Radicalisation
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Islamism in the Paris aftermath
The "Allah Generation": figment of the collective imagination
Many people fear that young refugees from Iraq or Syria are being recruited by Salafists in Western Europe. But the facts show that these fears are unfounded. By Michael Kiefer
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Paris aftermath
Jihadists drive the wedge deeper
The latest attacks by IS are an attempt to exploit societal rifts at the heart of Europe. Without a concerted effort to address deep-seated and justified concerns relating to domestic social and economic policy, France′s retaliatory strikes are likely to achieve little. By James Dorsey
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Cuspert the IS terrorist
Mortal dreams of paradise
In 2004, Denis Cuspert was still the Berlin rapper "Deso Dogg". Radicalised by the Salafist scene in Germany, he then joined IS, fighting for three years under the name Abu Talha al-Almani. Now reports are circulating claiming Cuspert has been killed. By Katja Riedel
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Book review: "The Kindness of Enemies" by Leila Aboulela
Crises of identity and loyalty from Scotland to the Caucasus
In her engrossing fourth novel, "The Kindness of Enemies", the Sudanese-British writer Leila Aboulela tackles themes of identity, jihad and Sufism. She does so through two parallel narratives, one set in contemporary Scotland and Sudan, the other in nineteenth-century Imperial Russia and the Caucasus. By Susannah Tarbush
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The IS manifesto for women
Baiting the jihadi brides
It is not only men who are joining the ranks of "Islamic State", women are too. Many are being encouraged to do so by the manifesto of the IS women's brigade al-Khansaa, which has been translated into English and German. Primarily aimed at Muslim women with limited education, the IS ideal is not very far removed from role models that prevailed in conservative social strata in the West until well into the twentieth century. By Stefan Weidner
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Fighting extremism through the medium of comics
"We needed to do more than just attend candlelight vigils"
"Paasban" (The Guardian) is a series of Pakistani comic books that seeks to fight extremism by raising awareness among young people. The books tell the story of a group of college friends who become worried when one of their number disappears. They later find out that he was recruited by an extremist organisation. Mustafa Hasnain, Gauhar Aftab and Yahya Ehsan came together to create "Paasban". Roma Rajpal Weiß spoke to Hasnain and Aftab about the series and the inspiration behind it
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Preventing terrorism in Lebanon
Dialogue behind bars
The world is horrified by the brutality of Islamic State (IS). Two young sisters are now doing what they can to prevent young Lebanese people from joining radical Islamist groups. By doing so, they are risking their lives. Juliane Metzker reports from Beirut
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Interview with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, grand imam of al-Azhar University
"What the Islamist armed movements are doing is wrong"
Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb is grand imam of al-Azhar University in Cairo, one of the highest religious instances in Sunni Islam. In an interview with Khalid El Kaoutit, he explains how the jihadists of Islamic State (IS) are abusing Islamic doctrine for their own purposes
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The image policy of IS
Terror in the spotlight
In this essay, Felix Koltermann takes a closer look at the image policy of IS and how media and politicians around the world have reacted to it. He argues that in spite of the horror of the images being disseminated by IS, it is important not to fall into the rhetoric of a war of images, because the goal of such a rhetoric is to take pictorial acts as a justification for military action
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Recruitment strategies used by Islamic State
A mutation of religion
The crude promises of salvation and ideological constructs propagated by IS, and the apocalyptic fantasies it is spreading via films and magazines on the Internet make the terrorist militia attractive to radical forces not only in the Arab world but in Europe too. By Michael Kiefer
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Raising awareness about Salafism in German schools
Symbolic acts alone are not enough
What is the appropriate way to inform young Muslims in schools about the dangers of Salafism? In co-operation with the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, the association ufuq.de provides teaching materials on Islam, Islamophobia, Islamism and democracy. Gotz Nordbruch provides a personal account of preventive work in this field
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Interview with the Islam scholar Lamya Kaddor
Jihad as a form of youth protest
In her new book "Zum Töten bereit. Warum deutsche Jugendliche in den Dschihad ziehen" (Willing to kill. Why German youths are joining the jihad), religious education teacher and scholar of Islam Lamya Kaddor asks why some young Germans are attracted to the jihadi cause. Claudia Mende spoke to her about the radicalisation of young Germans