against terrorism. | And to those who sow fear we must respond with love, because love is a powerful weapon against terrorism. |
| Iyad El-Baghdadi, once a Salafist who believed in jihad, now strongly condemns Isis. According to him, love is the best answer to Isis, for “love destroys their faith”. By forging friendships with Muslims, he says, “you defeat Isis”. If we respond with fear and hate, this will strengthen it. | |
| Related: To fight terrorism we need social workers as much as soldiers | Matteo Renzi | Related: To fight terrorism we need social workers as much as soldiers | Matteo Renzi |
| Specialists such as de Graaf or journalist Nicolas Hénin, who was held captive by Isis, believe that it is a conscious Isis strategy to provoke attacks from the west. That way it gets more support from the population that is affected by these attacks. As Hénin says: “Bombing they expect; what they fear is unity.” | Specialists such as de Graaf or journalist Nicolas Hénin, who was held captive by Isis, believe that it is a conscious Isis strategy to provoke attacks from the west. That way it gets more support from the population that is affected by these attacks. As Hénin says: “Bombing they expect; what they fear is unity.” |
| The biggest nightmare for Isis was how some European countries, such as Germany, welcomed Syrian refugees with open arms. The solidarity shown by thousands of citizens from Greece to Sweden harmed Isis. It cannot repeat enough that Muslims should come to its “caliphate” because Europeans are racists and Islamophobes. By hosting Syrian refugees, we have shown that Isis is wrong. | The biggest nightmare for Isis was how some European countries, such as Germany, welcomed Syrian refugees with open arms. The solidarity shown by thousands of citizens from Greece to Sweden harmed Isis. It cannot repeat enough that Muslims should come to its “caliphate” because Europeans are racists and Islamophobes. By hosting Syrian refugees, we have shown that Isis is wrong. |
| In Brussels there is fear, which is normal, but also plenty of solidarity. People are helping where they can. They are offering rooms, rides and getting into streets to show that we, the citizens of Brussels, are united. Solidarity and love will give us the courage to overcome this. | In Brussels there is fear, which is normal, but also plenty of solidarity. People are helping where they can. They are offering rooms, rides and getting into streets to show that we, the citizens of Brussels, are united. Solidarity and love will give us the courage to overcome this. |
| • This article was amended on 23 March 2016. It originally referred to Iyad El-Baghdadi as a former jihadist, rather than someone who believed in jihad, as it now does. |