Articles

EFD Senior Fellow Magnus Norell writes about the ongoing Geneva III talks, convened in a desperate attempt to negotiate an end to the five-year conflict in Syria. He suggests however that the talks were destined for failure before they ever started, due to, among other reasons, competing interests which ultimately led to the failures of the previous two Geneva talks....

EFD Fellow Tehmina Kazi comments on the abuses and attacks to secular and progressive activists within the Muslim communities....

EFD Researcher Tommaso Virgili writes about the issue of democracy and individual freedoms in Islam. According to Virgili, while certain concepts of the Islamic doctrine, as interpreted by Islamists and orthodox scholars, are incompatible with the tenets of a liberal democracy, the view offered by liberal Muslims may untie the Gordian knot....

EFD Fellow Anna Borshchevskaya analyses ISIS' penetration in Russia and the government's response....

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo conducts an interview with Mohamed Louizi, author of the book "Pourquoi j'ai quitté les Frères Musulmans" ("Why did I leave the Muslim Brotherhood")....

EFD Senior Fellow Magnus Norell comments on the extremist threat of extremism that the EU has faced in 2015 and will most likely face for the duration in 2016....

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour explains why it is important to draw a distinct line between preventative and deradicalisation work. At the same time, he stresses that both approaches are interlinked and illustrates his analysis based on examples....

Following the recent New Year’s Eve attacks in Cologne and other European cities, EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo stresses the need for integration and control of the most sensitive immigrant groups into our societies....

EFD Fellow Tehmina Kazi writes about the importance of education and counter-narrative in counter-extremism programs, which she finds more fruitful than a strategy focused on surveillance and repression....

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Lorenzo Vidino highlights the failures of fifteen years of AKP in Turkey, both in domestic and foreign policy....

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo comments on the New Year’s Eve attacks in Cologne and other European cities. She references the sexual assaults during the Tahrir square protests in 2011 and compares them to the New Year’s eve attacks. Valentina states that the cultural and social backgrounds of the men involved are the same....

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Lorenzo Vidino explains the objective difficulties that European intelligence apparatuses face in monitoring the increasing number of radicalised citizens who could move from mere jihadi propaganda on the web to downright terrorist attacks....

EFD Policy Advisor Magnus Norell writes about Sweden's recent decision to recognise the State of Palestine. In his analysis, he highlights that the decision is based on the Swedish administration's justification that, "The international law criteria for the recognition of the State of Palestine have been satisfied," indicating that, "there is a territory, albeit with non-defined borders. There is also a population. And there is a government with...

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo comments on the mass execution of 47 people in Saudi Arabia that took place on 2nd January 2016. According to Valentina Colombo, this day could go down in history as “the day in which Saudi Arabia has officially and wittingly rekindled the threat of the international Sunni-Shia conflict”....

“Although there has always been a secular and moderate Islam in the South-West Balkans, 20 years of Islamist propaganda have lured part of the Albanian Muslims” into becoming radicalised, says EFD Senior Policy Advisor Lorenzo Vidino....

EFD Senior Policy Advisor, Magnus Norell, writes about the relationship between Sweden and Israel which he says has become increasingly strained due to a number factors, most notably the Swedish government's recent recognition of the state of Palestine - the first major EU country to do so. Though receiving strong condemnation from Israel, Sweden argued that recognising Palestine as a state would facilitate more balanced (state-to-state) negotiat...

The Brussels Times summarises the issues addressed at the EFD policy briefing "Sharing best practices in countering violent extremism". It highlights the event's aim to set the agenda with regard to tackling today's prevalent challenges related to radicalisation by taking effective preventive measures on a policy level....

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....

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....

“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”....

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...

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...

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...

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...

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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....

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.”...

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....

In light of recent human rights concerns in Saudi Arabia EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo comments on the presence of this country at the International Book Fair that will be hold next year in Turin....

"On 16th May, Cairo Criminal Court sentenced the former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi and 106 members of the Muslim brotherhood to death". EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo analyses the consequences of this decision and stresses the need for reform at the basis of the Egyptian society and economy....

An article by EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour on gender roles, sexuality and the concept of honour is published in the current edition of Germany’s Der Bürger im Staat....