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…
For years, German public debates have asked whether ‘Islam’ has a rightful place in the country and whether it can be considered part of its identity. Yet the reasons given by those that see the religion as alien to Germany have fluctuated over time. Shifting discourses of Islam’s ‘incompatibility’ First of all, as the years…
French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) vice president Anouar Kbibech responded to recent comments made by Manuel Valls, who suggested outlawing Salafism. For Kbibech, such a prohibition “is like banning unemployment, it’s not so simple.” “It’s at once unrealistic and impractical,” he stated. “Mr. Valls, who was prime minister when this idea was put…
In a recent interview following the Carcassonne and Trèbes attacks, Manuel Valls stated: “I think we must take a strong, political, symbolic act, a ban on Salafism.” His statements prompted swift reactions from other politicians. “I am astonished that Manuel Valls, who had had the opportunity, in his previous functions, to say that a certain…
“The number of Salafist groups and movements in [Belgium] rises slowly but surely, and Salafism’s influence grows,” warns the State Security Service pamphlet that aims to inform Belgians about Salafism’s influence. Five-thousand copies of the text will be distributed among government institutions, including universities, prisons, and police departments. This rare government initiative aims to depict a…
