German-Saudi relations on the rocks over weapons sales, missionary activities

Germany has prolonged a temporary ban on weapons exports to Saudi Arabia until the end of March. While the question of whether to sell arms to authoritarian regimes in the Middle East has sprung up repeatedly in German public debates over the years, the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has put it back in the…

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Muslim soldier’s book sparks debate on diversity in Germany’s armed forces

The reputation of Germany’s armed forces is at a low point. With materiel aging fast, and with procurement chains marred by seemingly endless corruption scandals, the Bundeswehr’s leadership recently painted a dysmal picture: many – in some cases most – of the country’s fighter jets, cargo planes, tanks, u-boats, and helicopters are not operational; and…

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The potential return of French jihadists to France: French government has change of heart

The United States’ withdrawal from Syria, which should be effective in the next few months, has caused a major change in French government policy towards the French jihadists in captivity. Initiated in December 2018 by Donald Trump, the departure of the 2000 American soldiers in Syria constitutes a turning point in the geopolitical context of…

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“He was there with his heart and soul”: The mother of a German ‘foreign fighter’ speaks

In 2014 and 2015, European publics were kept in suspense by daily press reports on the rising numbers of European citizens travelling to Syria in order to join jihadi groups (and, to a lesser extent, Kurdish rebel forces). By early 2018, security agencies estimated that 960 men and women had made their way to Syria…

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Frenchman Lahcen Gueboudj sentenced to twenty years in prison for joining Islamic State

Judged as belonging to the Islamic State, a 58-year-old Frenchman and a German woman were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Central Criminal Court in Baghdad, a sentence equivalent to 20 years. This length of imprisonment is regularly imposed on Westerners who have joined the jihadist group. During the hearing, 58 year-old Lahcen Gueboudj denied…

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