North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW), the most populous of Germany’s 16 federal states, has rolled out a new anti-terrorism programme: a satirical YouTube channel called Jihadi Fool. Run by the state’s domestic intelligence agency, the Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz, the channel’s videos are supposed to “fight fire with fire” and drive home “the absurdity of radicalisation, terrorism and…
Adherents to the Islamic faith across the world are currently celebrating Ramadan – including millions of Muslims who live in Germany. In many respects, German Muslims’ experience is hardly unique. Ramadan in Germany also comes with its specificities, however – and these are not only due to lengthy daytime hours in northern Europe, forcing believers…
Britain First leader, Paul Golding, posted an angry video claim he and his activists had been “abused” outside the East London Mosque. According to videos posted by the mosque, the right-wing populist organisation was harassing Muslims during a fundraiser to help those affected by the deadly Grenfell Tower fire, coinciding with mid-day prayers. In the…
These days, Dounia Bouzar doesn’t go anywhere without her three bodyguards. The French Muslim anthropologist has received death threats for unveiling the tactics of Islamist recruiters. I meet her in a cafe along Paris’ Boulevard St. Germain, where Bouzar is enjoying an ice cream sundae in the back while her security contingent, provided by the…
Donald Trump believes American Muslims are hiding something. “They know what’s going on. They know that [Omar Mateen] was bad,” he said after the Orlando massacre. “They have to cooperate with law enforcement and turn in the people who they know are bad. … But you know what? They didn’t turn them in. And you…
