Media

Article 01 October 2014

Contrasting Russian Perspectives on Beslan, 10 Years Later

In a monthly Operational Environment Watch commentary, EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya looks back at the Beslan siege, and compares two contrasting Russian views of the event – the public view and that of the Russian authorities....
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Article 01 October 2014

Russia’s Reasons to Provide Arms to Iraq

In a monthly Operational Environment Watch commentary, EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya writes that Russia has specific motivations for providing Iraq with military resources, including geopolitical and gas-related interests....
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Mention 30 September 2014

Syria, here is where ISIS combatants come from

In an article published on wired.it, that analyses European foreign fighters, the European Foundation for Democracy and EFD Senior Policy Advisor Lorenzo Vidino's report 'Home-Grown Jihadism in Italy" are mentioned. The author mentions the study's main findings to substantiate his argument....
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Mention 30 September 2014

When young people go to war

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is quoted in an article on radicalisation among Muslim youths in Germany, particularly in context of the growing numbers who appear to sympathise with militant groups such as ISIS....
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Interview 29 September 2014

The president’s right to war

Are air strikes in Syria legal? What is the likelihood of air war with ISIS succeeding? EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya is interviewed on Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty....
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Article 28 September 2014

Book review: Putin’s Kleptocracy

Anna Borshchevskaya reviews Russian scholar Karen Dawisha’s new book, Putin’s Kleptocracy: Who owns Russia?...
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Interview 26 September 2014

ISIS supporters are very active in Germany

Ahmad Mansour is interviewed in Germany's Pforzheimer Zeitung on the growing number of young Germans who have joined the militant Islamist group ISIS in Iraq and Syria. He warns that ISIS supporters and sympathisers are rife in Germany, and calls for more to be done in schools and society on the whole to prevent vulnerable young people from being drawn into radical groups....
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Interview 26 September 2014

They are like a ticking bomb

Ahmad Mansour is interviewed in Germany's Nordsee Zeitung on the radicalisation process, the reasons why Islamist groups can be appealing to young people, and what can be done to prevent this tendency....
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Interview 25 September 2014

Interview with Ahmad Mansour

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed by tip Berlin on the process of radicalisation. He describes the work he does with families of youths who are becoming radicalised, and calls for a constructive debate within Islam to confront radicalisation....
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Mention 23 September 2014

Radicalisation: people do not become jihadists overnight

On 23rd September 2014 the European Foundation for Democracy organised a public briefing in the European Parliament hosted by Andrey Kovatchev (Bulgarian MEP). This article in Austria's Tiroler Zeitung talks about the speakers that took the floor at this event: Ahmad Mansour (EFD Programme Director), Daniel Köhler and Michael Noonan....
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Article 22 September 2014

Here is how Sicily is becoming an emirate

In an article published on La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo exposes how Qatar is investing in Sicily. She explains that the Qatari government has been supporting the Muslim Brotherhood by financing projects such as the construction of mosques and Islamic centres, as is happening in Sicily. Those in the West who accept investments from Qatar should remember the emirate's ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, Valentina w...
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Broadcast 19 September 2014

How can radicalisation be prevented?

Germany's Forum on Friday (ZDF television) features a half-hour broadcast on EFD's Ahmad Mansour and the various projects he works with in Germany to prevent radicalisation and intolerance....
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Interview 17 September 2014

Salafism is a youth culture

In an interview in Switzerland's Tages-Anzeiger newspaper, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour states that we need to start seeing reform from moderate Islam, or else we will continue to play into the hands of radicals. Ahmad also points out that Islamism appeals particularly to young Muslims as it offers a form of youth culture and an identity. He calls for youth programmes and a stronger debate culture to counter the damaging narratives of rad...
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Mention 16 September 2014

Ahmad Mansour – a Muslim who is fighting against anti-Semitism

Germany's Tagesspiegel newspaper features a transcript of the speech given by editor-in-chief Stephan-Andreas Casdorff on the occasion of EFD's Ahmad Mansour being awarded the prestigious Moses-Mendelssohn Prize for his work to promote tolerance....
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Mention 15 September 2014

Ahmad Mansour – from Salafist to prize winner

The Berliner Morgenpost features an article on EFD's Ahmad Mansour who has been awarded the prestigious Moses-Mendelssohn Prize for his work to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence in Germany....
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Mention 15 September 2014

Ahmad Mansour is awarded prize

Germany's Jüdische Allgemeine newspaper features an article on EFD's Ahmad Mansour who has been awarded the prestigious Moses-Mendelssohn Prize for his work to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence....
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Broadcast 15 September 2014

Challenging the Muslim image of masculinity

On the day he is awarded Berlin's prestigious Moses Mendelssohn Prize, Ahmad Mansour speaks with journalist Katrin Heise about his extensive work with young Muslims in Germany to promote tolerance, gender equality and peaceful coexistence, and to counter honour-based oppression and extremist ideologies. Ahmad also discusses his own experience of radicalisation, as well as the challenges of migration which he himself encountered upon moving to Ger...
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Broadcast 15 September 2014

Every second counts in the fight for vulnerable Muslims

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed on Swiss radio about his personal experience of radicalisation, his ongoing work to prevent anti-Semitism in the Muslim community, and the pressing need for programmes to counter the dangerous narratives of militant groups such as IS and to encourage critical thinking among Germany's young Muslims....
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Article 13 September 2014

Countering the hatred of Islamic State extremists

In a bid to take a clear stance against the actions of the militant Islamist group IS, the Coordinating Council of Muslims in Germany (KRM) has announced plans for peace rallies in seven German cities on 19th September. However, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour states that prominent Islamic groups must do more than distance themselves from the violence. He states these groups must be willing to call into question some of the content which is...
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Interview 13 September 2014

We need to start arguing, even with God

Two days before he is awarded Berlin's Moses Mendelssohn Prize for promoting tolerance, Ahmad Mansour is interviewed on his work to prevent radicalisation and anti-Semitism in Germany's Muslim community....
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Mention 11 September 2014

Germany sees rising anti-Semitism among Muslims

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is quoted in an article from the Wall Street Journal on increasing anti-Semitism among Muslims in Germany. As in other European countries, Germany has seen a surge in anti-Semitic abuse in connection with the recent conflict in Gaza. However, Ahmad states that the issue is not a new one, "The protests got a lot of attention, but 'Jew' has been used as an insult by young Muslims in schoolyards, on sports ground...
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Interview 05 September 2014

The content which IS is using can also be found in mainstream Islam

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed in Germany's Zeit newspaper on why the Islamic State militant group attracts German Muslims, what we might expect from those who return from the conflict, and how we can work to prevent radicalisation....
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Interview 05 September 2014

Those who can think for themselves are immune to radicalisation

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour was interviewed on German radio on radicalisation of youths in Germany. He speaks about how young people are drawn to jihad because they are looking for structure and meaning in their lives, and that psychological factors contribute to their radicalisation. Furthermore, he expresses regret that the issue of radicalisation has not been brought up in the German Senate....
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Interview 05 September 2014

Those who can think for themselves are immune to radicalisation

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed on German radio about the reasons why radical groups can be appealing to young Muslims, and what can be done to discourage this trend....
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Mention 04 September 2014

ISIS recruits ‘converted’ Europeans

Westerners fighting in Iraq and Syria are estimated to be 3000, with 20 to 25 per cent of those being recently converted to Islam. In an article featured in the leading Italian newspaper La Stampa, EFD Senior Policy Advisor Lorenzo Vidino reveals that this phenomenon could be explained by a shift to "online Islamic fundamentalism" which appeals to younger Western generations who feel closer to Islamic fundamentalism than their national identity....
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Article 03 September 2014

Purity, honour, defiance of death

In Germany's prominent Spiegel magazine, Ahmad Mansour calls for Muslims to make urgent reforms to Islam. He states that aspects of moderate Islam bear too much resemblance to the content which we are seeing utilised by radical groups such as ISIS....
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Mention 01 September 2014

A Ukraine Peace Plan That Excludes Ukrainians Is Unacceptable

Following a meeting between American and Russian experts and former officials in the Finnish island of Boistö that aimed to find a solution to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya co-signed a letter with American and European experts that denounces the exclusion of Ukrainians from the summit in Finland as it "disqualifies this initiative from any serious consideration"....
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Interview 01 September 2014

Problems need to be clearly addressed

Ahmad Mansour talk about the intercultural (in)tolerance and how there is still a lot left to do. He also addresses the issue of radicalisation and the role that groups like “The True Religion” and Muslim organisations actually play and the one they should play....
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Interview 01 September 2014

Problems need to be clearly addressed

Ahead of the Moses Mendelssohn award ceremony, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed on his work with numerous projects in Germany to foster integration, tolerance and gender equality, and to prevent anti-Semitism, radicalisation and honour-based oppression in the Muslim community....
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Article 01 September 2014

View from Moscow: how Putin’s incompetence led to the crisis in Ukraine

In her article, Anna Borshchevskaya argues that, thanks to the distorted public support to Putin's intervention in Ukraine, this crisis may prolong his stay in power. Yet, she believes that in the end he will crash, just like the soviet Union before him. Nonetheless, she advocates for tougher actions from western leaders against him without delay, “because the longer they wait, the more damage Putin will do”....
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Article 01 September 2014

With or without sanctions, Russia’s economy is declining

In a monthly Operational Environment Watch commentary, EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya discusses the declining state of Russia's economy -- a situation which is not set to change in the near future....
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Article 31 August 2014

Ukraine: an ongoing crisis

Anna Borshchevskaya addresses the issue of the Russia-EU relationship which continues to deteriorate. She raises the question of whether the EU will remain united in the face of Russia, as both sides are sanctioning each other due to the Ukraine crisis, and some member states are beginning to feel the effects of these sanctions....
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Mention 29 August 2014

Are there jihadi groups in Varese?

The North of Italy is becoming host to jihadi groups hoping to branch out to other parts of Europe. In the Italian newspaper La Provincia di Varese, EFD Senior Policy Advisor Lorenzo Vidino discusses that this phenomenon is a serious threat and reports that even towards the end of the 1990s jihadists were present in Italian cities....
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Broadcast 28 August 2014

A message of peace or a faith-based battle: is Islam dangerous?

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour appears in a debate on German television on the question of whether some interpretations of Islam pose a threat to democratic society. Other guests include Hamed Abdel-Samad and Khola Maryam Hübsch....
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Interview 28 August 2014

Vidino: youths are radicalised on the Internet

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Lorenzo Vidino, in an interview published in Avvenire, explains how "keyboard jihadis" are on the rise. Whilst in the 90s it was in the mosque that radicalisaion occurred, today youths learn about jihadism online....
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Interview 28 August 2014

We must strengthen the liberal forces in the Muslim world

Following his appearance on Germany's Log-in television programme, Ahmad Mansour takes part in a webchat with viewers on a number of issues relating to the social challenges posed by fundamentalist interpretations of Islam....
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