EU Should Prosecute Preachers Endorsing Violence: UK Muslim Association

The UK Ahmadiyya Muslim Association representative calls on European governments to persecute those clerics who incite hatred and violence.

MOSCOW, January 13 (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova — European governments need to take legal action against extremist preachers who endorse violence and hatred, a spokesperson for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association in the United Kingdom, Basharat Nazir, told Sputnik Tuesday, commenting on the recent extremist attacks in Paris.

"The European governments should take legal action against extremist preachers who endorse violence and hatred for other nations," Nazir told Sputnik on Tuesday. He urged EU authorities to avoid a "soft approach to Muslims who preach hate, wish to cause disorder and do not understand that Islam teaches every Muslim to be loyal to his country."

Over the past week France has seen a wave of gun violence caused by radical religious beliefs that have led to the deaths of 17 people.

In the aftermath of the attacks in France, EU authorities realize that extremist groups in Europe are producing militant homegrown jihadists, and that these jihadists are EU citizens raised and educated in Europe.

The history of extremist movements across Europe offers a similar pattern. A radicalized minority of European Muslims inspired by extremist polemic and in response to wars waged by the West throughout the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia has brought the violent reality of terrorist conflict home.

Nazir states that "militants target young Muslims who often feel confused and guilty for not knowing what Islam really stands for and what it takes to be a true Muslim."

He reaffirmed that the mainstream European Islamic community unanimously condemns violence, and expressed a concern "that these atrocities will impact negatively not only on the image of Muslim communities but their very position in various European societies."

The UK Muslim association representative also stated that ordinary Muslims may face hatred, mistrust and Islamophobia. "People are beginning to fear a growing "Islamisation" in Europe," he said, adding that "this growing concern has given organizations like the Patriotic Europeans Against Islamisation of the West greater support, as they assembled 18,000 protestors in Dresden, Germany." Nasir, pointing out three recent attacks on mosques in Sweden noted they take place "as the far-right groups across Europe [are] making large electoral gains."

According to Nazir, the key to avoiding a polarization in European dialogue is to keep open communication between all religious and secular groups. "Terrorists are born through ignorance," he stated, adding that education is the only effective and long-lasting way to move past the fear that breeds the ignorance engendering terrorist behavior.

The Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam is an international religious organization, with branches in over 176 countries in Africa, North America, South America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. Total current membership is estimated at around 200 million.