CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: “Are we being ‘poisoned’ by extremism? The Prime Minister seems to think so. His speech on the steps of Downing Street following the Rochdale by-election described a country where values of tolerance and civility were being deliberately undermined by Islamists and the far right. ‘Islamist extremists and the far right feed off and embolden each other,’ he warned. But in conflating those two threats, the Prime Minister made the same mistake as his predecessors.”

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed for story: "There's growing concern about the violence the Israel-Hamas war could be inspiring here in Europe. Over the weekend a German tourist was fatally stabbed in Paris. The suspect was identified as an alleged radical Islamist with mental health problems. Several other European security agencies have made arrests over alleged plots in recent weeks and warn of an escalated terror threat. European security agencies are taking precauctionary measures fearing an increase in islamist attacks fueled by the Israel-Hamas war. There are hightened fears after an attack in Paris over the weekend killed a German tourist. The attack came as France had issued its highest counter-terrorism alert Is that a new dimension to the threat facing Europe?"

"Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter Extremism Project NGO, pointed out that violence online can lead to violence on the streets.

He said Sweden was the focus of an online campaign by Islamists that was intensifying risks for the Nordic country.

The German authorities arrested two brothers from Syria in April, the eldest of whom had allegedly planned to 'carry out an attack on a church in Sweden where many people (were) assembled'.

'This demonstrates that this ongoing Islamist online campaign against Sweden has effects and motivates individuals towards violence,' he said, pointing out that the Israel-Hamas conflict could have a similar effect.'"

"France raised its terror threat alert to the highest level last Friday after a knife-wielding man of Chechen origin killed a teacher and injured three other people at a school in northern France. Officials described the killing as an Islamist terror attack. The murder put President Macron’s government under severe pressure as officials acknowledged that the main suspect in the attack and various members of his family had been identified by French intelligence services as radicalized or had been convicted on terrorism charges. Should we be concerned about another wave of terror in Europe caused by Islamic extremism? To delve more into the topic, we were joined by Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project."

CEP Strategic Advisor Liam Duffy writes: "The most destructive, spectacular and costly riots in France’s recent history, surpassing even the infamous unrest of 2005, are over. To the Anglophone media and its audiences they were an expression of the anger felt among the children of France’s former overseas possessions – a generational resentment fuelled by experiences of poverty, discrimination and painful colonial legacies."