Jeanine De Roy van Zuijdewijn Discusses the Beheading of Samuel Paty in Dutch Newspaper NRC
De Roy van Zuijdewijn, researcher and lecturer at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, wrote an opinion piece on the ongoing threat still being posed by Jihadism in Dutch newspaper NRC.
We have grown tired of Jihadism, but the recent beheading of a French teacher has been a wake-up call. Thousands of people assembled on squares in France carrying signs 'Je suis Samuel' or 'Je suis Prof', the connection with the attack in 2015 is clear. Jeanine writes: 'This present intense reaction in France is a result of a feeling that Jihadists are once again targeting the freedom of speech.'
The Netherlands
The threat level in the most recently published Dutch Terrorist Threat Assessment has again been set at 'eminent', level three out of five. Situations similar to the recent events in France have occurred in the Netherlands over the last few years, writes De Roy van Zuijdewijn. The threat of Jihadism is still very much present, despite our 'Jihadism fatigue'. 'As a society our interest in a topic is usually short-lived, relying on sensational attacks and subject to a kind of fatigue or habituation'
The attention tends to lie with one type of threat, and over the last few years the attention has slowly shifted towards extremist-right. This does not mean that the threat of Jihadism has disappeared, writes De Roy van Zuijdewijn: 'The attack on Paty and the mass gathering on the French streets show that Jihadism isn't yesterday's news and that this fight, as Macron mentioned, is far from over.'
You can read the full article (in Dutch) here
Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn is a Researcher and Lecturer at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs of Leiden University and a Research Fellow of the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism. She has a background in Liberal Arts & Sciences (BA) and International Relations (MA - cum laude).