One month into 2014 and Islam-related controversies continued making headlines in newspapers across Europe. The most salient topic involved the dramatic increase in the numbers of European jihadists participating in the war in Syria.
Muslim groups are demanding Spanish citizenship for potentially millions of descendants of Muslims who were expelled from Spain during the Middle Ages.
The reform permitting dual citizenship could result in the granting of Spanish nationality—on a case-by-case basis—to up to 3.5 million residents of countries where many Sephardic Jews eventually settled, including Israel, France, Turkey and the United States, as well as those in Latin America.
The German government plans to change German immigration laws to make it easier for Muslim immigrants to obtain dual-citizenship and thus to maintain their religious and cultural links to their countries of origin.
Lawmakers from Spain’s ruling center-right Popular Party have submitted a bill that would limit the conditions under which Spanish judges can investigate genocide or crimes against humanity committed outside the borders of Spain.
European security officials say that in recent weeks they have noticed an “alarming acceleration” in the number of European jihadists traveling to Syria to obtain combat experience with Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda. They say their primary concern is about the potential threats these battle-hardened “enemies from within” will pose when they return to Europe.
An ever-expanding list of controversial rulings issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) are fueling accusations that unelected judges at the pan-European court are usurping the judicial sovereignty of individual European nation states.
A chronological review of some of the most important stories about the rise of Islam in Germany during 2013.
Belgium and the Netherlands have been at the forefront of the debate over Muslim immigration and integration in Europe. What follows is a chronological summary of some of the main stories about the rise of Islam in Belgium and the Netherlands during 2013.
A chronological review of some of the main stories about the rise of Islam in France during 2013.
A panel appointed by French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault to review France’s integration policies has urged the government to implement a “new form of secularism” that would raise the profile of Islam in public life—in order to improve the integration of Muslim immigrants.
A chronological review of some of the main stories involving the rise of Islam in Britain during 2013.
