King Charles III and Islam : Between Colonial Past and Islamophilia

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8th September 2022, King Charles III (formerly The Prince of Wales and Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son) ascended to the throne1. The passing of Queen Elizabeth II – the longest reigning monarch in the history of the UK – is a rare and historic moment, and while many…

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Trials of former IS fighters in Germany: Opportunities and pitfalls

German prosecutors are getting creative in their attempts to bring the crimes of the Syrian civil war to court. This includes bringing charges against former security officials of Bashar al-Asad’s regime for war crimes and crimes against humanity. And it involves attempting to bring the fighters of the so-called ‘Islamic State’ (IS) to justice. Charges…

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COVID-19 and Religion: Between Nationalism and Communal Responsibility

Will COVID-19 lead to increased nationalist exclusionary and defensive attitudes among the religious, or might it be the cure that leads to radical social reorientation with a new emphasis on collective solidarity?   Around the world, religion has come into focus as a central point of controversy and praise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Strict social…

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Returnees, unaccounted combatants, child jihadists: Germany struggles with the ‘foreign fighter’ phenomenon

Ever since the Islamic State group began to lose the territories it had so spectacularly conquered during 2013 and 2014, analysts and policy-makers in the West have warned of potential large-scale return movements of so-called ‘foreign fighters’. 40,000 ‘foreign fighters’ Although the term ‘foreign fighter’ is vacuous with respect to international law, it still permeates…

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Capture of underage female IS-supporter in Mosul shows extent the group’s appeal

  As the so-called Islamic State’s last bastions in Mosul fell, Iraqi soldiers and militias captured a host of IS-fighters. Amongst them were a larger number of foreigners who had joined the terrorist group over the preceding years. Trip to the Levant in 2016 Yet few arrests have called forth more international attention than the…

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