Media - European Foundation for Democracy

Mention 02 August 2016

May needs to wake up to the reality of Sharia

While she was home secretary, Theresa May set up an independent inquiry into the operation of Islamic law in the UK as administered by Sharia courts or councils....

Article 01 August 2016

‘Break the Cross’, ISIS wages war on Christians

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo comments on the latest (15th) issue of the Islamic State's propaganda magazine, Dabiq, titled "Break the Cross"....

Mention 01 August 2016

London conference calls for challenging organisations using Islam for their political goals

Dr Lorenzo Vidino, EFD Senior Policy Advisor and Director of the Program on Extremism at the George Washington University's Center for Cyber & Homeland Security, provided a telling example from Italy where government is putting sufficient resources into counter-extremism but that these a focussed on a hard approach to punish suspects...

Article 30 July 2016

Islam And Integration, How The Seeds For Terror Take Root

In this guest contribution for Worldcrunch, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour highlights the connections between recent terror attacks in Germany and what he refers to as an “undemocratic behaviour based on cultural sensitivities”, such as the latest case of an imam denying his son’s teacher a handshake, because she is female....

Mention 29 July 2016

Germany: Welcome wears thin

Experts fear Germans could fall into the Isis trap by turning against refugees. “If we overreact, we risk pushing Muslims into the arms of radical Islamist ideologies,” says Alexander Ritzmann....

Article 29 July 2016

What role do Muslims have in building a secular UK?

"When people learn I run a secularist charity, many are confused about what secularism means and its consequences for non-Christians in the UK."...

Article 28 July 2016

We must recognize the mistakes made by Jihad as well as our own errors

"The latest terror attack that struck Europe, the first that brutally aimed at killing a priest, but the last of a long series of attacks, must lead us to reflect on what has happened,its root causes, its consequences, the mistakes that were made, which cannot ever be repeated. Two Muslim intellectuals have lodged appeals that go precisely in this direction"....

Mention 27 July 2016

Fresh concerns raised about Sharia Courts in Britain

EFD Senior Fellow Elham Manea was due to testify before the inquiry on July 27th 2016, but released a statement where she explains her reasons not to provide evidence, which has been reported by the The News Hub....

Interview 27 July 2016

Isis and the slaughtered priest: decades of underestimated propaganda

"The attack occurred in a church near the French city of Rouen, which left one priest dead, demonstrates once more how unprepared we are to deal with the 'extremism emergency' "....

Interview 27 July 2016

Terror expert: Europe can survive ISIS without electing nutjobs

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Alexander Ritzmann is interviewed by EuroActiv in the wake of the recent attacks Germany has been witnessing...

Press Release 26 July 2016

Statement by Elham Manea

Statement by Elham Manea, Senior Fellow, European Foundation for Democracy and Associate Professor of Middle East Studies at Zurich University regarding the UK government’s review of Sharia law in England and Wales. Elham Manea was to testify in London on Wednesday 27th July to the Independent Review into the application of Sharia Law in England and Wales. With regret and after much consideration she decided not to provide evidence to the Shar...

Article 26 July 2016

Those who are talking about fast-track radicalisation don’t have a clue

In this guest contribution for Die Welt, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour talks about the terrorist attack which occurred on a train in Würzburg (Germany) in July 2016. There is no such thing as ‘fast-track’ radicalisation, Mansour argues. The will to commit a terror attack doesn’t simply manifest from one day to another. Radicalisation is a process that is facilitated by certain mindsets which are often deeply rooted in religious beli...

Broadcast 25 July 2016

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Alexander Ritzmann on Sky News

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Alexander Ritzmann is interviewed by Sky News on German security policy after the latest terrorist attacks in Würzburg and Ansbach....

Mention 25 July 2016

Mass killing of elephants: Will the EU go on turning a blind eye?

Every year, 30,000 elephants are killed for their tusks according to Fondation Franz Weber, a Swiss-based NGO campaigning against the ivory trade for over 40 years, writes Willy Fautre....

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....

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....

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....

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"....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....