Migration and public security

  • 18:30 Wednesday 21st February 2024
  • Press Club Brussels, Rue Froissart 95, 1040 Brussels

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Terror attacks seem to be becoming a depressingly regular part of European life. In recent weeks we have seen a Malian national with Italian residency carry out a hammer and knife attack in Paris, and an asylum seeker and convicted criminal carry out an acid attack in London. Despite the elite’s obvious discomfort, we have to ask the question: what is the relationship between migration, asylum, and public security?  

Some studies suggest a clear relationship between poor border security and terror attacks. One, by the Austrian think tank SCENOR, shows that 23% of the 105 jihadi attacks in Europe since 2014 were carried out by asylum seekers. Others have drawn attention to the growing influence of migrant criminal gangs, a phenomenon well documented in Sweden which is experiencing an explosion in violence on its streets. 

Many are also raising concerns about sexual violence. As Ayaan Hirsi Ali asks in her book ‘Prey’, there is a curious silence about sexual violence and harassment in Europe’s cities following the arrival of several million migrants - often young men from Muslim-majority backgrounds. Are our elites more concerned about prioritising the human rights of asylum seekers over the security and safety of the public?  

By contrast, many officials and commentators warn of inflaming social tensions and rising Islamophobia. They insist that Europe has a duty to support those claiming asylum and that immigration brings many social benefits. That said, the charge of Islamophobia is seen by others as a problematic way of attempting to shut down debate on sensitive, but important issues.  

MCC Brussels is hosting this event to allow for just such a discussion: 

Dr Florence Bergeaud-Blackler, anthropologist and author of the acclaimed study ‘Le Frérisme et ses réseaux: L'Enquête’ (The Brotherhood and its networks: The Investigation), will highlight key findings from her investigative study. Bergeaud-Blackler’s study traces the growth of the Islamist movement out of the internationalisation of the Muslim Brotherhood and shows how the movement is extending its reach into the very heart of European societies. 

Dr Rakib Ehsan, author, ‘Beyond Grievance: what the Left gets wrong about ethnic minorities’ has written widely on the failures of multiculturalism and Britain’s broken migration and asylum systems. 

Join MCC Brussels for an open, honest and considered discussion of migration and public security.

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Speakers:

  • Dr Florence Bergeaud-Blackler, Research Fellow, Sociétés Religions Laïcité GSRL Group, Paris Sciences et Lettres Université and author of ‘Le Frérisme et ses réseaux: L'Enquête’ 
  • Dr Rakib Ehsan, author, Beyond Grievance: what the Left gets wrong about ethnic minorities 

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