Radicalization
French authorities accused of covering up Jew’s slaying by Muslim neighbor
A European Parliament member and prominent French intellectuals protested the omission of anti-Semitism from a draft indictment of a Muslim for the murder of his Jewish neighbor. Frédérique Ries, a lawmaker from Belgium, on Thursday criticized French authorities’ handling of the investigation into the April 4 incident, in which Sarah Halimi was tortured and thrown…
Human Rights Watch criticizes France’s counterterrorism bill
Counter-terrorism legislation proposed by the French government will “normalize abusive practices,” undermine personal freedoms, and may fuel prejudice against the Muslim minority, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday. A bill presented last week would enshrine curbs on fundamental rights in law if approved by parliament, the rights group said. Newly-elected President Emmanuel Macron wants…
Inside French Prisons, A Struggle to Combat Radicalization
With 2,500 inmates, the penitentiary institution of Fresnes, about 20 miles south of Paris, is one of the largest prisons in Europe. Like most French prisons, Fresnes is overcrowded. Built in the late 19th century, its tiny cells, each meant for one prisoner, most often house three. Inmates scream curses and catcalls from their barred…
Anti-Semitism rows highlight challenges of religious pluralism in Germany
Germany is often perceived as a country that has dealt exceptionally well with the ghosts of its past, most notably with respect to the reflection on the Holocaust. Yet upon closer inspection, the old demons do resurface and intermingle with contemporary political predicaments. Nothing shows this more clearly than a series of ongoing rows that touch…
Anti-terror march highlights activism as well as divisions among German Muslims
Initially, reactions on the part of German Muslim leaders to the attacks in Manchester and London had been muted, with a sense of the routinized and somewhat hapless repetition of well-worn formulas of shock and condemnation prevailing. Fighting against complacency This limited response has not gone unnoticed, with many criticising Islamic associations and Muslim representatives for…