The attack on the Christmas market in Magdeburg reveals a freezing reality for refugees of Arab origin in Europe: they are now suspects in essence, whether practicing or not, integrated or not. The Taleb A affair is crystallizing this Kafkai situation where even the rejection of Islam and the commitment against fundamentalism are no longer enough to escape generalized suspicion.
Perfect integration: an ideal that has become suspect
This 50 -year -old Saudi had done everything “as it is necessary” according to Western criteria: leak of an oppressive regime, rupture with Islam, associative commitment to help women victims of religious oppression. This attack, which occurs almost eight years after that of the Berlin Christmas market where an Islamist terrorist had killed 12 people by rushing on the crowd with a truck, takes on a particularly perverse dimension: his transition to the murderous act paradoxically reinforces the discourse of those who advocate the systematic expulsion of Arab refugees, considered as a permanent threat.
From reception to expulsion: the great European turnaround
The scale of the challenge is considerable: in 13 years of Syrian conflict, 6.6 million people had to flee their country, mainly seeking refuge in neighboring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Germany, which has distinguished itself in Europe by welcoming nearly a million Syrian refugees since 2011, seems today to deny its humanitarian commitments. The eagerness to offer bonuses at the start of 1000 euros testifies to this radical turnaround, transforming a gesture of humanity into a barely disguised oubt policy.
We are witnessing the emergence of a dangerous new paradigm: the Arab refugee would be condemned in advance, carrying intrinsic violence which would only ask to express themselves, whether in the name of Islam or against him. This essentialist vision denies any possibility of true integration and transforms whole populations into perpetual suspects.
The consequences of this approach are devastating. Not only does it push for the expulsion of people to still unstable countries, but it also creates a vicious circle where general distrust ends up producing exactly what it claims to fight: resentment and violence. Between Islamism and Islamophobia, the Arab refugee finds himself trapped in a double condemnation, without hope of escape.
