Europe is on high alert for more jihadist terrorist attacks in the aftermath of the Paris killings. Last Thursday, Belgian police killed two suspected terrorists in a firefight and arrested a third man. According to prosecutors the extremists targeted in the anti-terror raid had been planning to kill policemen in the street and police stations.
On Friday, Belgian police said another 13 people had been arrested, two of them in France, while police in Paris evacuated a train station after a bomb threat and arrested 10 people in anti-terrorism raids. Police in Berlin arrested two men on suspicion of recruiting fighters for the Islamic State in Syria.
International press reports claimed there are 20 jihadist terror cells in Europe that are ready to commit violence in various European cities at any moment.
The French government estimates there may be as many as 1,000 of its Muslim citizens who have joined such extremist groups in Syria and Iraq.
There is little doubt that the terrorist threat to Europe has been exacerbated by the Syrian war, which has attracted a number of radicalised European Muslims who have gone to fight for Islamic State or al-Qaeda.
The problem of radicalised Muslims travelling freely throughout Europe to fight jihad in the Middle East certainly needs to be addressed. It may be the case that the EU’s Schengen agreement, which allows passport-free travel throughout the EU, needs to be reviewed.
It is likely that police forces will require additional powers to tackle this danger. It will be a delicate tightrope exercise between increased police powers and respect for civil liberties, which after all, is a hallmark of any democratic society.
Ultimately, European governments must engage more with Muslim communities, help them integrate into society and work with them to prevent young Muslims becoming radicalised.
Fear is rife in countries like Germany – and not only among Muslims – that the attacks in Paris will intensify an already growing anti-Islamic mood in the country.
The battle against extremism is a global battle and not a European battle against Islam. There is one stark statistic all of us has to recall: 90 per cent of the victims of terrorism and fundamentalism are Muslims.
Throughout the world, and on a daily basis, we see Muslims being slaughtered by jihadists.
Closer to home, although it is unlikely that a jihadist attack will take place in Malta, the situation in Libya is worrying, and our North African neighbour is on a fast track to becoming a failed state.
There have already been reports of al-Qaeda and Islamic State cells in Libya, and such groups would thrive should the country collapse into total chaos and descend into civil war, with obvious negative consequences not only for Malta, but for the rest of Europe.
Prime Minister Joseph last week urged all sides in Libya’s war to enter into a dialogue with each other, while urging the international community to be proactive when dealing with Libya.
While we hope the UN-sponsored Libya peace talks in Geneva are successful – and that representatives of the Tripoli government decide to take part – the EU and US have to take more of a direct role in trying to stabilise the situation in Libya.
While we need to be on alert, we need to avoid knee-jerk reactions and make sure we do not target the victims, the asylum seekers who are fleeing the danger. It is up to politicians, and yes, us the media, to steer away from building on perpetuating the stereotypes and keep tempers in check.