Media - European Foundation for Democracy

Mention 06 June 2016

I am underway to win over Muslims

This article, from the Swiss magazine aufbruch, reports on EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour’s speech regarding the issue of radicalisation amongst German youth. Mansour spoke at the 2016 Symposium on Intergation in Basel....

Article 06 June 2016

What lies behind the veil of the charming Emira of Qatar

EFD Senior Fellow Dr. Valentina Colombo comments the recent encounter between the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned, second of three wives of the former Emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani....

Article 03 June 2016

Al Jazeera’s Crusades. Relaunching jihad

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo comments on the imminent release of a new documentary produced by the Al Jazeera Documentary Channel on the Crusades. The aim is to present this period from an Arab perspective, as the Director of the channel, Ahmed Mahfouz, explains....

Interview 02 June 2016

“The handshake-debate in Switzerland: far from a frivolous issue”

In this interview with Swiss Tages Woche, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour talks about the enforcement of handshakes in Swiss schools as a reaction to the handshake-debate in Therwil. For the boys it wasn’t about rebellion or an act of defiance, Mansour says; behaviour of this sort is a sign of exposure to ideology. That’s why it’s important to have a debate and to underline that disregarding the founding principles of democracy and gen...

Article 02 June 2016

Banning and negotiating are not contradictory

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Alexander Ritzmann writes about Hezbollah’s status within Germany and the EU after the group’s recent classification as a terrorist organisation by the League of the Arab States. The European Member States should send a clear signal by jointly banning Hezbollah, Ritzmann argues, thus prompting the group to change its behaviour....

Article 01 June 2016

Milions of euros from Qatar for mosques and quranic schools. Mayors (DP) and churches approve

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo writes about the recent investments of the Qatar Charity directed towards Islamic centres in various cities in the north of Italy....

Broadcast 30 May 2016

“Ahmad Mansour: ‘It’s not about the bomb’”

This contribution broadcasted by Swiss tv channel telebasel reports on the 4th Basel Symposium on Integration, where EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour took a stand on the Swiss handshake-debate (referring to the refusal of two Muslim students to shake their female teacher’s hand). “We mustn’t settle for those who want to teach us that this doesn’t have anything to do with Islam, with religion”, Mansour says, “we need an honest, bra...

Article 27 May 2016

Don’t ban the burqa- challenge the modesty doctrine instead

EFD Fellow Tehmina Kazi voices her opinion regarding the use of niqabis in the UK and the political and ideological dilemmas that comes with banning the use of such garments....

Press Release 25 May 2016

Making sense of foreign policy in the “new” Turkey

The European Policy Centre (EPC) held an event to discuss Turkey's foreign policy; EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr. Demir Murat Seyrek was one of the main speakers....

Mention 23 May 2016

Ahmad Mansour is honoured as ambassador for democracy and tolerance

During a ceremonial act, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour was honoured as a 2016 ambassador for democracy and tolerance by the Bündnis für Demokratie und Toleranz – Gegen Extremismus und Gewalt (BfDT) for his longtime commitment to fighting extremism....

Article 20 May 2016

The Muslim Brotherhood slips their candidate in the Democratic Party

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo writes about the arrival of Tariq Ramadan to Milan, schedule for June 3....

Broadcast 12 May 2016

Between disco and jihad

This TV report by German station Phoenix examines the deficiencies of European societies which create the preconditions for the recruitment of young people by Islamist organisations. In the course of the segment, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed on issues regarding the prevention and countering of this threat....

Article 11 May 2016

Jihad, what lies behind the arrests in Italy

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo writes about the recent events that lead to the arrest of four people in the Italian city of Lecco, accused of plotting a terror attack in Italy. Two of the four individuals had direct ties to the Islamic State....

Mention 07 May 2016

Bakary Sambe, Director of Timbuktu Institute: “confraternities will constitute a protection against Jihadism only if…”

EFD Senior Fellow Dr. Bakary Sambe is quoted in the daily online Senegalese news paper Dakaractu....

Interview 05 May 2016

Enough with foreign funding of Islam

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo is interviewed by the Italian daily newspaper Libero on how Italy can better prevent the spread of Islamic radicalization in its mosques around the country....

Mention 05 May 2016

No obstacles on the way to Europe

This article by the Wiener Zeitung reports on Turkey’s progress concerning the fulfillment of the EU’s conditions to acquire visa exemptions for its citizens....

Mention 03 May 2016

A dream come true for Ahmad Mansour

This article by Nordwest Zeitung reports on the award presentation of the Carl-von-Ossietzky award to Ahmad Mansour on 3 May 2016. In his acceptance speech Mansour stressed that violence begins in people's minds, referring to the large number of hostilities he receives on a daily basis and declaring that this award re-affirms his continuous efforts for the promotion of democracy....

Mention 03 May 2016

Ahmad Mansour: A conversation with his laudator, former German Interior Minister Gerhart Baum

In this radio interview, hosted by radio bremen, former German Interior Minister Gerhart Baum speaks about the decision to award EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour with the Carl-von-Ossietzky award. Baum stresses the importance of the role Mansour has played over the years as a point of reference for the German Muslim community during times of rising Islamophobia in Germany and the importance of the preventative work that he has been doing for...

Op-Ed 03 May 2016

EU visa-liberalisation for Turks: just around the corner?

At the 18 March EU-Turkey Summit, EU leaders pledged to lift visa requirements for Turkish citizens travelling to the Schengen zone by the end of June 2016, if Ankara met the required 72 benchmarks....

Mention 03 May 2016

From being friends with the anti-Semitic Imam, to (almost) a candidate. The Democratic Party in Milan is in total chaos on fundamentalism and political Islam

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo is mentioned by the well-known Italian newspaper Il Foglio regarding the candidacy of Sameh Meligy for the municipal elections of Milan, an Italian originally from Egypt and member of the Alleanza Islamica d’Italia (Islamic Alliance of Italy)....

Interview 03 May 2016

Psychologist Ahmad Mansour: “We need a German Islam”

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed by Deutsche Welle about the recent demand raised by the leader of the German Christian Democratic Union party, Volker Kauder, on government control over local mosques. Instead of a general surveillance system, we need a European Islam that universally supports human rights, says Mansour. This is not the responsibility of the German politicians, argues Mansour, it must come from within the Muslim...

Interview 03 May 2016

This is not my war

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed by the Weser Kurier about his commitment to democracy. He comments on the hostilities he experienced from within the Muslim community following the publication of his book Generation Allah and why he continues to make an effort to fight for what he believes in, despite animosity and threats. „Only if democracy is steadily fought for, can it be preserved.”...

Article 01 May 2016

Countering propaganda with facts

In this article, published in the German Council on Foreign Relations’ IP magazine, EFD Senior Policy Advisor Alexander Ritzmann argues that exposing the downright falsehoods of the propaganda of the so-called “Islamic State” (Isis) through targeted counter narratives will obstruct their recruiting efforts....

Mention 01 May 2016

EU- Iran relations after the nuclear deal

The signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between Iran and global powers on 14 July 2015 was a major turning point in the emerging strategic landscape of the Middle East. The ‘nuclear deal’ led to the lifting by the EU and the US of nuclear-related sanctions and is now operational....

Mention 29 April 2016

From proselytism on the web to the enrolment of families. Now they are more dangerous

EFD Senior Counsellor John Duhig and EFD Senior Policy Advisor Demir Murat Seyrek are mentioned in the centre-left Italian newspaper La Stampa in an article entitled: 'How is Islamic radicalisation spreading so quickly in Europe today? What tools are terrorist organisations using to spread their ideology?'...

Article 28 April 2016

Egypt at a crossroad between the Mediterranean and the Saudi finance

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo writes about the recent visit of the King of Saudi Arabia to Egypt, which resulted in a series of investment agreements between the two countries....

Article 28 April 2016

From the Muslim Brotherhood to Sala: Parisi accuses the Islamic candidate

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo is quoted in the well-known Italian newspaper Il Giorno on the recent decision of the Italian Democratic Party (PD) to candidate as councilor Sumaya Abdel Qader for the upcoming municipal elections of Milan...

Mention 27 April 2016

Two candidates for the Democratic Party of Milan, due different versions of the Islamic world

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo is quoted by the prominent Italian newspaper Il Foglio when commenting the recent decision of the Italian Democratic Party to candidate Sumaya Abdel Qader as councilwoman for the upcoming municipal elections of Milan...

Mention 26 April 2016

How real is the threat from dormant Isis cells in Italy?

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Lorenzo Vidino is quoted by The Local (It) on the realistic threat Italy is facing today when it comes to terrorism....

Article 26 April 2016

The Muslim Brotherhood is silently carrying out its invasion even in Milan’s local election

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo compares two Muslim female candidates for the center-left in Milan's local elections, namely Maryan Ismail e Sumaya Abdel Qader....

Mention 26 April 2016

Turkey discriminates against Alevi faith, ECHR rules

" annual budget, for example for 2016, is 2 billion euros ($2.25 billion), but they're only serving the Sunni community in Turkey, no single euro goes to the Alevi community," EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr Demir Murat Seyrek told the Deutsche Welle....

Mention 21 April 2016

Report: German Refugee Program Money Given to Hezbollah Operatives

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Alexander Ritzmann is quoted in the Jewish New York-based newspaper The Algemeiner: "In 2014, Germany closed down the Lebanon Orphan Children Project for providing money to the al-Shahid (“The Martyr”) Association in Lebanon. Al-Shahid was “disguised as a humanitarian organization” and “promotes violence and terrorism in the Middle East using donations collected in Germany and elsewhere,” German security expe...

Mention 21 April 2016

We Muslims are not a protected animal species

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour spoke to Die Welt about the refusal of a Swedish Green Party Politician to shake a female journalist’s hand. When a man refuses to shake a woman’s hand, it happens for certain religious reasons, Mansour explains....

Article 20 April 2016

Journalists are required to act responsibly

EFD Senior Fellow Bakary Sambe is mentioned in an article published by Sud Quotiden on the relationship between media and terrorism. According to Sambe journalists should use a more accurate terminology when referring to the threat of terrorism in order to avoid creating panic among readers....

Mention 19 April 2016

Dr Bakary Sambe: “The strategies implemented by the U.N. and by the Francophonie should not be competitive, but complementary and coordinated!’

FD Senior Fellow Dr. Bakary Sambe is mentioned by the online Senegalese newspaper Dakaractu, where he gives his personal opinion on terrorism and how it can be tackled on a global level. “The strategies implemented by the U.N. and by the Francophonie should not be competitive, but complementary and coordinated!"....

Interview 18 April 2016

The fight against terrorism: former police officers are brandishing their weapons

EFD Senior Fellow Dr. Bakary Sambe is interviewed by Le Quotidien on the recent decision of the Union Nationale des Retraités de la Police (The National Union of Pensioners of the Police) to come forth and work together to prevent the spread of terrorism, while Dr. Sambe incites the local population to be more involved....