Dutch Face Jihadist, Leftist Threats

The Dutch secret service, the AIVD, said this week that they were most concerned about the threat posed by far-left groups, rather than the far-right. However, they added that there was also a threat from Islamic extremism.

According to reports from The Netherlands, the AIVD warns that radical Muslims often wear a mask. The service "has observed in the past year that the well-known Salafist centres (...) express themselves more moderately in public than in closed circles. Outwardly, they try to create the impression of fostering integration of Muslims into Dutch society, while behind closed doors, polarising statements are made that could have a negative effect on society in the longer term."

The Islamic threat was coming from Moroccan Muslim youths, they said, but conceded that this was a ‘limited threat’.In the Turkish community as well, "the number of individuals that (...) radicalise to Jihadism is growing." But "the resistance within the Turkish community to radical Islamic ideologies in general remains great." All in all, "no danger exists in the short and medium term of large-scale susceptibility to radical religious ideas" within the Turkish community, partly due to "a number of traditional resistance factors (such as Turkish nationalism)" and because of "a lack of a coherent ideology, inadequate organisational capacity and a shortage of leadership" among Turkish Muslim radicals.

Comparing the mood among Somali, Iraqi and Afghani communities, they concluded that the greatest threat came from the Somalis. “Within the Somali community on the other hand, a greater breeding-ground for radicalisation appears to be present. Noteworthy is that along with this, their marginalised position in Dutch society is of greater importance than the unstable situation in Somalia."

Among the threats from the far-left were intimidation from animal rights activists and violent actions against illegal immigrants."

As in previous years, the extreme right environment in the Netherlands remains characterised by fragmentation and splits" and "there is no question of a trend towards extreme right terrorism".

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