News

“A Romanticised Battle”: Interview with psychologist Ahmad Mansour

30 June 2014

EFD Programme Director Ahmad Mansour is interviewed for German television’s nano programme on the appeal of radical Islam and of the civil war in Syria.

Ahmad states that "[Salafism] offers some of these young people a sense of community which they are otherwise missing; especially youngsters with migrant backgrounds who do not feel that they really belong to German society."

He also states that the civil war in Syria is often portrayed on the internet in a romanticised way, in the style of video games and blockbuster films which are appealing to young people. For some of them, the reality of the situation only becomes apparent when they arrive in Syria.

This interview is in German and can be seen here.