Media

Broadcast 04 December 2015

Why young people become Islamists

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is a guest on German TV show aspekte. He talks about his book Generation Allah and elaborates on the reasons why young people distance themselves from the values of the societies in which they grew up in....
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Article 01 December 2015

Could downed warplane contain Russian aggression?

EFD Senior Policy Advisor, Demir Murat Seyrek and Amanda Paul of the European Policy Centre, write about the downing of the Russian warplane on 24 November by Turkey, as well its implications for Turkey-Russia relations and the already waning relations between Russia and the West as a whole....
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Interview 29 November 2015

A monster has emerged among us

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed about his projects Heroes and Hayat. He explains how it is important to reach every single young, radicalised person and how this issue is approached within these projects....
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Interview 29 November 2015

We have to take responsibility for this monster

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed about the radicalisation of young people in Europe and why these individuals are willing to give up the freedom that Western societies provide them....
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26 November 2015

Radicalisation and jihadist violence: understanding the ideology that can lead to terrorism

On 26 November 2015, the European Foundation for Democracy hosted a closed-door briefing in Brussels in response to the Paris attacks of 13 November. The speakers examined the role that ideology plays in creating fertile ground for recruitment to violence and terrorism....
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Article 25 November 2015

The big Arab but

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour comments on the reactions of the Muslim community regarding the 13 November attacks in Paris. While many in the Arab world have condemned the attacks, the alleged maltreatment of Muslims is often lamented in the same breath. Rather than portraying themselves as victims of the West, Muslims have to take responsibility, initiate an open debate about their religious belief and ask critical questions....
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Article 19 November 2015

A Muslim push-back against the Islamic State

“Broadly speaking, the struggle within Islam is between Muslims who embrace the values of the modern world in terms of freedom, indi­vidual rights, gender equality and democracy on the one side and Muslims opposing these values and insisting on a Sharia-based legal system on the other. Any Muslim who even questions this version of Islam they refer to as a heretic or, worse, an apostate to be killed”....
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Interview 17 November 2015

Radicalisation is a process that makes happy

Ahmad Mansour is interviewed in Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung. He explains how the early stages of radicalisation convey positive feelings of structure and belonging to young people, while simultaneously evoking negative feelings towards newly built enemy stereotypes....
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Interview 16 November 2015

We must not be intimidated

Ahmad Mansour is interviewed in the Swiss 20 Minuten. He comments on the terrorist attacks in Paris on 13th November 2015 and explains that many proponents of radical Islamism are born and raised within European societies but reject European core values such as democracy, human rights and diversity....
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Interview 14 November 2015

Saving “Generation Allah”

Ahmad Mansour is interviewed in the Austrian Wiener Zeitung. According to Ahmad,interpreting religion from the perspective of exclusivity is often the first step to increasingly move away from the core values of democracy. This process is at the origins of the Islamic radicalisation of young people....
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Mention 04 November 2015

New Turkish government urged to build bridges

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr. Demir Murat Seyrek is featured in the Belgian online newspaper EU Today, commenting on the Turkish general election that was held on 1 November 2015. As highlighted in the article, "in an overview of the outcome of the election" Dr Seyrek states that "Turkish voters 'chose stability over fundamental rights and freedoms'"....
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Article 03 November 2015

The AKP rebooted – What next for Turkey?

With the Turkish general elections now complete, Amanda Paul of the European Policy Centre and EFD's Senior Policy Advisor, Demir Murat Seyrek, write about "the huge victory" scored by the Justice and Development Party (AKP), how to understand the election results, its potential consequences, and what the results mean for Turkey-EU relations. The article begins by highlighting that the results not only provide President Erdogan's AKP party's four...
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Article 30 October 2015

Turkey’s new election: War or peace?

As the Turkish population heads to the polls for the second time in five months, Amanda Paul of the European Policy Centre and EFD's Senior Policy Adviser, Dr Demir Murat Seyrek, write about what has happened on the ground in Turkey since the last election, what to expect as the polls prepare to open, and what's really at stake. Leading up to 1 November's election date, the atmosphere has been highly charged with financial volatility and a rise i...
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Mention 28 October 2015

Europe’s refugee crisis: What is Germany actually giving Turkey?

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr. Demir Murat Seyrek is mentioned in the online newspaper CS Monitor regarding the refugee crisis in Turkey and its EU bid: “For the Turkish public, there has been a clear realization after seeing what happened in Syria and Iraq that the Western world is a far more attractive and stable option. There is a real fatigue about the Middle East while public support for EU membership is growing, which is something that pol...
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Interview 17 October 2015

Generation Allah – A wake-up call

Ahmad Mansour is interview by German radio station rbb. He explains how the radicalisation of young people is a problem that is worsening and affecting the educational systems as there remains a lack of tangible policy proposals....
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Interview 16 October 2015

EU-Turkey relations carry a strategic significance

According to EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr. Demir Murat Seyrek, the refugee crisis has demonstrated that the meaning of EU-Turkey relations goes beyond the discussions regarding Turkey’s full admission to the European Union. Turkey cannot ignore the EU and the EU cannot ignore Turkey; they are necessary to one another....
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Article, Interview 15 October 2015

Early election in Turkey most likely means new coalition government – analyst

EFD Senior Policy Adviser, Dr Demir Murat Seyrek, is interviewed by Azerbaijan's Trend News Agency on the upcoming 1 November elections in Turkey. In the interview, Dr Seyrek predicts that Turkey's election will likely result in the creation of a grand new coalition government between the currently governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Republican People's Party (CHP)....
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Mention 14 October 2015

Strategic dialogue and cooperation between Turkey and the EU regarding Syria must not be abused in new Turkish elections

The Brussels Times reports on the upcoming elections in Turkey, in which this article discloses that the EU has been urged not to allow its strategic partnership with Turkey regarding Syria to be abused as an election item that could boost the ruling AK party. The warning comes a a time as EU leaders are meeting with Turkey to discuss the situation in Syria, the migrant crisis and the EU and Turkey's "common fight against terrorism."...
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Article 13 October 2015

Syrian Refugee Crisis: Turkey-EU relations – the return of realpolitik?

EFD Senior Policy Adviser, Dr Demir Murat Seyrek, writes about EU-Turkey relations in the midst of the upcoming 1 November elections in Turkey. Discussions of Turkey's EU membership has been put on hold for the time being, due to the Brussel's focus turning to other matters at hand, including Russia, the refugee crisis, the rise of the far-right and growing Euroscepticism. Turkey as well has been preoccupied, with over 2 million refugees now resi...
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Article 30 September 2015

PM+: EU lacking effective response to extremist online propaganda

Tehmina Kazi, director of British Muslims for Secular Democracy and a Fellow at the European Foundation for Democracy, writes about the difficulty in countering online extremism and explains why vulnerable individuals have been so susceptible to their messages. In the article, Tehmina stresses the importance of combating non-violent extremism with the same tenacity as violent extremism and provides several examples for how an effective counte...
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Article 28 September 2015

The Salafists are the better social workers

Ahmad Mansour discusses the growing appeal of Salafism among young Muslims, and calls for an urgent critical debate about Islamic reform. He stresses that religious extremism needs to be addressed also in cases where it does not lead to physical violence....
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Mention 06 August 2015

The halt to Turkey’s authoritarian behavior

EFD Senior Policy Advisro Dr. Demir Murat Seyrek is mentioned in the Polish national daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita, commenting the latest Turkish election results and giving an in-depth analysis of what may happen next in Turkey's political scenario....
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Mention 20 July 2015

What makes Salafism attractive?

The child and youth protection agency of the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia reports on a symposium which was held on 2nd June 2015 on the topic of “Salafism — recruitment strategies and prevention approaches.” At the symposium, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour discussed the psychological aspects of Salafism and why it can be appealing to young people....
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Op-Ed 16 July 2015

EU must strengthen eastern and southern neighbourhood in fight against radicalism

EFD Researcher Tommaso Virgili summarises the findings of an EFD publication on secularism in Azerbaijan and the threat of radicalisation in the region....
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Article 12 July 2015

In Egypt, political Islam kills

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo comments on the recent blast that severely damaged the Italian consulate in Cairo, Egypt. “The Egyptian press’ version, that explains the attack by citing its proximity to the High Court of Cassation, is plausible”, she says....
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Article 09 July 2015

People who can think for themselves are immune to radicalisation

Local German media reports on a panel discussion on the topic of radicalisation prevention work, featuring EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour. The article acknowledges Ahmad’s extensive contribution to the debate, where he warned that, at present, ‘the Salafists are proving to be the better social workers’, and that much more needs to happen in civil society to ensure that the needs of young people are met....
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Article 30 June 2015

The devil is in the details: what could a deal with Iran look like?

Summary of a parliamentary briefing on the Iranian nuclear negotiations with expert speakers Dr. Bruno Tertrais and Lukasz Kulesa, co-organised on 17th June 2015 by the European Leadership Network, the APPG on Global Security and Non Proliferation and the European Foundation for Democracy....
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Article 28 June 2015

The Tunisian model falters

Following the 47th attack since the Arab Spring, Tunisia must reflect on the democratic transition of the last four and a half years, and take stock of the situation, says EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo. Tunisia, she adds, must not lose its identity, but find a solution to the economic crisis and to the spread of political Islam....
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Article 27 June 2015

Islamic terrorism strikes across the globe

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo comments on recent attacks in Tunisia, France and Kuwait. She also highlights that the Muslim Brotherhood is “infiltrating” European societies in order to conquer the world ideologically and politically....
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Article 23 June 2015

What to do when a school pupil is a member of “Generation Allah”? School teachers turn to two experts for advice

Swiss newspaper Aargauer Zeitung reports on a seminar with Ahmad Mansour at a college. The aim of the session is to discuss approaches to preventing Islamic radicalisation with educators. Ahmad states “a lot of teachers would really like to see a leaflet outlining the features of radicalisation. Unfortunately we don’t have these. You can only assess a pupil’s beliefs and views by talking to them individually.”...
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Mention 22 June 2015

Many points addressed, but very few questions answered

Facetten magazine reports on a panel discussion with Ahmad Mansour which took place at a church in Berlin’s Neukölln district under the title “Islam — between youth culture, religion and politics.” Among the guest speakers were Islamism expert Claudia Dantschke, local Imam Ender Cetin and Member of the Bundestag Erol Özkaraca (SPD)....
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Interview 22 June 2015

Mr Mansour, IS the terror group is planning to attack Switzerland?

Ahmad Mansour is interviewed in Switzerland’s Aargauer Zeitung on the topic of radicalisation among young Muslims. Ahmad stresses the danger of speaking about radicalisation exclusively in connection with violent jihadists; he states that the topic has to be understood as a broader tendency among young Muslims in “Generation Allah.”...
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Interview 22 June 2015

Muslim Forum: Islam and German reality

Ahmad Mansour is interviewed in Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung about the newly founded “Muslim Forum Germany” (“Muslimisches Forum Deutschland”),which aims to give a voice to humanistically oriented Muslims....
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Article 20 June 2015

That’s how the Muslim Brotherhood is conquering Europe

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo explains how the Muslim Brotherhood is gradually succeeding in creating a well-structured, pervasive network in Europe. She highlights the roles played by key figures such as Yusuf Qaradawi and Ibrahim El Zayat in achieving "full integration" in European societies....
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Interview 19 June 2015

Germany’s “Generation Allah”: why young Muslims are becoming radicalised

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed on German news portal web.de on the topic of radicalisation among young Muslims in Germany. He describes tendencies in the current generation of young people - which he refers to as "Generation Allah" - where a general increase in religiousness can be observed....
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Mention 09 June 2015

Period of uncertainty after elections in Turkey

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr. Demir Murat Seyrek comments the outcome of the Turkish elections, that were held last June....
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