Media
Article
25 July 2016
Valentina Colombo’s comment: political Islam
After the military coup attempt that led Turkey into a political turmoil, EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo recommends the Italian government to adopt a harder line with mosques that accept funding from other countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia....
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Interview
22 July 2016
What is the ‘people’s government’ according to the Muslim Brotherhood
EFD Senior Fellow Dr Valentina Colombo is interviewed by the well known Italian newspaper Il Foglio on Erdogan's political strategy implemented after the recent failed coup attempt....
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Article
21 July 2016
Alcoholism and drug addiction: the Prophet allows these behaviours
In the aftermath of the Nice attacks of 14 July, EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo expresses her concerns regarding the global dimension the ideologies behind terrorism have acquired....
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Mention
21 July 2016
What the Failed Coup Means for Democracy in Turkey
EFD Senior Policy Advisor comments on the recent Turkey coup attempt: “We need to see whether they are all linked to this coup attempt in Turkey or Erdogan is using this as an opportunity indeed to crack down on all opposition figures within the state apparatus and different organizations"....
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Article
19 July 2016
How the failed Turkish coup helps Putin
EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya writes for The Hill on the recent failed coup attempt in Turkey and how this may have helped Russia's president Vladimir Putin....
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Mention
19 July 2016
Norell: “Similar attacks have happened”
EFD Senior Fellow Magnus Norell comments on the events that occurred in Nice on 14 July 2016, where a 31-year old man steered a truck at full speed through the crowd during the French National Day celebrations....
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Mention
18 July 2016
EU accused of ‘dragging its feet’ over illegal #ivory trade
EFD Senior Counsellor is mentioned by EU Reporter on wildlife trafficking and illegal ivory trade....
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Interview
17 July 2016
EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr Murat Seyrek comments on Turkey Attempted Coup on SkyNews
EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr. Demir Murat Seyrek is interviewed by Sky News on the recent failed coup in Turkey, which occurred on the evening of 15 July....
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Interview
16 July 2016
A strategy inspired by Hamas
EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo is interviewed by the Spanish daily newspaper La Razon on the modus operandi of the Nice terror attack....
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Interview
16 July 2016
Dr. Colombo comments on the failed coup attempt in Turkey
EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo is interviewed by the Italian radio station RDS on the failed coup attempt in Turkey....
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Article
16 July 2016
We can’t explain terror without religion
EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour in a guest contribution for Tagesspiegel, criticises the German Muslim Associations for diminishing the role of religion in extremism. Mansour argues that we must indeed look at the content of certain understandings of Islam, such as literalism or a tabooing of sexuality, which oftentimes act as catalysts for violence....
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Mention
15 July 2016
EU-wide condemnation of Bastille Day terrorist attacks in Nice
EFD Executive Director Roberta Bonazzi is interviewed by The Parliament Magazine on the attack which occurred in the French city of Niece....
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Article
15 July 2016
Isis hits France again with a massacre in Niece. Europe must declare war on Islamic terrorism
EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo comments the recent terror attacks which occurred in Nice in the early hours of 15 July....
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Mention
15 July 2016
It is time to reckon with the various shades of Jihad à la carte
«Self criticism, either personal or collectively, is a value and a practice that does not resonate well among Muslims. They tend to protect the members of the communities, the group they are part of and the reputation of their religion» said EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo to Vita International....
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Mention
14 July 2016
Alfano’s manoeuvre “transparency for mosques” divides the Italian Sunni community
The Italian Minister of Interior Angelino Alfano is backing a proposal to guarantee that only certified imams will be able to preach in Italian mosques; sermons must be translated into Italian....
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Article
11 July 2016
All hate preachers have passed through Italy
EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo condemns Italy for not prohibiting Muslim hate preachers from entering Italy....
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Article
09 July 2016
We are not your toys
In this guest contribution for taz, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour comments on the indignation of German left-wing politicians to demand a reform of outdated interpretations of Islam from within the Muslim community. Muslims are capable of accepting criticism when it comes to their religion and must not be handled with kid gloves, Mansour writes....
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Article
08 July 2016
The Muslim Brotherhood in Sweden
EFD Senior Fellow Magnus Norell writes for The Huffington Post about the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in Sweden....
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Broadcast
06 July 2016
Islam, Students and the Media
EFD Fellow Tehmina Kazi speaks with Usama Hassan at The National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secular Student Societies conference on the relationship between Islam, students and the media....
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Mention
04 July 2016
Germany harbors 300 Hamas, 950 Hezbollah members and activists
EFD Senior Policy Advisor Alexander Ritzmann is mentioned by the well known Israeli newspaper The Jerusalem Post regarding the influence of Hamas and Hezbollah in Europe....
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Article
04 July 2016
Muslim Brotherhood
EFD Senior Fellow Magnus Norell writes about the influence the Muslim Brotherhood has established in Sweden and other European countries over the years, starting from World War Two....
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Mention
04 July 2016
Whitewashing Sharia councils in the UK?
EFD Senior Fellow Elham Manea is mentioned in an Open Letter to the UK Home Secretary where hundreds of women’s human rights organisations and campaigners warn against a further slide towards privatised justice and parallel legal systems. The letter has been signed also by EFD Fellow Tehmina Kazi....
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Article
03 July 2016
The Quran brandished as a weapon of war
After the terror attacks occurred in Dhaka, at the Holey Artisan Bakery, EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo writes about the Quran and how it has been instrumentalised to wage a holy war....
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Article
02 July 2016
The sad ending of a heroic father and his prodigal son
EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo writes about the suicide bombings that occurred at the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul on 28 June....
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Article
01 July 2016
Seven Muslims out of ten have voted against Brexit
EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo addresses the perspective of Islamic groups in relation to Brexit....
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Interview
01 July 2016
Turkey: the expert says, for the Islamic State the peace between Ankara and the Russians is a risk
EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr. Demir Murat Seyrek is interviewed by the Italian news agency Adnkronos....
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Interview
29 June 2016
Turkey’s new foreign policy
EFD Senior Policy Advisor Demir Murat Seyrek is interviewed by the Italian newspaper Il Foglio in the wake of the terrorist attack in Istanbul of 28 June....
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Article
28 June 2016
“Muslim, secular and reformist. This is not how the Democratic Party wants me”
"Dear Matteo Renzi,
My name is Maryan Ismail, I am an Italian citizen of Somali origin, registered as a member of the Democratic Party (PD) (..). I am Muslim, secular and progressive. I consider myself as part of an Islam which, in numbers, represents the majority of Muslims, but that is financially unsupported and therefore unheard of"....
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Broadcast
27 June 2016
Does Islam belong to Germany?
This interview, broadcasted on German radio station radio eins, is an audio recording from the monthly political discussion series Freitag Salon. EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour speaks about the necessity to differentiate between different understandings of Islam when it comes to the question of whether this religion belongs to Germany. It doesn’t help that the political left prevents discussions about Islam in the name of political correc...
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Article
26 June 2016
Portrait of Rachid Al- Gannouchi, the biggest threat to the future of Tunisia
EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo writes about the latest Ennahdha Congress, where the slogan of the event read: "Abandonment of political Islam and separation between politics and the practice of preaching"....
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Article
24 June 2016
How Russia reacted to Orlando
EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya writes about Russia's reaction after the Orlando shooting, where 50 people lost their lives....
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Article
18 June 2016
Islam needs to reform
In this guest contribution for Tagesspiegel about the Islamist terror attack on a night club in Orlando on 12th June, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour writes about the necessity of being allowed to criticise religion. “The tabooing of sexual issues is a problem in all patriarchic societies, also in Muslim ones” says Mansour as he pleads for a reform within Islam regarding sexuality, violence, authority, homophobia and anti-Semitism....
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Mention
17 June 2016
EU puts schools at center of counter-radicalisation
EFD Senior Policy Advisor and member of the RAN’s counter-narrative working group Alexander Ritzmann is mentioned by EuranetPlus on radicalisation:
“So, someone who says ‘I went to Syria, it’s not like they say - they’re lying to you, they’re killing Muslims, it’s a corrupt organisation. It’s not a big adventure where you can be a hero defending your faith,'” Ritzmann suggests....
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Broadcast
16 June 2016
“Eins zu Eins. The talk Ahmad Mansour: Psychologist”
In this radio broadcast on Bayern 2, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour talks about his own personal background as a former Islamist back in Israel, his time as a student of psychology in Berlin and the multiple projects he is currently involved in....
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Op-Ed
16 June 2016
Can Turkey’s ‘Iron Lady’ thwart Erdogan’s game plan?
EFD Senior Policy Advisor Demir Murat Seyrek gives his opinion on the possibility of Turkish politician Meral Aksener taking over leadership of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party and thus threatening Erdogan’s plans of changing the current political system into an executive presidency....
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Article
16 June 2016
The pervasive shadow of suicide for salvation
The Orlando shooting, which saw the massacre of 50 homosexuals, has re-opened the debate on the relationship between Isis and Islam, homosexuals and Islam and many other questions. EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo, professor of geopolitics in the Islamic world, has much to say about this incident....
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