Jihadists Using Switzerland As Base To Promote Islamic Extremism In Europe And Beyond

By Soeren Kern, Gatestone Institute – “Radical Muslim groups are using Switzerland as a base from which to promote Islamic jihad in Europe and beyond.

Islamists in Switzerland are providing jihadists with logistical support, and also stepping up their use of Internet websites there to spread Islamic propaganda as well as to incite their supporters to commit acts of terrorism and violence.

Swiss authorities have identified at least 10 trips by Islamists from Switzerland to jihadi training camps overseas just during the past 12 months.

One finding of Swiss Federal Police Annual Report for 2011 (in German), published in Bern on June 21, is that although Switzerland was not a direct target of Islamic terrorism in 2011, the Swiss Federal Police Office, also known Fedpol, did investigate a Swiss convert to Islam who used the Internet to discuss a terrorist attack involving explosives against an American installation in Germany. Although the report does not provide further details about the investigation, it states that the suspect’s being Swiss proved that ‘not only people with immigrant backgrounds could be supporters of jihad.’

In response to the rising threat from radical Islam, Fedpol, recently launched a new specialist IT research department to intensify efforts to monitor jihadist websites and their operators. Fedpol also strengthened its cooperation with the Swiss Federal Intelligence Services…

Separately, leading Islamic groups in Switzerland say they want to establish a single national representative body that will enable all of the country’s Muslims to ‘speak with one voice.'” Read more.

Flashback: Islamist Groups Seeking To Overthrow Democratic Order In Europe, ‘Muslims Will Confront This Cancer Of Man-Made Laws’ – “Sharia4Holland — and its Siamese twin Sharia4Belgium — is a radical Muslim movement that wants to impose Islamic Sharia law in the Netherlands, Belgium and the rest of Europe. Over the past several months, Sharia4Holland and Sharia4Belgium have become increasingly belligerent in their appeals to fellow Muslims to overthrow the democratic order in Europe… According to Abu Qasim, the spokesman for Sharia4Holland: ‘Better times will come as promised. The Muslims will [confront] this cancer of man-made laws called democracy and eradicate it. Destroy it root and branch, as far as Islam allows us, or Islam orders us to. Sharia is by far the only solution, it is the only rival left to topple democracy…’” Read more.

Flashback: Experts: Islamist Terror Cells in Europe May Now Pose Biggest Threat to US Security – “Experts testifying before a congressional committee say the threat of terrorism may be greatest at present from Islamist terror cells in European countries. The experts told the House Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats that a combination of factors lead them to believe terrorist cells in Europe may pose the biggest threat to the security of the United States and its interests. Peter Bergen, who has written on al-Qaida and other terrorist groups, is among those who see a trend of growing alienation of Muslims in European countries as feeding the aims of terrorist groups seeking new members.” Read more.