Das Jahr 2016 hat mit einem -- jahreszeitlich betrachtet -- enormen Zustrom von Migranten begonnen. Die UN-Flüchtlingsorganisation OIM warnt, dass 2016 die Rekordzahlen des Vorjahres wahrscheinlich noch übertreffen wird.  Wie bereitet sich die EU, wie bereitet sich Deutschland auf den Ansturm vor? Eine bange Frage, die bislang ohne Antwort blieb.

   Der Plan A einer europäischen Lösung mittels staatlichen Verteilungsquoten von Flüchtlingen ist krass gescheitert.

   Der Plan B, der die Türkei zum Erfüllungsgehilfen machen wollte, der gegen Geld und Versprechungen die Flüchtlinge an der Weiterreise nach Griechenland hindert, ist nach bisherigem Kenntnisstand ebenfalls gescheitert.

   Ein Plan C existiert bislang nicht. Nach dem Scheitern von A und B bleibt nur Ratlosigkeit. Das Motto des Tages heisst: weiterwursteln. Jedes Land tut, was ihm sinnvoll und möglich erscheint; gegenseitige Rücksichtnahme und supranationale Abstimmung gibt es nicht. Wieviel Schengen in Europa verbleibt, entscheidet einzelstaatlich die Machtprobe zwischen Flüchtlingsvermeidung und Wirtschaft.

   Das Streben nach Flüchtlingskontingentierung und – kontrolle verlangt Zäune und Warteschlangen an den Grenzen; die Wirtschaft verlangt volles Schengen ohne Warteschlangen. Wer wird stärker sein?

   Deutschlands unerwartetes Glück sind die vielen Grenzen auf dem Balkan, die wie ein mehrstufiges Filter Migranten aussieben, bevor sie sich an Inn und Salzach präsentieren können. Mehrstufige Abriegelung durch Grenzbehörden, die znehmend weniger humanitäre Skrupel zeigen, könnte zumindest teilweise die Massnahmen ersetzen, die Europa vergebens von der Türkei erwartete.

   In einer Art Rückwärtsprozession würden die an Inn und Salzach abgelehnten Migranten nach Österreich zurückgereicht. Zusammen mit den bei Spielfeld abgelehnten Migranten würde Österreich sie nach Slowenien weiterreichen. Slowenien wiederum gäbe sie durch Kroatien, Serbien und Mazedonien an Griechenland weiter, dem die Aufgabe zufiele, Zigtausende auszufliegen in Länder, die gegen Geld und gute Worte aus Brüssel und Berlin abgelehnte Migranten einreisen lassen. Die Organisation der Deportationen sollte Frontex uebernehmen. Viele Migranten würden ihr Heimatland nicht wiedersehen. Etliche würden Grund haben, darüber froh zu sein.

   Da die Migranten, bis sie Deutschland erreichen, meistens ihr gesamtes Geld verbraucht haben, fallen die Kosten des Rücktransports in den Durchgangsländern und vor allem in Griechenland an. Das wird Kompensation von Berlin und Brüssel erfordern.

   Für diesen planlosen Plan C stehen immerhin die angedachten 3 Milliarden Euro zur Verfügung, die die EU den unwilligen Türken voraussichtlich nicht zu zahlen braucht.

   Aber was macht man mit der Türkei? Ganz einfach, wenn es im Guten nicht geht, vielleicht geht es im Bösen?

   Man könnte die Türkei für ihren Mangel an Hilfsbereitschaft abstrafen. Zunächst sollte man die Idee, die Türkei zum sicheren Land zu erklären (damit man ihm Flüchtlinge zurückreichen kann) vergessen.

   Die Türkei ist das Gegenteil von sicher: sie ist ein Bürgerkriegsland, in dem eine Regierung von fragwürdiger demokratischer Qualifikation Krieg gegen die terroristische Widerstandsbewegung einer ethnischen Minderheit führt. Wann werden die ersten kurdischen Flüchtlinge das Sortiment der Migranten erweitern?

   Falls die Türkei die griechischen Inseln weiterhin mit Bootsleuten bombardiert, wie es ein griechischer Politiker nennt, so sollte man über Sanktionen nachdenken. Die Beispiele von Russland und Iran bieten eine reiche Auswahl an schmerzhaften und erprobten Sanktionen. Da gibt es Instrumente wie beispielsweise eine Visa-Sperre für Politiker.  Im Bankensektor gibt es Möglichkeiten, mit kleinen Sanktionen die ohnehin angeknackste türkische Lira auf Talfahrt zu schicken.

   In Kenntnis solcher Möglichkeiten würde Professor Davutoğlu , der türkische Regierungschef, vielleicht weniger siegesgewiss lächeln, wenn er mit Frau Merkel das nächste Mal vor die Presse tritt.

   Da die Kommunikation über soziale Medien bei Migrationskandidaten gut funktioniert, kann man erwarten, dass sich Nachrichten über eine zunehmende Sperrung der Balkanroute schnell herumsprechen. Verbreitet sich dazu Kenntnis der Methoden, mit denen die Rückführung oder Deportation in ein Drittland erfolgt, so wird der Kreis der Reiselustigen auf jene Fälle schrumpfen, bei denen es wirklich um Leben oder Tod geht -- die echten Flüchtlinge also, denen man helfen will. 

   Mancher Dieb in Casablanca wird vor Kauf eines 60 Euro-Tickets nach Istanbul überlegen, was er riskiert, wenn er bei der Rückkunft in der Heimat verhaftet wird, oder wenn er garnicht in Marokko landet, weil seine Regierung ihn nicht zurück haben will und die EU ihn irgendwo im Busch ablädt.

   Die Kampagne, mit der die deutsche Botschaft in Kabul Afghanen vor der Reise nach Deutschland warnt, hat jedenfalls breites Interesse erregt. Kampagnen dieser Art in einem Dutzend Länder wären sinnvoll. Schlecht nur, dass Deutschland in Ländern wie Eritrea garnicht präsent ist -- vom Erlaubnis, eine solche Kampagne zu starten, ganz zu schweigen.

Heinrich von Loesch

Update

Die langjährige Türkei-Korrespondentin der Süddeutschen Zeiung, Christiane Schlötzer, hat einen interessanten Vorschlag gemacht: man solle einen EU-Hotspot in Edirne (Adrianopel) nahe der griechischen Grenze einrichten und dort die Flüchtlinge sortieren. (SZ 23/24.1.16) Die für Asyl Qualifizierten könnten dann auf dem Landweg nach Griechenland einreisen. Die Abgewiesenen (das sagt Schlötzer nicht) würden natürlich ihr Glück per Boot versuchen. Man muss auch damit rechnen, dass die Mafia der Schleuser mit allen Mitteln versuchen würde, die Errichtung des Hotspots zu verhindern und die Flüchtlinge am Betreten des Geländes zu hindern. Niemand lässt sich ein glänzendes Geschäft verderben, an dem die ganze Küstenregion verdient. 

A recent intelligence report on the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Daesh) has revealed its plan to attack Turkey by poisoning the country's water sources and thereby causing the spread of disease throughout the country. The intelligence report, labeled “confidential,” was sent to all security units in İstanbul.

The report states that the biggest biological threat Turkey faces is called “tularemia,” a deadly venom obtained from rodents. Among the symptoms of tularemia-related diseases are high fever, headache, a feeling of weakness, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the report. The report emphasizes that Turkish health experts do not have much information on tularemia cases, unlike other European countries.

The report states that it is very hard to diagnose the disease because its symptoms resemble those of many other diseases, and in the event of a Daesh attack on Turkey with this poison, many lives in Turkey might be lost because of late diagnosis. The report also states that Daesh plans to poison potable water supplies, water in reservoirs and other water sources.

See the full report here: Today's Zaman

Update

Authorities have not taken security measures to safeguard water sources in Turkey despite a recent intelligence report that suggests the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Daesh) plans to attack Turkey by poisoning the country's water, experts in poisoning said.

Today's Zaman

 

Who thought 2015 was an exceptional year of refugee arrivals in Europe might be very wrong, says the International Organization for Migration (OIM). 

Greece

  Since the beginning of 2016, IOM estimates that 31,244 migrants and refugees have arrived in Greece by sea. This is some 21 times as many as the 1,472 recorded by the Greek Coast Guard for the whole of January 2015.

   The number suggests that the number of maritime arrivals in Greece in 2016 may significantly exceed the record 853,650 migrants who arrived in Greece by sea in 2015.

   Some 48 per cent  of Greece’s 2016 arrivals have been Syrians, 29 per cent  Afghans, 12 per cent  Iraqis, 3 per cent  Pakistanis and 2 per cent  Iranians. Other nationalities have included Algerians, Bangladeshis, Egyptians, Eritreans, Lebanese and Moroccans. 

   Almost 90 per cent  of the newly arrived migrants are nationals of countries (Syrians, Iraqis and Afghanis) that are allowed to cross Greece’s border with Macedonia. According to the Greek police, almost 31,100 have already crossed the Greek-Macedonia borders this month. 

Italy 

   In 2015, 153,842 migrants and refugees arrived in Italy in while in 2014 there were 170,100 arrivals.

   “Although it may seem that Italy in 2015 registered a decrease in arrivals, we must consider that in 2014 Syria was the most represented country of origin of migrants reaching Italian shores, while in 2015 this flow decreased since Syrians predominantly reached Europe through the Greek route. Indeed, if we do not include Syrians, the number of Nigerians, Somalis and Sudanese who arrived in Italy by sea in 2015 have more than doubled compared to last year, while the most represented country of origin has been Eritrea (39,162 arrivals)” said OIM spokesperson Di Giacomo.

International Organization for Migration

   Two groups of scientists and writers are interested in showing demographic doom for Europe and other European settled countries: the Muslim haters and the Islamists.

   Both are happy to show that some time soon Islam will replace Christianity as the leading religion in Europe; the continent will hence become part of the Islamic world and could be called Eurabia.

   "Eurabia is a political neologism. The concept was coined by Bat Ye'or in the early 2000s. Bat Ye'Or (pen name of Gisele Littman) claims a conspiracy of globalist elements, allegedly led by France and Arab powers, to Islamise and Arabise Europe, thereby weakening its existing culture and undermining an alleged previous alignment with the U.S. and Israel". (wikipedia)

   An example of this kind of material is the video Muslim Demographics produced by an Islamist video production which calls itself  “Syariah Khilafah“, Malay for “Sharia Caliphate”. The video is very popular and has allegedly been viewed more than ten million times.*)

   The impressive statistics with which it bombards the audience appear related to a few assumptions:

      1. Muslims always show a higher fertility than Christians living in the same country or region

      2. Because of their high fertility Muslims suffer from population pressure and poverty, and are forced to migrate to non-Muslim countries

      3. Their Sharia law facilitates polygyny which permits men to have many children

      4. Christian fertility is continuously declining because Christian women increasingly enter the work force instead of staying at home and rearing children, as most Muslim women do.

      5. Muslims are pious and once they attain the population majority, they will force Christians to adopt their life style.

   Before looking at individual country statistics it is useful to discuss the above assumptions:

      1. It is true that Muslims virtually always show higher fertility than Christians in the same country and at the same time. Their male preference-dominated culture makes it difficult and often impossible for women to enter the work force and acquire the necessary education and skills. Raising children – especially sons -- therefore often becomes their main lifetime activity. Still, the recent "collapse of fertility rates in Muslim countries is a derivative of modernization and Westernization, rapid urbanization and internal security concerns by dictators fearing the consequences of the widening gap between population growth and economic growth."

      2. By excluding a majority of women from gainful employment and activity, Muslim societies remain relatively poor, unless some external advantage (crude oil, tourism) yields a rental income. Because of poverty, low levels of education (many Muslimas in the world are near-illiterate), Muslim societies find it difficult to support growing populations; hence the need for the young to migrate.

      3. True. Many Muslim men have more children from polygyny or sequential marriages. Although this is often conducive to poverty and low levels of education it does not increase overall fertility. Polygamous societies tend to have a lower total fertility rate than monogamous ones because they show less children per woman.

      4. There are signs that the fertility decline in European countries has bottomed out. Both Italy and Germany are showing timid signs of increasing birth rates. Generally speaking, extrapolations of birth rate trends are highly unreliable. Even the UN Population Division was repeatedly forced to revise its forecasts,

      5. This assumption is, despite Houellebecq, very debatable. What is going on is a trial of strength, On one side there is the traditionalism of Islam, enormously reinforced by the Saudi and Qatari financed spread of Wahhabism, Salafism and Jihadism. On the other side there is the constant erosion of any religion by the forces of modern secularism, humanism, science and education. Who is going to win? Mohamed bin Abdul Wahhab or Albert Einstein? Despite the enormous spread of Salafism since the invention of Islamism by Hassan El-Banna in 1928, the contest is still wide open. Some observers consider the current “Caliphate” in Raqqa and Mosul the last, desperate and suicidal effort of Salafism.

  1.  Having said this, let us look at the facts.

  2.    The video claims that 90 percent of Europe's population growth since 1990 was due to Islamic immigration.  The 2015 (January-October) figures show that roughly 972,000 asylum seekers in the European Union arrived by sea. With the exception of some Christian Eritreans and Syrians, all were Muslims. Since the population of the EU28 grew by 1.1 million (natural growth + net migration) between 2014 and 2015, it is correct to say that in 2015 about 90 percent of Europe's population growth consisted of Muslims.

       Since 1995, most of Europe's population growth consisted of net migration. By 2010, the EU's Muslim population was estimated at 18 million. Net immigration in 2010 was 750,000. In 2013, of the total of 870,000 people who received citizenship in the EU, only about 250,000 hailed from Muslim countries.

       Although it is difficult to get reliable figures for the religious breakdown of  EU immigration, the emerging picture is as follows:

       2015 was an exceptional year in which Muslims indeed accounted for 90 percent of EU population growth. In earlier years the share was much lower. Although the statement made in the video appears exaggerated it cannot be excluded that in future the influx of Muslims could be very high if  immigration continues at 2015 levels .

    Let us look at country data

    France

       The video says that a typical French family has 1.8 children but that French Muslim families have 8.1 children.  France will become an Islamic Republic within 39 years, according to the video.

       But in France only 7.5 percent of a growing population (2010) were Muslims – mostly from North Africa whose fertility was estimated at 2.2 (not the grossly outdated 8.1) children or less per family (2011). Given the observation that the fertility of Muslim minority populations worldwide is currently decreasing faster than that of majority groups, there is little prospect that France will become an Islamic Republic during the course of this century unless huge waves of migrants play havoc with traditional demographics.

    Germany

       According to the video, Germany “will be a Muslim state by the year 2050." Currently, the number of Muslims – including the 2015 arrivals – is roughly 4.8 million of a total of 82 million, or 6 percent. PEW Research put the Total Fertility Rate of German Muslims for 2005-2010 at 1.8 children, higher than the 1.3 TFR of the non-Muslim population but below stability level which requires 2.1 children. Without immigration, the number of Muslims in Germany would shrink, although their share of the total population would continue to rise. Since 2014, however, the overall German TFR started rising, although with small increments. It appears that the declining trend of the German population has ended.  Still. a projection expects Germany's population to shrink to 74 million (medium variant) in 2050, a loss of 8 million since 2015.

       For Muslims to attain the majority, their minority would have to rise from the current estimated 4.8 million to 38 million. Since the existing Muslim minority is shrinking rather than growing, all depends on immigration and the TFR of  immigrants once they arrive in Germany.

       Judging by the events of 2015, it does not appear likely that over the next 35 years some 40 million more Muslims would be living  in Germany – assuming that the below-reproduction TFR of the local Muslims would balance the initially higher TFR of the immigrants.

       In conclusion: it is not likely that Muslims could attain the majority status in Germany by 2050 but it cannot be excluded because the enormous population pressure in Islamic countries resulting from runaway past growth and conflicts will send large numbers of mostly young migrants to Europe, year after year.

    Significance

       Although not totally wrong in its conclusions, the video is clearly biased and operates with outdated and partly false figures. It constitutes another attempt to bolster the myth of the inevitable victory of Islam over the western world. This myth cannot easily be debunked. It has a life of its own, independent of demographic facts.

       The video is clearly aimed at the Muslim population. It shall reinforce the belief that the victory of Islam is imminent and unavoidable. People who are pious and believe in the myth can more easily be motivated to support terrorism and warfare against western countries. Anecdotal evidence shows that many Muslims believe in religious victory, all the more since the well financed Wahhabis and Salafis are omnipresent in the Internet and have multiplied their mosques and medresses to the extent that are eclipsing traditional teachings. Many young Muslims may not even be aware that other rules and fatwas than the Wahhabi ones exist. The video discussed here is part of the radicalist brainwashing. It also serves the secondary purpose of scaring non-Muslim Europeans and strengthening anti-Muslim feelings which isolate Muslim minorities and makes them susceptible to radical ideas.

       Interestingly, other videos from the same source purport to show a united Umma as if the Sunna/Shia split did not exist, perhaps because their production predates the current state of affairs. 

    Heinrich von Loesch
  3. *) A slightly different version of this video on Youtube is signed friendofmuslim.