Media - European Foundation for Democracy

Mention 13 April 2014

Very well-connected and rappers: these are the Italian jihadists

Following the publication of Lorenzo Vidino's Homegrown Jihadism in Italy, Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera features a report on the profiles of young Italians who are drawn to radical groups, and their possible motives for joining Syria's civil war....

Article 12 April 2014

Possible ties between radical Islam and anarchical ideology

Italian intelligence magazine, GNOSIS features a study from EFD's Valentina Colombo on the possible ties between radical Islam and anarchical ideology....

Broadcast 11 April 2014

Renewed pro-Morsi protests in Egypt. The analyst: The Muslim Brotherhood has two sides

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo speaks on Radio Vaticana about rising tensions in Egypt and presents a profile of the Muslim Brotherhood....

Article 11 April 2014

The die is cast: Russia’s intentions in Ukraine

In the below article, EFD’s Anna Borshchevskaya underlines the importance attached by Russia to Ukraine. The recent events, which took place in Crimea, do not only threaten Ukraine’s democracy but also “Western credibility on protecting freedom”....

Article 10 April 2014

We need to talk about Mali

Mali is the best example of a country where governmental, judicial and educational shortcomings let Islamist groups establish themselves. EFD Senior Policy Director Magnus Norell discusses the UN intervention in Mali and the Islamists’ possible reaction to it....

Mention 10 April 2014

We will never completely eliminate the danger

Following the return from Syria of one of Switzerland's foreign fighters, EFD's Lorenzo Vidino speaks to Swiss daily 20 Minuten about how these individuals can be reintegrated into society....

Article 09 April 2014

Muslim Brotherhood out to conquer Europe

The article follows a statement of concern as to the Muslim Brotherhood's background and motives, issued by British Prime Minister David Cameron, and the subsequent response from the Muslim Brotherhood....

Broadcast 09 April 2014

The fatal consequences of a poor upbringing

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour speaks to Germany's Deutschlandradio Kultur about how we can deal with violence in immigrant communities.The interview follows an open letter from German police woman,Tania Kambouri, who has spoken out against the aggression and lack of respect she frequently experiences from individuals in these communities....

Mention 08 April 2014

Hezbollah fundraisers banned

In one of its articles on the German ban of a Hezbollah’s support group, the German news Tagesschau quoted EFD Senior Policy Advisor Alezander Ritzmann. In 2009, EFD had already expressed its concerns as regards the linkage between the Lebanese Islamic militant group and “Orphans Project Lebanon e.V.”...

Mention 05 April 2014

German women becoming ‘holy warriors’ in the name of Jihad

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed in Germany's Deutsche Welle about the increasing number of German women who are being drawn to Syria's civil war in the name of Jihad....

Article 03 April 2014

Migration board should have a bad conscience

In the below article, EFD Senior Policy Advisor Magnus Norell assesses and criticises the performance of the Swedish Migration Board (MV)....

Mention 02 April 2014

“How do we want to live?” : Teaching materials on Islam, Islamophobia, Islamism and Democracy

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour contributes to new teaching resources on democracy, Islamophobia, Islam and racism from the German organisation UFUQ....

Article 01 April 2014

Russian airborne troops descend

EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya contributed to OE Watch’s researches on security issues in Russia. During the Ukrainian crisis, Russian airborne troops began a high-intensity military training involving thousands of soldiers....

Article 01 April 2014

Russian military in Crimea: Convoys from the North Caucasus and land mines

In a monthly Operational Environment Watch commentary, EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya discusses Russian security issues. Despite Russian declarations that only Crimean militias were involved in military engagements in Ukraine, it has been proved that also Russian convoys entered into Crimea’s territory....

Article 01 April 2014

Ukraine crisis reverberates in Russia: the Caucasus connection

EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya contributed to OE Watch’s researches on security issues in Russia. Analyses of the Ukrainian crisis seem to reveal a possible military connection with the Caucasus....

Article 30 March 2014

Migration border sets new record

In an article published by Swedish newspaper Göteborgs Posten, EFD Senior Policy Adviser Magnus Norell writes about refugees in Sweden, illegal immigrants and self-deportation....

Article 28 March 2014

Here comes Al-Sisi, the new Nasser

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo, in an article published on La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, opines that Al-Sisi's presidential candidacy echoes that of Nasser: both are very charismatic men, oppose the Muslim Brotherhood and are against outsider intervention in Egypt (In Al-Sisi's case from the US and the EU)....

Article 26 March 2014

Professor who failed to support Putin line on Crimea fired

Andrei Zubov and Aleksandr Konkov lose their jobs after speaking out against Crimean invasion...

Article 26 March 2014

Tatars may hold own Crimean referendum

EFD's Anna Borshchevskaya reports that Crimean Tatars may hold their own referendum on whether to join Russia or Ukraine....

Article 25 March 2014

Purge of the Muslim Brotherhood, a fatal error

Following an Egyptian court’s ruling of March 2014, which condemned 529 Muslim Brotherhood supporters to death, EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo expresses her concerns about the problematic impact this decision could have for Mansour’s government, both at a domestic and international level....

Broadcast 24 March 2014

Radicalisation and the appeal of the conflict in Syria

“ mainly because I was looking for the same things which many young people in Germany are also looking for: some sort of meaning, happiness, recognition. And the Salafists offer all of these things.”...

Broadcast 23 March 2014

Between dialogue and exclusion: the debate about the German Islam Conference

A critical look at the role and influence of the German Islam Conference, a body which seeks to enable productive dialogue between the German state and representatives of the Muslim community....

Article 23 March 2014

The Muslim Brotherhood claim revenge on Saudi Arabia

An announcement made on 7th March from Saudi Arabia claiming that the Muslim Brotherhood was inserted in their list of terrorist organisations took the Islamist group by surprise. EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo analyses the historic relations between Saudi Arabia and the Islamist group...

Mention 20 March 2014

Don’t Trust Rouhani – Iran’s Nobel Peace laureate speaks

In an interview during a visit to Brussels organized by EFD, Shiran Ebadi, 2003 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, says Iran's supposed reformist leader Hassan Rouhani has done little to improve human rights....

Article 20 March 2014

Echoes of the past

Analysts draw comparisons between Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler following the Russian president’s speech announcing the annexation of Crimea on March 18....

Mention 18 March 2014

Show some respect!

Germany's Tagesspiegel newspaper features a report on Ahmad Mansour's work to support female teachers who encounter difficulties with male pupils from patriarchal cultures....

Article 17 March 2014

The deception of the Arab Spring and the increasingly unstable Middle East

EFD Researcher Giovanni Giacalone on the 'redefining' of the Middle East in the aftermath of the Arab Spring....

Mention

Mention 14 March 2014

EFD Hosts Nobel Laureate and Iranian Human Rights Activist Shirin Ebadi

Shirin Abadi briefed MEPs, EU officials and the media in Brussels and Strasbourg on the human rights situation in Iran....

Article 13 March 2014

Iran: women have been veiled for 35 years

This is the thirty-fifth year that it is compulsory by law for women to wear the hijab in Iran. EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo discusses that the hijab is used in Iran as a vehicle to subordinate women....

Article 10 March 2014

The slow decline of the Muslim Brotherhood

Following the court decision in Egypt to outlaw the Palestinian group Hamas, Giovanni Giacalone discusses the increasing isolation of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East....

Article 10 March 2014

West must do better on Ukraine than it did with Syria

Ukrainian protesters in Kiev last month, for their part, flew the Syrian revolutionary flag alongside the Ukrainian flag. The big question, though, is whether the West will see the connections that the protesters see – and draw some vital lessons....

Article 08 March 2014

Egypt bans Hamas and Saudi Arabia’s Muslim Brotherhood

Giovanni Giacalone on the court order in Egypt to ban all activities of the radical Palestinian group Hamas....

Article 06 March 2014

The inevitable decline of Erdogan

Giovanni Giacalone on the decreasing popular support in Turkey for Tayyip Erdogan and the AKP....

Article 04 March 2014

Jihadists massacre Egyptian Copts

In Libya, Egyptian Copts are being persecuted and tortured. EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo observes that whilst in Libya simply looking for work, Egyptian Copts are accused by jihadists, salafists and the Muslim Brotherhood of being the cause of the ousting of Muhammad Morsi in 2013....

Article 03 March 2014

The crisis in Yarmouk and the silence of pro-Palestinian activists

Giovanni Giacalone on the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, Damascus....

Article 01 March 2014

How Stable Are the South Caucasus? New Hostilities over Nagorno Karabakh?

In a monthly Operational Environment Watch commentary, EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya looks at conflicting viewpoints regarding Russia's involvement in a potential war between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region....