Netherlands: Jihad fatigue

Dutch Muslims seem to be losing their interest in the debate about Islam and international jihad, according to a latest official report by the government. "A certain passivity seems to have fallen over broad sections of the Muslim population in the Netherlands in the debate about Islam," the Dutch National Anti-Terrorism Coordinating Office said in a "threat analysis" report published Wednesday. "Even on (the) internet some young Muslims display a sort of resignation and react far less strongly than previously to certain comments," the report said, citing an observed "jihad fatigue" among Muslims. Dutch paper NRC Handelsblad reported Thursday there is no evidence that the international jihad message is receiving much support among Somali, Iraqi, Afghan and Chechen communities in the Netherlands. The involvement of these groups in conflicts in their "home countries" is mainly based on humanitarian concerns and does not focus on the religious struggle in those nations, the newspaper said. Two months ago the anti-terror coordination office lowered the threat of a terrorist attack to the Netherlands from "substantial" to "limited." A "limited threat" means that "the risk of a terrorist attack is relatively small at the moment but an attack can certainly not be ruled out entirely." The main reason, according to the official report, was that some jihad networks had "collapsed due to both government intervention and their own lack of leadership and internal divisions." The coordinating office's analysis of the threat of terrorism is normally revised four times a year.
Source: Xinhua (English)

See also: Netherlands: Terror report