We must not feed the Isis narrative that the West war with Islam

Nice attack: We must not feed the Isis narrative that the West is at war with Islam

Because the horrific news maintains coming in from the terrorist attack in Great in southern France many will ask how Traditional western societies can protect themselves from Islamic State-inspired terrorism. But it is worthwhile remembering that only a week ago 300 people were blown up in Baghdad. The West isn't the sole target of terrorists. In reality the overwhelming affected individuals of IS (Isis/Daesh) and other jihadi terrorism are still Muslims.

This should tell us something important when we consider a response to terrorist episodes, whether they take place in Nice, Paris, Turki or Baghdad - The european countries is not fighting a war against Muslims but people who desire open, tolerable societies are fighting one against religious fanatics.
Portugal has a certain problem in Europe. It has already faced four Isis-inspired dread attacks this year and six last year, including the Paris attack in November.

If anything, the spate of terrorist problems in France show the hardline approach to this challenge has failed. It rejects multiculturalism and diversity in favour of assimilation and an uncompromising stance on religion in public life. They have also been in a "state of emergency" since November last season, giving police extraordinary capabilities to search houses, make arrests and spy on suspects.

But the French-Tunisian man behind the Fine attack appears to be a lone-wolf madman who was reportedly not on any terror watch-list. This individual was a divorced daddy of three who become depressed after his relationship fell apart. He was "more into women than religion", a neighbour advised French TV. This comes after an identical pattern to the Orlando gay-club gunman, who reportedly had issues with his own marriage and sexuality.

However, after every such attack, we notice so-called terrorism "experts" phoning for an even more hardline method to IS. The only way France could compound its problem now could be by implementing Donald Trump's idea to ban Muslims from going into the country. That would not work obviously, because so many of the terrorists have been French individuals. Secure all Muslims, perhaps? Then France may as well call itself a fascist state.
Donald Overcome today said "we are at war". This form of rhetoric is not only doomed to are unsuccessful, it plays directly into the hands of the jihadis. France can't make use of this approach any further. It has to change course. It won't help if every lone-wolf attack with a crazed man is converted into an international jihadist plot that will require a state of crisis.

I'm not blaming the French people for the atrocities they may have suffered nor saying french government has brought this after themselves. As I have written before, IS-inspired terrorism is not a response to Western foreign coverage - it is a violent response to our way of life and our beliefs in an open liberal society. This kind of is why the jihadists attack anyone, including Muslims, who even slightly deviate from their extremist and fanatical vision of the world. Because fight, Muslims are our allies against jihadis, not on the other side.
Rather than turning them into potential foods, the French government has to work harder using its Muslim citizens to pay attention to them, to help those at risk to being radicalised, and become their ally against the extremists. You will discover interesting and successful attempts being tried out in Scandinavia, and England would succeed to try them too.

The risk now is that these terror attacks will likely drive support for the National Front and give Europe its first major far-right government because the Second World War. That in turn will feed into the jihadist narrative that the west is in battle with Islam, and give food to the "clash of civilisation" narrative on both evenly sides.

We cannot behave to Is a way that would strengthen the appeal and play into their hands. Today, on the day of the funeral of the British isles MP Jo Cox, killed just weeks ago, we must remember her words: "We have far more in accordance than that which divides us. "