The jihadis have migrated to the North

There was universal mourning in Copenhagen this week for Dan Uzan, the 37-year-old security guard who was shot to death while on duty in a local synagogue. Uzan fell victim to one of two terrorist attacks that rattled the Danish capital last Saturday. The Jewish community was not extended total solidarity, neither was the family of the Danish director who was murdered earlier in the cultural center in northern Copenhagen.

But fear has absolutely been felt here, and it is most evident by the fact that policemen, armed with semi-automatic rifles, are patrolling the streets. This has done little to deter Muslims from openly and brazenly praising the terrorist.

I took a stroll through the Noerrebro quarter of Copenhagen, home to many Muslims, the day after the attacks. A few of the residents had no qualms about hailing "the heroic act" of Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, the 22-year-old gunman. El-Hussein had a violent criminal history and was released from prison just two weeks prior to the attacks.

The Danish newspaper Berlingske wondered why the country's main internal security branch, PET, did not adequately monitor El-Hussein, a likely candidate to perpetrate a jihad-inspired attack. Who fell asleep at the wheel? Many Danes were wondering how their security service could have missed the boat, though they were hardly surprised. Since the controversy surrounding Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard's 2005 illustration of the Prophet Muhammad, most Danes have been resigned to the fact that a terrorist attack was only a matter of time.

"You have no idea just how much this young man suffered," Abdul, a 60-year-old local resident, told me at the entrance to a halal butcher shop located on the street on which El-Hussein perpetrated his shooting spree before being killed by police. "Why was it necessary to kill him? There were so many police there, they could've grabbed a hold of him and arrested him."

I asked him what it was that caused his suffering. After all, Denmark is a convenient place to live, a country that offers its citizens as well as its immigrants extensive social benefits.

"He is a Palestinian," Abdul said. "His family was uprooted from their home. The Zionists stole their home."

Abdul is also a Palestinian who relocated to Denmark from Beirut over 30 years ago. "The minute that Safed becomes Palestinian again, I'm going back home," he said.

The conversation reverts back to El-Hussein. "He was raised on the stories of torture that his family endured at the hands of the Jews," Abdul said. "So what do you expect from such a boy? He didn't grow up the way Danish kids grow up. He chose to sacrifice his life to avenge the Palestinian people." Abdul said he was certain that the Paris gunmen who carried out the attacks against Charlie Hebdo and the kosher supermarket "also had a very good reason."

According to Abdul, the root of the problem could be found in the fact that "modern-day Europe doesn't respect the Prophet Muhammad. It doesn't respect anything. It doesn't care if Jesus is disrespected. Where I'm from, if you ask me to defame the Prophet to save myself and my family from death, I wouldn't be able to do it. We have no problem dying for the Prophet."

The owner of the butcher shop where I met Abdul joined the conversation. "I cannot justify the killing," he said. "But we have to look for a reason. It is impossible to expect Muslims to be happy in a place where they don't respect the Prophet."

Searching for a sense of belonging

A recent poll seems to back up this conclusion. Just 16 percent of Danes have a favorable view of religion. Muslims have a hard time dealing with this (Jews less so), according to Walid, a local merchant who owns a jewelry store. This young man, who is engaged to be married, came to Copenhagen from Iraq together with his family 15 years ago.

"We are, first of all, Muslims," he said. "Only afterward are we Danes. Perhaps that is the reason that we are not part of society. We can't live like Danes. We have our own set of values."

Similar sentiments were expressed by patrons at a nearby restaurant. "The Danes are at fault," one of them said. "El-Hussein is a victim." A number of the diners admitted to cheering the terrorist. One media outlet even ran a picture of Danish Muslims praising the killer, an image that sent shock waves through the public. The public adulation displayed by some Muslims appears to have roused the Danish security services from their slumber. Now they are working overtime.

Even before the terrorist attacks, a not so insignificant number of Danish Muslims joined the ranks of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The exact number is not known, but Denmark owns the distinction of being home to the largest pool of Islamic State recruits in Europe when factoring in a total percentage of the Muslim population.

Young Muslims are not enamored with Danish foreign policy and are struggling to come to terms with Denmark's active involvement in the Middle East. It is fair to assume that they would be further enraged by the knowledge that Denmark is Israel's liaison to NATO.

Now the Danes are growing apprehensive over potential copycat attacks. El-Hussein reportedly derived inspiration from the recent atrocities in France. The Copenhagen shootings bear similarities to the Paris attacks, where gunmen first targeted a cultural institution (Charlie Hebdo) and then immediately went after a Jewish target (the kosher supermarket). El-Hussein was clearly a jihadi pawn whose base of operations was in Denmark.

Officials in Copenhagen are concerned by this state of affairs, and this concern manifests on the political level. The Muslim community is now faced with a backlash in the form of the Danish People's Party, a right-wing faction that has become a rising political force. Its members, however, want to make clear that they are not an extremist outfit.

The party has the largest number of Danish seats in the European Parliament -- 12 percent. That figure could rise to 20 percent after the upcoming elections. One supporter of the party, a cab driver who goes by the name Thomas, said, "The party doesn't want to expel Muslims, but it does want to prevent more immigration. We built a great country, and we don't want people to destroy it."

Thomas believes it is important to stress that the party is not an anti-Muslim movement. "Twenty years ago, the Swedes would travel here to drink because in Sweden it was against the law to sell alcohol in quantities that were permitted here. Do you think we liked this? We protested against this. Does that mean we hate Swedes? Whoever comes to live here needs to respect our public space. If we want to publish cartoons, including those of Mohammed, that's our right."

Those sentiments were echoed by Samina and Yelina, two young Danish women eating at a local McDonald's. They are fearful of the future. "It's quite scary what's been going on here," Samina said. "I hope this is the first and last time [that an attack like that takes place], but it is quite unsettling to think that in our beautiful city, Copenhagen, there are terrorists."

The local Muslims are not receptive to Thomas' remarks. "This is part of a conspiracy by the Danish authorities aimed at us, the Muslims," said Radwan, a young Dane of Palestinian origin. I met him just as he was leaving a mosque after prayers. "They are trying to turn us into the West's new enemy. We just want to live here in peace, and the Danes simply don't want to accept us here. We are in for a difficult period."

Denmark is cognizant of the extreme polarity created by a minority of slightly more than a quarter-million Muslims -- four percent of the population - and at least 12 percent of Danes who are zealously intent on preserving state values. This would explain the fierce opposition to the construction of a mosque in the capital. Danes opposed the plans for the mosque, fearing a house of worship would serve as a platform for disseminating jihadi doctrines and a recruiting center for young terrorists. A mosque was built, but unlike Copenhagen's main synagogue, it has had little problem in drawing worshipers.

In one restaurant situated in Copenhagen's tourist hub, I met a European diplomat who is an expert on the Middle East. I asked him how a quaint, quiet town like the Danish capital could serve as fertile ground for jihadi ideology among thousands of young Muslims. "You forget which town is right next to us," he said, referring to Malmö, the Swedish port city that has made headlines in recent years due to the proliferation of anti-Semitic incidents.

The Jews of Malmö are leaving in droves, as it has become an unpleasant place to live. Like Marseille and Birmingham, Malmö is predicted to have a Muslim majority by 2030, according to the British Telegraph, due to the influx of immigrants from Arab countries. Malmö is less than a 30-minute train ride away from Copenhagen.

Upon disembarking from the subway in Malmö, I turned to an elderly Swedish woman and asked her where I should go to visit the local Muslim community. Smiling, she said: "Wherever you'll go in the city you'll see them, but if you go to the Rosengard district, it's reasonable to assume that you won't run into a blonde woman like myself."

Before I had the chance to thank her, she said, "They don't like journalists there."

When I informed her that I'm from Israel, she said: "You shouldn't go there." She then proceeded to remind me of the Swedish journalist Peter Lindgren, who donned a kippah and took a hidden camera with him to film the responses as he strolled through a heavily populated Muslim area. Lindgren was met with harsh racial epithets like "Jewish pig" and "Jewish Satan." He was also physically assaulted during the three hours he spent in Rosengard before finally fleeing.

Despite the fear, I hailed a cab and paid a visit to the area. The driver, Darius, identified himself as an Iranian Marxist who has little sympathy for the Muslim population in general, and the religious fundamentalists in particular.

"If I had three nuclear bombs, I'd drop one of them on Mecca and solve the problem of the Sunnis," he said. "I'd drop another one on Karbala to take care of the Shiite problem, and the last one I'd drop on Jerusalem to do away with the problem of all religions. What's happening is Malmö will also happen in all of Europe, which is naive," he said. "The Muslims are taking over a European city, and Europe does nothing. They don't understand that a Muslim simply cannot accept living as a minority. He wants to be the majority, and to be in control. He wants to be the one calling the shots."

The driver stopped outside of a shopping mall in Rosengard. As I entered the mall, a woman whose entire face was covered walked out. Her clothes were entirely black. Black is the dominant color here, just like in Gaza.

Everyone here speaks Arabic, and Swedish is nowhere to be heard. At a local pharmacy, I noticed just one woman who was not entirely covered from head to toe. She turned out to be a native Swede.

All of a sudden, two men from a nearby cafe accosted me. "Why did you come here-" one of them demanded to know. I explained to them that I am a journalist who is here to write about the terrorist attacks in Denmark. "So go back to Denmark," he said. Another bearded man joined them in making sure that I left the mall. It was an unpleasant feeling. I felt safer during my visits to Damascus and Baghdad.

Darius, the cabbie, came to my rescue. "This place isn't for you, and it's not for me either," he said with a laugh. "They only love themselves. They sit in cafes all day, receive money from the state, and don't work. They fled Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, and, of course, the Palestinian Authority. Here, they have it good. Because of political correctness, everyone needs to say that only a few of them are into jihad, but the reality is different."

He was right. The Islamic extremists make no effort to conceal their goals. The local imam, who was arrested after delivering a sermon urging followers to harm Jews, told local media that the first generation of Muslims in Scandinavia came there to assimilate into the local population, while the next generation's task is to demand Sharia be imposed, taking the place of Swedish law.

A plague on Europe

When I asked Darius to drive me to the local mosque, he screamed at me: "You're crazy. You obviously didn't learn your lesson in the mall. In any event, tell them you are German. Don't say you're an American or a Frenchman. Since the Charlie Hebdo shootings, the French are not wanted here."

When I suggested to Darius that I might tell them I'm Israeli, he was in shock. "If you do this, I will know that you are crazier than the people praying in there."

Who would have believed this scenario -- an Iranian trying to save a Jew who is wandering in the middle of the most anti-Semitic city in Europe.

The mosque in Malmö is the one of two places of Islamic worship in Sweden. It opened its doors 31 years ago. The mosque also houses a religious seminary with an enrollment of 230 students. It has been subject to attacks by right-wing vandals. The clash between the far-right in Sweden and the local Muslim population is inevitable, just like in France and Germany. Now, things are calm. There are few people inside the mosque.

"This isn't prayer time," Darius said. "If you come here on Friday, you'll think you're in downtown Tehran."

One female employee of the mosque turned to me and inquired as to the purpose of my visit. I asked if there was a problem, and she said, "There's no problem, but we must protect our place. Not all of the visitors here come with good intentions. The Prophet Mohammad today is under attack and we must protect our holy places."

She was quite suspicious of us, as were the other people present. They refused to speak to us. This is an insular community, and foreigners are not welcome. A native born Swede is also liable to be perceived here as a foreigner.

Despite his initial, harsh statements, Darius does have empathy for the local Muslim population. "Sweden is a country with a small, aging population," he said. "They bring immigrants here to take care of the elderly. What they don't know is that the Muslim immigrant is different from an immigrant from China or Korea, who comes here to work. The Swedes, like the rest of Europe, are naive."

"Nonetheless, Swedes won't hire Muslims to do normal jobs," he said. "So Muslims will always feel as if they don't belong. Add that to the fact that Muslims want to call the shots, and you get the picture that you are seeing right now. This is just the beginning. Frankenstein is about to awaken and attack his creator."

Darius then offered to drive me back to Denmark. He suggested a fair rate. He wanted to get me as far away as possible from this simmering Muslim bonfire. On the way, he offered to take me to a nearby neighborhood with a train station that leads back to Copenhagen. There I saw more shops with signs in Arabic offering up shawarma, falafel, jewelry, mobile phones, and flags of Arab countries. I then entered a restaurant called "The Middle East."

At the entrance to the restaurant, visitors could notice a proudly displayed flag of Lebanon. The owner introduces himself as a Palestinian. Like Abdul, he also claimed that family is originally from Safed. Hassan prepared a dish of falafel for me.

"Sweden is a good place," he said. "The Swedes are not as racist as the Danes."

When I mentioned the terror attacks in Copenhagen, he grew quiet. Someone at a nearby table interjected. "They were asking for it," he said.

After he realized I was a journalist, he added: "You can't draw the Prophet as a dog and then expect us to keep quiet."

I asked the owner if he served patrons from Copenhagen. "Of course," he said, "particularly on the weekends. Our Muslim brothers from Copenhagen love Malmö. Soon, inshallah, we will become a destination for Muslim pilgrims from all over Europe. We have a grand, beautiful mosque here."

I realized that Malmö is not Gaza. It is Europe's plague.

Writing on the wall

I departed Malmö, and it is doubtful I will ever want to return. It was a real pleasure returning to Denmark despite the things I heard in Noerrebro. Following the attacks, there is no doubt that the Danes have proven just how different their attitudes toward Israel are when compared to those of the Swedes. Thousands of mourners laid flowers at the entrance of the synagogue where Uzan was killed.

On a political level, the Danes are less critical of Israel than the Swedes and other Europeans. The Swedish parliament has already recognized Palestine, while the Danes have refused to follow suit.

The Israeli embassy in Copenhagen is nestled in a nice building located in one of the city's poshest neighborhoods. Although the building is at the end of the block, the Israeli flag is planted on its roof without fear. Still, Baruch Bina, the Israeli ambassador and an experienced diplomat whose career stops include Washington, among others, has reason to worry.

"The writing was on the wall," he said of the attacks this week. "Obviously the cartoons had an effect, but this phenomenon is a pan-European one."

Bina has praise for Denmark's foreign policy. "You need to understand that the Danes treat their Jews here as fellow Danes," he said. "The Jews who live here have total freedom as citizens. When the Danes secretly smuggled Jews into Sweden in 1943, they looked at it as rescuing Danish citizens, not Jews, and that's the beauty of the whole thing."

That appears to be also the reason that a number of Jewish community officials did not like hearing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's exhortation for the Jews of Denmark to make aliyah.

"We will immigrate to Israel out of a desire to do so, and not out of fear," said Denmark's young Chief Rabbi Yair Melchior.

Bina told foreign news agencies that it is the prime minister's obligation to call upon Jews worldwide to relocate to the Jewish national homeland.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks are not the main story here. The Jews of Denmark have woken up to a new reality. This week, I visited the Chabad branch in Copenhagen. As usual, here, too I received a very warm welcome. The local Chabad emissary, Rabbi Yitzchok Loewenthal , set up shop in the building that once housed the headquarters of the Gestapo.

"The Nazis wanted to wipe us off the map, but look at me, sitting here in their seat of power," he said. "This is the lesson for anyone who wants to erase us and chase us out of Israel, Denmark, Sweden, or anyplace else."

As I was packing my suitcase to prepare for my trip home, I thought about how Malmö, the Swedish city, could be placed on the list of Arab countries that I have visited. On the other hand, I came away convinced that just as it had refused to give up over 70 years ago, Copenhagen has no intention of doing so today. The Danes have internalized the danger they are facing, and they will defend their country, their values, and their Jews with pride.

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