The horrendous terrorist attacks that took place in Paris on Friday night are exactly what Europe’s security services have long feared: crowds of people in a major European city being targeted by suicide bombers and gunmen.
This is the second major terrorist attack in Paris this year; in January, Islamist gunmen murdered 17 people after attacking the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine, a Jewish supermarket and a policewoman.
This time, however, the death toll is much higher and around 130 have been killed and 200 injured in six separate terrorist attacks in the French capital.
Friday’s attack was the deadliest on French soil since World War II and the worst in Europe since the 2004 Madrid train bombings. France has declared a national state of emergency – for the first time in the post-war period – and closed its borders, and the French president, who vowed to wage a “merciless” fight against terrorism, described the attacks as an “act or war” carried out by Islamic State. US President Barack Obama called the Paris attack “an attack on all of humanity”.
The attacks have major implications for France, Europe and the fight against Islamic State. First of all, questions need to be answered about the attackers. Were they French citizens? If so, were they radicalised in France? Were the attacks planned in France or Syria? Were these attacks a result of an intelligence failure?
Do questions need to be asked about French society and its sizable Muslim minority? Is enough being done by French Muslim leaders to discourage Muslims from turning to radicalism? Are Muslims properly integrated into French society?
Security throughout Europe is now under the spotlight. With Schengen already under threat due to the migration crisis, it is possible that a border-free Europe could well end up being suspended throughout the bloc, which would be a great shame but perhaps understandable in the circumstances. A major security review throughout Europe is no doubt needed in the aftermath of this terrible atrocity in Paris.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s decision yesterday to suspend Malta’s adherence to Schengen until after the Commonwealth summit is therefore logical.
It has been reported that one of the terrorists at the concert hall shouted that the attacks were in response for François Hollande’s actions in Syria, where France is a founder member of the US-led coalition conducting airstrikes against Islamic State. This should not prevent France from battling Islamic State, which has claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks, but should highlight the need for a review of the West’s policy on Syria and the way it combats jihadist terrorism, and a redoubling of efforts to find a political solution for the Syrian conflict.
The worst mistake western society can make is to equate Islam, and Muslims in general, with terrorism. In such sad situations, kneejerk reactions are tempting, but are nevertheless wrong.
Equally wrong would be to associate refugees with terrorism, when many of these people are running away from the jihadists.
It is important to understand that Islamic extremism kills more Muslims than any other group; last Thursday’s bomb attacks in Beirut, where 43 people were killed in a Shia district of the Lebanese capital, is just the latest example of jihadist terrorist attacks on Muslims.
If governments had to target vulnerable people fleeing war, terrorism and untold poverty simply because they are on the run then we risk creating more ghettos around Europe, the same ghettos which could in future spawn potentially dangerous minds.