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Topic: Salafis | Salafism

Illustration: Young German woman with headscarf sitting on the floor in a mosque, reading the Koran (DW/Gesa Kuis)

Islam in Germany

Anna, a young woman seeking love and Allah

Elke Muller is fighting for her daughter Anna, who fell in love with a young Afghan and converted to Islam. The mother spoke to Esther Felden about feeling alienated and her fear that Anna might become radicalisedMore

Salafism in Germany: Iʹll wear a niqab if I want Islamism in Germany: Jihad in the schoolyard From Germany to "Islamic State": The metamorphosis of Christian L.

Sociologist and Arabist Gilles Kepel (photo: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)

Essay by Islam expert Gilles Kepel

The new jihad and its mentors

Islamist attacks such as those that took place in Paris this last autumn evidence a new kind of perpetrator. In place of individual terror organisations, networks appear to have emerged that sermonise on the cultural rift and provoke radical acts. By Gilles KepelMore

Interview with the French Islam expert Gilles Kepel: Passion and suffering Interview with the sociologist Farhad Khosrokhavar: Radicalisation in the suburbs Interview with French extremism researcher Olivier Roy: ″Radicalisation is not the result of failed integration″The psychology of radicalisation: Lego Islam

Salafism recruitment symbolic image (picture-alliance/dpa/R. Peters)

Islamism in Germany

Fighting Salafists with YouTube satire

The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia is relying on wit and humour as an antidote to Islamist extremism. "Jihadi-Fool" is the name of a new YouTube channel targeting young people. By Louisa WrightMore

Fighting Islamic State with satire and black humour: Terribly funny Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef: Jihadists, please blow here!Preventing Islamism in Belgium: Shaking the terrorist image

Book review: Raja Alem's "Sarab"

Gender under siege in Mecca

On 20 November 1979, Islamic militants took over the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam. Hundreds were killed in the ensuing two-week siege. This pivotal event in modern Islamic history changed Saudi Arabia. It provides the backdrop for Raja Alem's new novel "Sarab", an extraordinary story of love, faith, violence and gender. By Marcia Lynx QualeyMore

Interview with Saudi Arabian writer Raja Alem: "When I write I am free, like flying in my dreams"Interview with Saudi Arabian writer Raja Alem: Elegy for a Lost Era Book review: Badriah Albeshr′s ″Hend and the Soldiers″

Minaret detail of the King Fahd Academy, Bonn, 29.08.2016 (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg)

German-Saudi relations

A Salafist bone of contention

Ever since the Iranian Revolution Saudi Arabia has pushed a hardline Wahhabist model of religiosity, both in the Islamic world and among Muslim minorities in the West, in an attempt to prevent Shia expansionism. Yet Berlinʹs security concerns over Salafist extremism in Germany could easily re-ignite latent tensions with Riyadh. By Mahmoud JarabaMore

Wahhabism and Salafism: Shared foundation – different methods Islamism in Germany: Jihad in the schoolyard Interview with Middle East expert Guido Steinberg: No one wants conflict with Saudi Arabia

Former left-wing terrorist turned radical Salafist Bernhard Falk at the Higher Regional Court in Dusseldorf (photo: DW)

Salafism in Germany

Left-wing terrorist turned Islamist

Bernhard Falk is no stranger to prisons. A convicted left-wing terrorist, he spent 12 years behind bars. Now he looks out for imprisoned Islamists. Germany's domestic intelligence agency considers him a danger to society. By Matthias von Hein and Esther FeldenMore

From Germany to "Islamic State": The metamorphosis of Christian L.Salafism in Germany: Iʹll wear a niqab if I want Islamist ideology debunked: Getting past the abuse

German IS fighter Christian Lappe, who was killed in Syria in 2017 (photo: private)

From Germany to "Islamic State"

The metamorphosis of Christian L.

To Sabine Lappe, Christian was a dream child. But her beloved son became an IS terrorist who died in Syria. The bereaved mother shared her story with Esther FeldenMore

Interview with the sociologist Farhad Khosrokhavar: Radicalisation in the suburbs Preventing jihadism: The psychology of radicalisation: Lego Islam Interview with French extremism researcher Olivier Roy: ″Radicalisation is not the result of failed integration″

Portrait of a blue-eyed woman wearing a niqab (photo: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Ending)

Salafism in Germany

Iʹll wear a niqab if I want

Children's life choices are often difficult for parents to endure and even more difficult to understand. Especially when they embark on a path towards Islamism. An encounter with an affected mother. By Matthias von Hein and Esther FeldenMore

Wahhabism and Salafism: Shared foundation – different methods France's burka ban: Excluding the wrong people Essay by Sara Silvestri: Britain does not need a French-style Burqa ban

Bonn street worker Saloua Mohammed (photo: DW/Matthias von Hein)

Salafism in Germany

Battling radicalisation on the streets

Saloua Mohammed's most important tool in the fight against radical Salafism is listening – to parents whose kids radicalise online, to young people who rave about Salafism and to women returning to Germany after fighting alongside IS. By Esther FeldenMore

Interview with intelligence operative Benno Kopfer: "You're allowed to be a Salafist in Germany"Recruitment strategies used by Islamic State: A mutation of religion A different take on Salafism: The power of provocation Combatting Salafist radicalisation in Germany: Under scrutiny

Sufis in Cairo (photo: Abdel Rahman Mohamed)

Sufism in Egypt

Sufis, sheikhs and charlatans

Sufism has a tradition going back centuries in Egypt. Now the government is coming out in support of the mystics in a bid to undermine Islamism. Some fear that the essence of the movement will be lost in the process – but there are other more unexpected by-products of the Sufi trend. Christian Meier reports from Cairo.More

Combatting violent extremism: Could Sufi Islam be the cure-all?Sufism: Lifting the lid Qantara dossier: Mysticism | Sufism

Muslim reads from the Koran (photo: picture-alliance/ANP/R. Koole)

Islamist ideology debunked

Getting past the abuse

Many efforts to provide counter-narratives for Salafist-jihadism are currently failing to address extremists′ abuse of religious scripture directly. Nevertheless, efforts to combat extremism through religious counter-narratives are expanding across the Islamic world. By Rachel Bryson and Milo ComerfordMore

Anti-radicalisation strategies in Egypt: Sheikhs on the beat Islam, Al-Azhar and the terrorists′ ideology: If the cap fits Islam and violence: Self-proclaimed jihadists

Supporters of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) demonstrate against Jakarta's Christian governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama, accused of blasphemy, November 2016 (photo: Reuters)

Islam in Indonesia

The agents of change

Where is Indonesia heading? With Islamic organisations become increasingly vocal commentators in the public debate about morality and religious minority rights, the concept of citizenship in Indonesia is undergoing a gradual, yet profoundly disturbing transformation. By Chris ChaplinMore

Indonesia′s gubernatorial elections: The tolerance litmus test Political Islam in Indonesia: Wahhabism runs into the sand Indonesia′s ArtJog fair: Open your eyes!

Security around Barcelona′s Sagrada Familia is high following the attacks by Moroccan terrorists in August 2017 (photo: Getty Images/AFP/P. Guyot)

Islamist extremism in Morocco

Time for a rethink

Despite the hardline approach taken by the Moroccan state over the years in its dealings with Islamist extremists, the Maghreb nation is still viewed as the world's biggest "terrorist exporter". What's going wrong? Answers from Ali AnouzlaMore

Breaking the Middle East′s cycle of terror: The two-pronged strategy Morocco and the return of autocracy: Playing with fire Morocco's blighted Rif region: So little to do – so much time

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (photo: picture-alliance/AP Images/N. Asfouri)

Africa's Muslims

Pawns of the Saudis

Rich Saudis are investing millions in building mosques in Africa. And they are being accused of using radical preachers to destabilise the region. But there has long been much more at stake on the African continent than proselytising. By Gwendolin HilseMore

Islamists in Africa: The ever-present threat Interview with Bakary Sambe: ''In the Arab world, we Africans are viewed as inferior Muslims''Ansar Dine's religious leader Cherif Ousmane Haidara: ''This is not Sharia, but banditry''

Muslims and hipsters in Brussels swap clothes for a photo exhibition (photo: DW)

Preventing Islamism in Belgium

Shaking the terrorist image

Belgium has been fighting religious radicalisation since it became painfully obvious that Islamists were operating in the country. Art and humour have become tools in the battle of prevention. But how is this being received by the general public? Doris Pundy reports from BrusselsMore

Preventing Islamism in Belgium: Robbing the jihadists of their advantage IS attacks in Paris and Brussels: Orchestrating a reign of terror Terrorist attacks in Brussels: A clash of what?

Iraqi soldiers celebrate the re-capture of Mosul (photo: Getty Images/AFP/F. Senna)

Islamic State

Down but not necessarily out

With Mosul and Raqqa retaken, the fate of Islamic State's territorial caliphate is sealed. Yet Loay Mudhoon says that's no reason to give the all clear, as IS is nothing more than a symptom of a crisis of statehoodMore

Violence in the Arab world: Born of a barbaric state Islamic State′s destruction of Mosul: Razed to the ground Battle for Mosul: Operation merciless Cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq: Casualties of war

Topic: Salafis | Salafism

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