The year Europe woke up to its Islamist problem

2020 will be primarily remembered for the Covid-19 pandemic. But while most have looked on this crisis with great worry, there are a number of radical Islamist ideologues who treated the pandemic as a golden opportunity to wreak terror and havoc.

In the earlier stages of the pandemic, terrorist organisations such as Islamic State were revving up their jihadists. According to this bloodthirsty death cult, the pandemic offered the perfect conditions to pounce and unleash deadly acts of terror in the Western world. In an editorial produced in its weekly newspaper, Al-Naba, titled ‘The Crusaders’ Worst Nightmare’, ISIS members were encouraged to step up their efforts and to exploit the West’s preoccupation with Covid. With security services and national armies ‘stretched’ to help government efforts to tackle outbreaks, Western countries were perceived to be ‘restricted’ in terms of fighting jihadists abroad – presenting a golden opportunity for them to ‘strike’.

Lo and behold, Europe was indeed struck by a spate of Islamist terrorist attacks, particularly in the autumn. On 4 October, a man was stabbed to death in an Islamist terrorist attack in the German city of Dresden. The alleged perpetrator, a 20-year-old Syrian national, arrived in Germany in 2015 to seek asylum. He was previously investigated after he was suspected of plotting a terrorist attack. He had known links with Islamic State as well as an extensive criminal record.

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