Interviews

Interview 15 April 2016

#BrusselsAttacks Media Coverage, March 22

Following the Brussels attacks on 22 March at Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station, our experts quickly responded by conducting interviews with mainstream media outlets such as CNN, BBC, MSNBC and SkyNews, providing analyses and guidance for how Belgium and the rest of Europe should respond...
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Interview 11 April 2016

Europe at a crossroad: Civil society efforts to counter religious hatred and bigotry in Europe

USCIRF held an event at the National Press Club on April 11, 2016 on countering religious hatred in Europe. The event featured a keynote address by Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, a panel of European civil society leaders on the situation on the ground, their work, and best practices from their experiences, and remarks by USCIRF Commissioners....
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Interview 08 April 2016

Mosques, schools, hospitals: the money from Qatar arriving to Italy

EFD Senior Fellow Valentina Colombo is mentioned in the well-known Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera: she discusses the on-going issue regarding investments in the non profit area from Arab countries and the effect this may have in fostering a radical interpretation of Islam among the local population....
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Interview 01 April 2016

‘Current File’ (Brussels attacks)

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr. Murat Seyrek is interviewed on NTV to discuss Salafism and the roots of this ideology in the Gulf region, in light of the terrorist attacks in Brussels on 22 March....
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Interview 01 April 2016

It was to be expected that the threat is increasing

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed about political deficiencies that are hindering an effective strategy to prevent the radicalisation of young people. Mansour argues that while it is important to strengthen security measures after the most recent Islamist terrorist attacks, it is even more important to address the growing issue of radicalisation in schools....
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Interview 30 March 2016

Jihad in Europe

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed on ZDF zoom to discuss how young people become radicalised to the point of committing a terrorist attack. He explains how years of brainwashing can lead to a narrow worldview which in their mind justifies dehumanising others who do not share the same Islamist ideology....
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Interview 26 March 2016

Preventing youths from becoming radicalized

EFD Executive Director Roberta Bonazzi, is interviewed on CNN in the wake of the Brussels attacks that occurred on 22 March. In the interview Bonazzi discusses the role that ideology plays in radicalising youth and vulnerable communities, highlighting that this problem could take a generation to resolve. She also appeals to countries who are either directly or indirectly funding the dissemination of this ideology to immediately cease such support...
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Interview 25 March 2016

Belgium works to fight radical extremism

Following the attacks in Brussels on 22 March, EFD Executive Director Roberta Bonazzi is interviewed on CNN to discuss the multiple failures which culminated and led to the attacks. In the interview, she highlights the incredibly complex governance system of Brussels which played a large factor, making it especially difficult to coordinate and ensure security....
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Interview 25 March 2016

Primetime News with Nevşin Mengü (on Brussels attacks)

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr. Murat Seyrek is interviewed on CNN Turkey (@96.05 of the video) to discuss the attacks in Brussels on 22 March that killed over 30 people...
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Interview 25 March 2016

The ideology behind radicalization in Belgium

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr. Murat Seyrek is interviewed on CNN to discuss the role that the pervasive extremist ideology plays in radicalising susceptible individuals and communities. In light of the Brussels attacks, Dr. Seyrek highlights the dangers of not addressing radicalisation prevention, given that we've seen that radical groups are specifically targeting fragile individuals, particularly those who have a fleeting sense of identity amon...
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Interview 24 March 2016

Europe must tackle the threat of terrorism on a European level, not on a national one

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Alexander Ritzmann is interviewed on Sky News to discuss Europe’s increasing security threat and what measures should be implemented to tackle the problem....
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Interview 24 March 2016

Preventing radicalisation: Silent vigils alone won’t help

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed for an article in Kurier to discuss the necessity for Islamic associations to do more than issue press releases and conduct silent vigils for the victims after Islamist attacks. He argues that as long as they’re not making an effort to take action concerning an inner-Islamic debate, they are part of the problem, rather than the solution....
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Interview 24 March 2016

What’s next in Brussels shutdown

EFD Executive Director Roberta Bonazzi is interviewed on CBSN to discuss radicalisation prevention in light of the major attacks at Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station in Brussels on 22 March. In the interview, Bonazzi highlights the difficulty protecting any city in an open society and soft targets in particular, like those with minimal security in which the Brussels bombers attacked earlier this week....
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Interview 23 March 2016

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr Seyrek is interviewed on the Brussels Attacks

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr. Murat Seyrek is interviewed on HaberTurk on the devastating attacks carried out in Brussels earlier this week, killing over 30 people. In the interview, Murat explains why Brussels was targeted and how authorities must respond to prevent similar attacks in the future....
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Interview 23 March 2016

Fighting violent extremism in Belgium

EFD Executive Director Roberta Bonazzi is interviewed by MSNBN to discuss the attacks in Brussels on 22 March and how Belgium should react to tackle violent extremism....
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Interview 22 March 2016

How the Brussels attacks affect the global fight against terror

Lorenzo Vidino, EFD Senior Policy Advisor and Director of the Program on Extremism at the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University, is interviewed by PBS on the Brussels terror attacks....
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Interview 11 March 2016

Is true religion always extremist?

EFD Fellow Tehmina Kazi is mentioned in the online political magazine Prospect, where she speaks out for reformers such as herself and organizations such as the Inclusive Mosque initiative, which is a pro-feminist, pro-LGBT Muslim group formed in London....
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Interview 24 February 2016

Muslims don’t need protection, they need societal debates

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed about the growing number of young people he encounters in schools, who are unable to harmonise their religious convictions with fundamental laws. Mansour expresses that it is essential to understand their individual motives to address the roots of the problem....
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Interview 01 February 2016

Ahmad Mansour: Psychologist

In this interview, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour discusses his personal process of becoming radicalised, as well as the process of deradicalisation that followed. He talks about controversial content within Islamic beliefs and the necessity of offering alternative interpretations to the Muslim community....
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Interview 01 February 2016

On the Islamic State, with Magnus Norell

FED Senior Fellow Magnus Norell is interviewed on the Swedish podcast Acast on issues concerning the Middle East, the emergence of the terrorist organization Islamic State and how they have grown to be so strong....
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Interview 01 February 2016

The Islamic State, with Magnus Norell

EFD Senior Fellow Magnus Norell is interviewed by Acast on the Middle East and the rise of terrorist groups such as the so-called Islamic State....
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Interview 31 January 2016

The big questions: Do we need a British Islam

EFD Fellow Tehmina Kazi was interviewed on BBC One, to address the unique challenges of citizenship, identity, and belonging in a globalized world....
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Interview 24 January 2016

Ex-Islamist: “Salafists are the better social workers”

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed about radical interpretations of Islam and criticises the lack of their critical examination within the Muslim community....
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Interview 18 January 2016

5 measures for the integration of young Muslims

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed about concrete measures for the integration of young Muslims into mainstream society. He elaborates on five distinct steps that should be undertaken by politicians and civil society....
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Interview 12 January 2016

Bombs alone don’t help

In this interview, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour talks about the dangers of a polarised society in the light of increasing radicalisation and why he thinks democracy in Germany is under threat....
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Interview 09 January 2016

What remains is the macho posture

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour comments on the New Year’s Eve attacks on women in the German city of Cologne. Analysing the occurrences from a psychological perspective, Mansour detects deficiencies related to gender perception as one of the underlying causes for the events....
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Interview 07 January 2016

Between extremes

In this interview, EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour talks about his personal experience with regards to the process of deradicalisation and why it is so important to create counter-narratives for young people who are at risk of becoming radicalised....
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Interview 16 December 2015

The personal guest – Ahmad Mansour, out of the undertow of fundamentalism

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed about his personal background, including his experiences with Islamism and explains how he managed to break-out from its undertow....
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Interview 15 December 2015

Islamists are racists!

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed about the segregation of the sexes in certain understandings of Islam and why it is racist to label Islamism as a peripheral matter while recognising right-wing extremism as a problem within mainstream society....
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Interview 14 December 2015

The task of a century

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed about the attacks in Paris on November 13th and why the task of winning back radicalised youth is a task for society as a whole....
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Interview 11 December 2015

If we lose them it will get uncomfortable here

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed about the process of radicalisation among young people and the offers they receive from Islamist groups who radicalise them....
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Interview 07 December 2015

Islamism conveys the feeling of belonging to an elite

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed about the expected verdict against two men from Wolfsburg (Germany), who were arrested following their return from fighting for the Islamic State....
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Interview 06 December 2015

Those who wait until Islamism turns into violence have already lost

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed about Islamism and explains why the definition of this term has to be extended to include not only those who are actively committing violence, but those whose religious understanding does not comply with the fundamental values of the societies in which they live....
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Interview 04 December 2015

Turkey refuses to apologise and Putin’s options are limited‬

EFD Senior Policy Advisor Dr Demir Murat Seyrek is interviewed live on Al Jazeera on Turkey-Russia crisis on downed warplane....
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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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