Month: October 2021

Belgium: State Security links mosque to extremism

The mosque in Heusden-Zolder, which is led by Mehmet Üstün, the chairman of the Belgian Muslim Executive, plays an “important role” in the spread of extremist ideas in the Limburg region, according to a report by State Security, which the television programme “Pano” of VRT was able to obtain.

According to Pano, the Belgian intelligence report rated several mosques in Belgium, among them the Sultan Ahmet Mosque in Heusden-Zolder, Limburg. The facility is run by several members of the Üstün family, including Mehmet Üstün, who has been president of the EMB, the organisation representing Muslims in Belgium, since May 2018.

The State Security said in its report that “the Sultan Ahmet Mosque plays an important role in the spread of extremism in Limburg”. This conclusion is based on the cooperation between the mosque and the authorities. According to Pano, Mehmet Üstün’s name is explicitly mentioned.The deciding factor, according to the VRT broadcast, seems to be the mosque’s cooperation with the Islamic Information Centre. According to Belgian intelligence, the mosque would allow the centre to use its premises and organise activities with its youth section. The State Protection Service sees this centre as spreading “extremism among young people in Heusden-Zolder and the surrounding area”.On Facebook, the chairman of the mosque reacted and rejected the accusations. “There is clearly a confusion here with an association that has nothing to do with our mosque and its representatives. I cannot but assume a deliberate misinformation to damage my reputation and that of our community,” he wrote.

https://www.lesoir.be/398844/article/2021-10-05/la-surete-de-letat-relie-la-mosquee-du-president-de-lexecutif-des-musulmans

After the anti-Semitic incident at a hotel in Leipzig, a strange “solidarity rally” took place in front of the hotel – Muslim crescent flags were being waved

Hundreds of people gathered in front of the luxury hotel “The Westin” in Leipzig on Tuesday to protest. An employee allegedly rebuffed singer Gil Ofarim (39) the night before because of his Star of David on his necklace. In the meantime, the hotel has suspended the employees in question.

The musician had made serious accusations in a video post on Tuesday.

Strange action: hotel employees stood in front of the hotel with an Israel flag and a crescent moon. The Star of David, which Gil Ofarim was supposed to take off, is a symbol of Judaism, while the Israeli flag is a state symbol. It is also strange that employees hold up the Islamic crescent, although a Jew is said to have been discriminated against here because of a Jewish symbol.

Gil Ofarim (39) sits with tears in his eyes in front of the entrance to the hotel “The Westin” in Leipzig. He was in the Saxon metropolis for the filming of an MDR broadcast. But what he apparently had to endure in the luxury hotel on Monday evening is beyond comprehension. In an Instagram video, the singer explains that he was discriminated against precisely because of the Star of David on his necklace.

“I am speechless right now,” the musician and son of Israeli music legend Abi Ofarim (†2018) describes the situation. There was a huge queue at the reception because the computer was not working. “It can happen, it’s all good,” Ofarim emphasised.

He had also queued up on Monday evening, but others had been let in again and again. The hotel employee – whom Ofarim calls “Mr. W.” – explained that this was supposedly in order to reduce the queue.

“And there’s someone shouting from the corner: Wrap up your star’. And then Mr W. says: Wrap up your star’.” Only then he was allowed to check in … According to Ofarim, he first asked for the manager of the hotel. When the employee said he was not there, the musician left the hotel in a huff.

In the evening, 600 demonstrators (“No place for anti-Semitism”) gathered in front of the “Westin”. Some hotel employees, including General Manager Andreas Hachmeister, held up a banner in front of the hotel to demonstrate cosmopolitanism. But there was criticism for the banner: “After the anti-Semitic hostility against a Jew in Germany, the hotel can think of nothing else than to display the Israeli flag and symbols of Islam on a banner,” said the president of the Central Council of Jews, Josef Schuster.

https://www.bild.de/regional/leipzig/leipzig-news/schwere-vorwuerfe-gil-ofarim-wegen-davidstern-in-leipziger-hotel-abgewiesen-77880130.bild.html

As the website operator of the blog “Allah’s Willing Executioners” was informed by people familiar with the hotel, the majority of the hotel employees are Muslim.

Germany at the Crossroads

The recent elections in Germany did not resolve the question of who will succeed Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 16-year stint in office. Having created a legacy as one of the longest-serving chancellors since World War II, Merkel’s “shoes” appear to be exceedingly large for the two contenders for the office of Chancellor. Social Democratic Party (SPD) candidate Olaf Scholz, 63, is currently serving as Finance Minister in Merkel’s government, as well as holding the title of Vice Chancellor. Merkel’s would be successor from her own Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, Armin Laschet, 60, is serving as Minister-President (Governor) of the state (land) of North Rhine –Westphalia, and leader of the CDU. Both candidates for the chancellorship have claimed that they will continue Merkel’s policies.

Known affectionately as “Mutti,” (mother in German), Merkel (67), was seen as a steady and reliable hand. She has generated a great deal of trust among the German people, both young and old. She was able to hold together the union between the CDU and its sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), in Bavaria. In the 2013 election, Merkel was credited with expanding the CDU’s voter base due, in large part, to her popularity.

Merkel’s CDU is described as a center-right party, though she was from the former more conservative Communist Eastern Germany, she has gradually moved the party to the liberal left, basically upstaging the leftist SPD and the Greens party on issues such as the environment (renewable energy), and immigration. This however, got many CDU officials and rank-and-file members to asking if the CDU was still “sufficiently conservative.” As a result, many CDU conservative voters abandoned the CDU, and voted for the newly-formed right-wing party, Alternative for Germany (AfD). The suspensions of military conscription in 2010, and the phasing out of nuclear energy, were confirmation that Merkel moved the party toward a liberal direction.   

Merkel explained where she stood ideologically. “Sometimes I am a liberal, sometimes I am a conservative, sometimes I am a Christian-social — and this is what defines the CDU.” At an October, 2010 speech in Potsdam, west of Berlin, Merkel admitted that, “German multiculturalism has ‘utterly failed’.” Still, in 2015, Merkel decided to admit over a million mostly Muslim migrants from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Her credibility was damaged but eventually restored anyway, despite Islamist terrorism and crime, as well as economic hardship resulting from her decision. Evidence of her popularity is the fact that immigration was not a contested issue in the September 26, 2021 election, despite her immigration debacle. The election also marked the end of the Merkel era for Germany and Europe. Merkel wasn’t only a popular chancellor; she was Europe’s leader as well.

The inconclusive results of the election left the secondary parties, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), as kingmakers. The SPD, under the leadership of Olaf Scholz, won 25.7% of the vote and 206 seats in the Bundestag, the German parliament. His rival, Armin Laschet, had a disastrous campaign and lost over a million voters or 8% of its strength. He registered the lowest results for the CDU in recent history. Nevertheless, the party still got 24.1% of the total vote, and 196 seats in the Bundestag, with a shot at the chancellorship if he could persuade the Greens and the FDP to join him in a coalition government. In the meantime, Scholz, in what appeared as a victory speech pointed out that, “The mandate for us is to do what the people want, to lead a good government that will set the course for the decade ahead, to bring more respect into society, to modernize our industrial sector, and to halt man-made climate change.”

Annalena Baerbock (40), co-leader of the Green Party, and its candidate for the chancellorship, did rather well in this election, receiving 14.8% of the total votes and garnering 118 seats in the Bundestag. Baerbock and her party leaders are bound to receive major posts regardless of who will form the next coalition government, Scholz’s SPD or Laschet’s CDU. The other winner is Christian Lindner (42), the leader of the Free Democratic Party (FDP).  It received a respectable 11.5% of the vote, electing 92 representatives to the Bundestag. He too can be certain to partake in the next government.  The AfD party retained its strength at 10.3% of the vote with 83 seats in the Bundestag.  The Left party (former Communists) barely crossed the threshold with 4.9% of the vote, and 39 seats in the Bundestag. The last two parties, the AfD and the Left are unlikely to be invited to the government table, albeit, the SPD once toyed with the idea of inviting the Left party to join them. Scholz, however, being a moderate, has rejected the idea of cooperating with the Left party. To form a coalition government either Scholz or Laschet must master 368 parliamentary votes out of 735 seats in the Bundestag.

Two significant developments occurred in this election; voters, especially younger, urban, and educated flocked to the FDP and the Greens, and away from the two big parties. The combined Greens and the FDP increased their votes by 6.7%, most of it lost by the CDU. The other interesting point is the almost total absence of foreign policy issues on the agenda of the main parties.

The CDU and FDP are the political parties most committed to NATO’s goal of 2% defense spending, and greater military responsibility in the Indo-China-Pacific region. The CDU/CSU is committed to the US nuclear weapons in Germany. Conversely, the SPD is more inclined to remove the nuclear weapons from Germany. The SPD, under the leadership of Scholz, has moved into a more left-leaning position on security and defense, including objection to the use of armed drones. Both the CDU/CSU and SPD support the Nord Stream project with Russia. Although China is a key foreign policy issue on the Transatlantic/US-German agenda, most Germans want Germany to be neutral in a China-US cold war.

The Green Party has moved to the center on security and defense issues under the leadership of Annalena Baerbock. The party has adopted a more moderate tone on the role of NATO. The left-wing of the party is however, still rooted in pacifist policies, criticizing NATO’s 2% goal, and US nuclear weapons in Europe. The Greens are critical of Russia’s human rights, and reject the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.  They support sanctions on Russia’s human rights violations. They are also critical of China’s repression in Hong Kong, and the treatment of the Uighurs.

Merkel has repeatedly underscored Germany’s unconditional support for Israel by declaring that Israel’s security is “Staatsraeson” or Germany’s raison d’état. Yet, her German government has been appeasing and aiding the Iranian regime which is seeking to “wipe Israel off the map.” According to Al-Jazeera quoting Christian Hacke, professor emeritus at the Institute for Political Science and Sociology at Bonn University, regarding Germany’s Israel policy in the post-Merkel government. Hacke stated that, “A solid and close relationship with Israel as a continuum will remain part of Germany’s Staatsraeson.”

Before we close the book on Angela Merkel, It is worth noting that coalition negotiations may take months. In 2017, it took almost six months to form a coalition government. In the meantime, Merkel would still be at the helm for better or for worse.

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2021/10/germanys-election-story-and-merkels-legacy-joseph-puder/

Barking up the wrong tree: Gender for dogs

In general, the public service does not have a reputation for reacting particularly quickly. The image of the unyielding civil servant is one of the stereotypes in many European countries. The town of Neuenrade in Germany has now shown that there is another way.

The town made the headlines in the past few days because the online form for dog tax registration with the city showed another gender option for our four-legged friends next to “male” and “female” – that of  “diverse”. Screenshots of this spread across social networks and national media also jumped on the next big “gender” issue.

Last Monday, however, the said form was quickly changed. Instead of “diverse”, next to “male” and “female”, it stated only “no information”. Has the progressive move towards more “diversity” failed?

Not at all, a city employee explained when questioned by Berlin weekly Junge Freiheit. The crux of the matter was indeed the pervasive focus on gender. For example, a component of the program that is several years old, has been supplemented with the option “diverse” for all gender information and that has been adopted everywhere in the system – including when registering for dog tax.

Therefore, to offer dog owners another sex option for their pet, was not a direct political decision, but rather a systemic one. But that is exactly what everyone had assumed when opening the page for registration. Neuenrade mayor Antonius Wiesemann (CDU) complained about being inundated with complaints because of the “technical error on the homepage”.

After the error on the homepage was corrected, calm returned to the town hall in Neuenrade. With their quick response on Monday morning, those responsible have shown that votes could be imperilled when action is not taken right away.

https://freewestmedia.com/2021/10/06/barking-up-the-wrong-tree-gender-for-dogs/

Finland: Government study reveals migrants vastly overrepresented in sex crimes

A newly released government study in Finland has revealed that foreign-born individuals were exceedingly overrepresented in cases of rape and child sex crimes last year. The study’s alarming findings mirror data contained in a report, released just weeks ago by the Swedish government, which indicated that first-generation immigrants were nearly three times as likely to be rape suspects than native-born Swedes with Swedish parents.

The study, commissioned by Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s administration and carried out by the Finnish Youth Research Network and the University of Helsinki’s Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, found that foreign-born individuals — despite making up less than seven percent of Finland’s population — accounted for nearly 38 percent of the country’s rape suspects in 2020, daily newspaper Yle reports.

The study does not include the percentage of second- or -third-generation individuals with a migrant background, as those people are simply listed as “Finnish” if they were born in the country.

Although immigrants have been overrepresented in crime statistics across many countries for many years now, this latest government study shows that the share of foreign-born people in sexual offense figures has further increased across Finland.

Perhaps even more disturbing, the proportion of foreign-born individuals who were among those suspected of sexual abuse against children has risen even more dramatically than migrant adult-on-adult rape cases have in recent years, reaching 24 percent in 2019.

Overall, throughout the study period — which took place between 2011 and 2020 — 27 percent of all rape suspects were foreign-born, while 15 percent of those suspected of child sexual abuse were foreign-born. The authors of the study also noted that those most likely to sexually exploit children were young immigrant males, with those under the age of 18 representing a significant percentage of perpetrators.

In 2020, among those who were suspected of rape, 20.3 percent were from countries in the Middle East, 1.4 percent were from North Africa, while the country of origin was unknown in 6.4 percent of the cases, Yle reported.

Finland is no outlier, and similar results have been found in Germany, France, Denmark, Austria, and Italy

In an attempt to minimize the significance of the nationalities, regions of origin, and cultures of the foreign-born sex offenders, researchers submitted that no single factor could account for the prevalence of sex crimes in the cohort since issues like poor problem-solving skills, impulsivity, problems with regulating emotions, and poor self-esteem were found to be quite common in suspected perpetrators 

Researchers also highlighted that migrants’ overrepresentation in sex crime could not be explained alone by social disadvantage, citing mental illness, antisocial behavior, the use of intoxicants, and a criminal past as other contributing risk factors. 

“To be able to prevent sexual crimes effectively, we need to understand the risk factors and behavioral patterns associated with those who commit the crimes,” Teemu Vauhkonen, a researcher of the Institute of Criminology and Legal Policy, concluded in a statement.

In light of the alarming figures, Finland’s Interior Minister Maria Ohisalo has admitted that problems with integration policy are clearly present and must be addressed, adding that the newly released statistics are “very worrying”.

“These are very worrying figures,” she said. “It is certainly the case that people have failed to understand how human rights and people’s integrity are respected in this society. Yes, there is something to do on the side of the government.”

Among Finland’s population of 5.5 million people, there were just over 367,000 first-generation immigrants in 2020.

https://rmx.news/egyeb/finland-government-study-reveals-migrants-vastly-overrepresented-in-sex-crimes/

Germany: Singer Gil Ofarim denied entry to Leipzig hotel because of his Star of David

Recidivist Sofiane Rasmouk: He quoted the Qur’ an while raping his victim, today he took two French prison guards hostage

Alençon prosecutor François Coudert gave more details to BFMTV about the end of the hostage-taking at Condé-sur-Sarthe prison.

“This hostage-taking involved two guards who were released voluntarily, the first around lunchtime and the second after the raid intervened as part of a handover protocol. He voluntarily agreed to surrender,” he said.

In addition, the lawyer said that ” this person was sentenced to life imprisonment for attempted murder and rape” and that he “had already been convicted of violence against persons in the past”.BFMTV

Sofiane Rasmouk, 33 years old, is alleged to have been holding two guards of the Alençon-Condé (Orne) prison hostage since 10am on Tuesday October 5, 2021. He is described as impulsive and violent. The man is in prison after being sentenced to life imprisonment with a term of 22 years for rape and attempted murder.

At his appeal trial at the Yvelines Regional Court in September 2017, he was given the maximum sentence for the 2013 rape of two young women in Colombes and La Garenne-Colombes, near Paris. According to an article in Le Parisien, he was described by experts as a “psychopath”. His nickname: “the monster of Colombes”.

This is not the first time that the man, described by local sources as “impulsive” and “violent”, has attacked prison guards. In April 2018, he was sentenced to six months in prison by the Versailles Criminal Court for attacking two guards in Bois-d’Arcy prison.

According to our information, Sofiane Rasmouk is one of the specially monitored prisoners (DPS) in Alençon-Condé prison. Ouest-France

An inmate at Alençon-Condé prison (Orne) has been holding a guard and a staff member hostage since 9.30am on Tuesday October 5, 2021. The man, who is serving a life sentence and has been in Orne prison for less than a month, is said to be holding the two officers captive in his cell. He allegedly stole their keys and walkie-talkies.

The Eris, regional intervention and security teams, are on their way to intervene. A crisis unit has also been set up at the Interregional Directorate of Prison Management in Rennes.  Ouest-France

https://www.fdesouche.com/2021/10/05/prise-dotages-en-cours-a-la-prison-dalencon-conde-deux-surveillants-retenus-par-un-detenu/

” Savage, wild, he grabs her by the hair, whispers in her ear that she should be quiet, that she should not look at him. And he throws her to the ground, between two vehicles, on the rough and cold concrete. He rips off her trousers and rapes her. He rapes her twice. To humiliate her again, he insults her, threatens her with his knife and quotes the Qur’ an. Words and gestures that cannot be explained. In a new fit of rage, he hits her in the face with his fists and knees. The blood that flows does not make him refrain. (…) She struggles not to faint, choking. Her heart is pounding in her small chest. Her body aches, an unbearable pain. She begs the man to be left alone (…)”

This is what fate suffered 19-year-old Sandra Grolez, the victim of Sofiane Razmouk in August 2013. Sofiane Razmouk, who has been convicted 24 times since 2002, in particular for sexual assault, benefited from a programme of temporary release “under the pretext of training” since May 2013. Free and working during the day, locked up and arrested at night”: He took advantage of this to rape Sandra Grolez and Priscillia Atzori in Colombes and beat them in the face with his fists and knees.

The other victim narrowly escaped death: “On arrival at the hospital, Priscillia underwent four hours of surgery: The neurosurgeons removed half of her skull because the condition of her impacted brain had deteriorated. She also suffered several fractures to her nose, jaw and right temporal lobe. She is in a coma and is in a very serious condition (…)”.  Paris Match

https://www.fdesouche.com/2017/10/01/colombes-92-le-terrifiant-profil-de-sofiane-rasmouk-lagresseur-de-2-jeunes-femmes/

Germany registers more than 500 Islamist terror threats

Islamists continue to constitute by far the biggest group of people threatening security in Germany despite people who practice Islam being a small minority in the country. In August, the Federal Criminal Police Office registered 554 people in connection with “Politically motivated crime – religious ideology” (PMK category), according to a response from the federal government to a request from the Free Democratic Party (FDP). 

In addition, there were also 527 so-called people of concern. While the number of people at risk decreased compared to a year ago, the number of “relevant people” increased slightly.

People who are at risk are expected to carry out a serious or state-endangering crime at any time. Security authorities refer to people who have a leadership role or the function of a supporter or actor within a terrorist or extremist group as relevant.

The number of left-wing extremists is increasing

At the same time, the security services had 72 people in their sights as threats in the PMK right category. 181 right-wing extremists were classified as relevant persons. Their number remained almost constant. 

However, the number of left-wing extremists has increased significantly, from five to nine. The number of relevant people remained constant at 77.

The federal government continues to rate the threat posed by an Islamist terrorist attack as high. 

“Germany continues to be in the immediate target spectrum of international terrorist organizations. A persistently high risk of jihadist-motivated acts of violence is still to be expected,“ said a response from the Federal Ministry of the Interior to an AfD inquiry in June. At the same time, the letter revealed that around a quarter of the Islamist threats and relevant persons had applied for asylum.

https://rmx.news/germany/germany-registers-more-than-500-islamist-terror-threats/