Radicalisation: people do not become jihadists overnight

On 23^rd 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.

Ahmad Mansour’s contribution to the discussion focused on the radicalisation discourse and the vulnerability of potential future foreign fighters. Daniel Köhler, who works at the Berlin-based Hayat programme aiming to deradicalise people who have joined Islamist groups, explained that the programme serves as an interface between the person that is being radicalised and his/her family. The programme is now being implemented in a number of other countries. Michael Noonan highlighted the differences between Europe and the United States when it comes to recruitment of foreign fighters.

This article is in German and can be read here.