News: Europe

News: Europe

Over 60 Germans among Islamists in Idlib An analysis of text and video messages from jihadis in Idlib reveals over 60 Germans among their ranks, German media report. Syrian President Bashar Assad is determined to retake the region.

February 9, 2020   

(Deutsche Welle) More than 60 Germans are fighting in Idlib, the last stronghold of foreign fighters in northwest Syria, according to reports by the German broadcaster SWR on Sunday. SWR reviewed transcripts of instant messages sent by the fighters and determined that the […]

Christians

Muslim Brotherhood should be proscribed as a terrorist organisation, UK Parliament hears British MPs say group is intolerant of other beliefs and drives 'fanaticism'

February 9, 2020   

(National-UAE) A British MP called for the Muslim Brotherhood to be proscribed as a terrorist group as politicians criticised its intolerance towards other faiths, during a parliamentary debate on the persecution of Christians. Ian Paisley of Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party said […]

Academics & Education

German authorities, politicians divided on niqab, burqa ban Politicians across party lines agree that the niqab and the burqa are out of place at schools and universities. Some, however, fear that a ban could hamper integration into German society.

February 8, 2020   

(Deutsche Welle) There are very few women and girls in Germany wearing a full-face veil such as the niqab or the burqa — most likely a mere two-digit number. A recent verdict handed down by a Hamburg court, however, has sparked a […]

Children & Teens

Priti Patel orders officials to explain status of grooming gang review Frustrated home secretary 'being given the run around by officials' on long-awaited probe into gang ethnicity.

February 6, 2020   

(HuffPost) Home secretary Priti Patel has ordered officials to explain what has happened to a long-awaited review into the ethnicity of grooming gangs, HuffPost UK has learnt. A frustrated Patel has been met with “obfuscation” from Home Office officials when asking about […]

Children & Teens

Female genital mutilation feels ‘like living in a dead body’ More than 70,000 women in Germany have undergone female genital mutilation, and a rising number of young girls are considered at risk — even though it's illegal. It's prompted Berlin to set up a national anti-FGM office.

February 6, 2020   

(Deutsche Welle) After Shadia Abdelmoneim’s third child was born, while she was still under anesthetic, her midwife performed female genital mutilation (FGM) on her without her consent. It led to a lengthy period of shock thereafter where she found it difficult to […]