Government & Politics

Germany outlaws Islamist organization Ansaar International Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has banned the Düsseldorf-based Islamist association on suspicion of financing terrorist groups abroad such as the Palestinian Hamas and al-Shabab in Somalia.

(Deutsche Welle) Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced on Wednesday that Germany has banned the Islamist organization Ansaar International and several of its sub-organizations. “The network finances terrorism worldwide with donations,” Seehofer’s spokesman Steve Alter tweeted on Wednesday. Alter quoted Seehofer as saying: “If you want to […]

Demographics

Muslims in Germany: Religion not a good gauge of integration A study shows that the number of Muslims in Germany has significantly risen compared to 2015 and many still face challenges in employment and education. But religion may only be a minor cause of these challenges.

(Deutsche Welle) “Wir schaffen das” — “We can do it.” Those were the now-famous words that German Chancellor Angela Merkel used in 2015 to indicate that Germany was prepared and able to take in a large number of refugees — ultimately around […]

Government & Politics

Germany: Conservatives seek to isolate Islamist groups Germany's governing conservative bloc is planning to cut all government ties with groups suspected of supporting political Islamism, according to a report in Die Welt. Large Muslim umbrella organizations may be affected.

(Deutsche Welle) The parliamentary group of Germany’s ruling conservative bloc has called for an end to cooperation with groups suspected of supporting political Islamism, the newspaper Die Welt reported on Tuesday. The bloc, made up of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and […]

Government & Politics

Turkey: 2,764 foreign terrorists deported since 2019 66 French, 57 German, 22 Dutch, 14 Swedish and 7 Swiss nationals among those deported back to countries of origin

(Anadolu) Turkey has deported a total of 2,764 foreign [terrorist] fighters (FTFs) of 67 different nationalities since 2019, the country’s Interior Ministry announced on Sunday. In a statement, the ministry said the FTFs had left their home countries to join ranks of […]

Legal

Syrian pair appear in German court over filmed ‘execution’ Two suspected war criminals from Syria have appeared in court in the German city of Düsseldorf. They are accused of taking part in and filming the 'execution' of a Syrian regime soldier for propaganda purposes.

(Deutsche Welle) Two men appeared at a higher regional court in Düsseldorf on Thursday charged with committing a war crime and the membership and support of a terror organization. The pair are suspected of having taken part in the execution of a […]

Clothing

EU companies can ban workers from wearing headscarves, magistrate says The court adviser found that small-scale religious displays can be allowed at work, but it’s up to national courts to determine what falls in that category.

(Courthouse News) In a consolidated case involving a drug store clerk and a day care center employee, a magistrate for the European Union’s high court held that employers can ban Islamic headscarves on neutrality grounds. In a nonbinding legal opinion for the […]

Law Enforcement

Berlin: Salafist group outlawed after police raids Authorities in the German capital have announced a ban on the radical Islamist group Jama'atu Berlin following a series of dawn raids.

(Deutsche Welle) Berlin’s Senate has announced on Twitter that it has banned the “jihadist-Salafist association Jama’atu Berlin,” also known as Tauhid Berlin. The tweet Thursday said police in Berlin and Brandenburg had carried out early-morning searches of properties belonging to the group’s members. A […]

Clerics & Preachers

Abu Walaa, the preacher guilty of supporting ‘Islamic State’ terrorism The trial of suspected 'Islamic State' recruiter Abu Walaa has lasted three and a half years in the German city of Celle. He was sentenced to over 10 years in prison.

(Deutsche Welle) Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 11 1/2 years for Ahmad Abdulaziz Abdullah A., also known as Abu Walaa. They said the defendant, who was born in Iraq, was the head of an “Islamic State” (IS) network and worked to […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

At least 1 in 4 Europeans have negative feelings towards Muslims Anti-Muslim sentiment was highest in Hungary, a survey of eight European countries commissioned by anti-extremism groups showed, despite Muslims making up just 0.4 per cent of Hungary’s population.

(Vice) Negative views of Muslims and immigrants are widely held across Europe, according to a major survey across eight European countries. The survey of 12,000 people from Sweden, France, Germany, UK, Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands and Italy found a widespread mistrust of […]

Immigration

Germany: Syrian man charged in Dresden knife attack German prosecutors say the 20-year-old Syrian asylum-seeker was motivated by homophobia when he murdered a tourist and seriously injured his partner.

(Deutsche Welle) German federal prosecutors charged a Syrian national suspected of stabbing two men last year in the eastern city of Dresden, German media outlets reported Thursday. The 20-year-old suspect is said to have been motivated by a radical Islamist ideology, and […]

Legal

Tajik IS cell member in Germany jailed for 7 years The man had been accused of forming an 'Islamic State' cell with other locals of Tajik origins. They had first planned to shoot dead an Islam critic inside Germany.

(Deutsche Welle) A German court on Tuesday sentenced a man to seven years in prison over plans to … shoot dead a critic of Islam as part of an “Islamic State” (IS) terror cell. Summing up the four-month trial, a Düsseldorf court […]

Crime

German police busts suspected refugee smuggling ring Over a dozen suspects were linked to an operation to smuggle Syrians through the so-called Balkan route since 2019. Coordinated raids early on Tuesday involved hundreds of officers across several cities and states.

(Deutsche Welle) German authorities launched coordinated raids nationwide targeting a human trafficking ring early on Tuesday, arresting suspects in Berlin, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, federal police said in a statement. Around 400 officers mobilized in total. The raids stem from […]

Children & Teens

Germany brings home ‘Islamic State’ brides, children from Syrian camps Humanitarian reasons have been cited for flying home several 'IS' brides and children from internment in Syria. At the height of the civil war, the women allegedly traveled to join the Islamist militia.

(Deutsche Welle) German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Sunday said he was “relieved” that a “humanitarian” recovery operation had brought home 18 children and five “Islamic State” (IS) brides from Kurdish-run internment camps in northeastern Syria. One of three German women brought back, identified in reports as […]

News: Europe

Berlin remembers victims of Christmas market terror attack Mourners have gathered in the German capital to pay respects to those who died in the 2016 terrorist attack. This year's ceremony took place in the absence of Christmas markets.

(Deutsche Welle) Over 100 people gathered in Berlin on Saturday to mourn and remember the 12 victims of the 2016 Islamist attack on a Christmas market in the German capital. At 8:02 p.m. — the exact time of the attack — church […]

News: Europe

Berlin Islamist terror attack: A deadly story of failure Anis Amri committed the worst Islamist attack in Germany to date when he drove into the Christmas market on Breitscheidplatz. Four years later many questions are unanswered. And many fear such an event could be repeated.

(Deutsche Welle) Eleven people died and 60 were seriously injured when the Islamist Anis Amri drove a stolen truck into a Christmas market in central Berlin on December 19, 2016. The 24-year-old Tunisian national whose application for asylum had been rejected had […]

Law Enforcement

Germany: Anti-terror data mining ruled unconstitutional Powers granted in 2015 that gave systematic access to an anti-terror database are partially illegal and are now void, says Germany's Constitutional Court.

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s highest court ruled Friday that a law that gave systematic access by security agencies to a centralized anti-terror database is partially illegal. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe said that the widespread use of the stored personal data had […]

Immigration

Vienna: Iraqi jailed for life over attacks on German ICE trains An Iraqi accused of trying to derail three German high-speed passenger trains in 2018 has been handed a life sentence by a court in Vienna. The jury ultimately rejected his denial of being an 'Islamic State' supporter.

(Deutsche Welle) Vienna’s regional court on Thursday sentenced a 44-year-old Iraqi to life in prison for attempting to derail high-speed passenger trains in Germany. The man had been living in the Austrian capital as a refugee with his wife and four children since 2013. The […]

Crime

German minister wants ‘criminals’ expelled to Syria, despite asylum safeguards Interior Minister Horst Seehofer wants Germany's general ban on deportations to war-torn Syria weakened to return persons deemed criminal or dangerous. Rights groups accuse him of pandering to the far right.

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s current general deportation stop to Syria should not be extended, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Friday, urging that individual case-by-case decisions be made “at least for criminals and those considered a threat.” In 2012, Germany passed a ban on […]

Government & Politics

124 ‘high-risk’ Islamists at large in Germany: report More than 120 Islamists in Germany pose a 'high risk,' according to the country's investigative police agency. A deadly attack in Dresden last month forced authorities to increase surveillance of dangerous Islamists.

(Deutsche Welle) In response to a parliamentary question by the Green Party, Germany’s BKA Federal Criminal Police Office revealed there are currently 124 “high risk” Islamists at large in the country. The agency also listed 151 people as posing a “moderate risk.” The BKA’s […]