Internet

German Hezbollah mosque declares it is proud of terrorism and pro-Khamenei According to the intelligence document reviewed by the Post, the number of Hezbollah members climbed from 105 in 2017 to 110 in 2018 in North Rhine-Westphalia.

(Jerusalem Post) The Hezbollah mosque in the German city of Münster posted a shocking video in December on its Facebook page, announcing it was proud of terrorism and its allegiance to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The Washington-based […]

Government & Politics

German federal criminal police investigate Hamas Twitter due to propaganda 'The accounts of Hamas must disappear from Twitter! Twitter supports a terrorist organization by providing infrastructure,' said Volker Beck.

(Jerusalem Post) German Green Party politician Volker Beck filed a formal police complaint, seeking to remove the jihadist terror organization Hamas from the micro-blogging site Twitter. “The accounts of the Hamas must disappear from Twitter! Twitter supports a terrorist organization by providing […]

Government & Politics

German state fights Islamist extremism with YouTube satire The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia is betting on wit and humor as an antidote to Islamist extremism. Extremists use YouTube to target young people, but NRW wants to fight fire with fire.

(Deutsche Welle) The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia has launched a satirical YouTube channel in the hope of stopping young people from becoming radicalized via the video sharing platform. The project launched by the NRW Office for the Protection of the Constitution […]

Legal

Germany: Syrian man who posed with severed head charged with war crimes The 33-year-old claims he did not kill and then desecrate the body of an opposing fighter. The suspect is already in prison for lesser crimes.

(Deutsche Welle) A 33-year-old Syrian man was charged in the western Germany city of Koblenz on Friday with committing war crimes. Authorities say they … have concrete evidence that the man fought with the “Islamic State” (IS) terror group for two years, […]

Crime

Chechen refugee in Germany fined after sharing DW article on Islamic State A court in Augsburg has fined a refugee from the Chechen Republic after he shared a DW article on his Facebook page. According to the ruling, he propagated the insignia of the Islamic State group.

(Deutsche Welle) When Mokhmad Abdurakhmanov, a Chechen refugee living in the Bavarian city of Augsburg, shared a DW article on his Facebook page last year, he never imagined he’d end up in legal trouble. But this week a court in Augsburg fined […]

Crime

Chemnitz: Syrian asylum-seeker convicted of killing that sparked far-right riots Alaa S. has been sentenced to nine years and six months for the killing of Daniel H. Chemnitz has done a lot to try and alter its image since the death.

(Deutsche Welle) The man accused of the killing that led to a week of far-right violence last year in Chemnitz was found guilty of manslaughter at a court in Dresden on Thursday, and sentenced to nine and a half years in prison. […]

Children & Teens

Syrian Kurds hand over four ‘Islamic State’ children to Germany Kurdish authorities in Syria have handed over four children to Germany who had parents that were 'Islamic State' fighters. Many EU countries are grappling with how to handle returning foreign fighters and their families.

(Deutsche Welle) The Kurdish-led autonomous administration in northeastern Syria on Monday handed to Germany four children whose parents were part of the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) terror outfit, Kurdish sources and a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry said on Monday. There […]

Government & Politics

Germany’s Seehofer warns refugees who take Syria vacations Refugees who return to Syria for holidays might lose their refugee status in Germany, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told the Bild newspaper. Some newcomers simultaneously claim to be fleeing persecution there.

(Deutsche Welle) German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced a tough response to Syrian refugees who leave Germany for holidays in their home country. “If somebody, a Syrian refugee, regularly takes holidays in Syria, he cannot honestly claim to be persecuted in Syria,” Seehofer told […]

Clothing

German conservatives renew calls for a burqa ban The deputy leader of the conservative Christian Democrats has joined other CDU members in calling for a burqa ban in Germany. The calls come after the Netherlands imposed its own ban on face-covering clothing.

(Deutsche Welle) As the neighboring Netherlands begins policing the wearing of burqas, Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) are calling for a burqa ban of Germany’s own. Julia Klöckner, who leads the provincial Rhineland-Palatinate branch of the party and is the No. 2 […]

Government & Politics

Are deportations from Germany on the rise? German's amended laws on migration and asylum will soon come into force. This includes legislation to facilitate deportations. But what is going to change? Answers to the most important questions.

(Deutsche Welle) How many people is Germany currently deporting? According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior’s figures for last year, 23,617 rejected asylum-seekers were deported in 2018. This sounds like a lot. But in the same period, about 31,000 deportations failed […]

Children & Teens

German daycares under police protection after plans to stop serving pork Two Leipzig daycare centers reversed moves to remove pork from the menu after the plans sparked a nationwide debate. The heated responses prompted police to park patrol cars outside to protect against 'possible dangers.'

(Deutsche Welle) Plans to no longer serve children pork or gelatin-containing products like gummy bears at two daycare centers in the eastern German city of Leipzig prompted a wave of criticism online and made headlines across the country on Tuesday. The mass-circulation […]

Law Enforcement

German police raid suspected Islamists’ homes The raids in the western cities of Düren and Cologne came after credible tipoffs were received by police. Six men have been taken in for questioning, according to German media.

(Deutsche Welle) Police in Germany’s western state of North Rhine-Westphalia carried out raids against suspected Islamist extremists on Thursday. Officers were searching for “concrete indications” of a planned attack, authorities said. Sniffer dogs were present as the police searched for explosives, but […]

News: Europe

Germans support democracy, but are concerned about Islam A study by the Bertelsmann Foundation found 89% of respondents, across all religions, consider democracy to be a good form of government. But half of respondents expressed concern over Islam.

(Deutsche Welle) The latest edition of the Bertelsmann Foundation’s bi-annual “Religion Monitor” interview survey published on Thursday found religious tolerance in Germany to be sustained but Islam to be having a hard time, perceived by many to be negative. As a result […]

Books

Germany’s center-left SPD ousts anti-Islam writer Thilo Sarrazin, 74, has said he will appeal the decision, and denies claims that his books are racist. SPD leadership has welcomed the decision, as they have tried three times to oust Sarrazin.

(Deutsche Welle) On its third try, Germany’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD) will be able to kick controversial anti-Islam author Thilo Sarrazin from its ranks, an arbitration court ruled on Thursday. The former Berlin senator intends to appeal the ruling. “We will try […]

Legal

German ‘Islamic State’ bride jailed for 5 years Sabine S. traveled to Syria and Iraq to marry an Islamic State (IS) fighter and praised jihadi life in several blogs. She left her two children in Berlin after becoming radicalized.

(Deutsche Welle) A 32-year-old German woman on Friday was sentenced to five years in prison for being a member of the “Islamic State” (IS) terrorist organization. Sabine S. converted to Islam and moved to Syria and Iraq from the end of 2013 […]

Children & Teens

German IS trial: Mother of tortured girl questioned in Munich A woman thought to be the mother of a Yazidi girl left to die of thirst, allegedly by an Islamic State couple, has been questioned in a Munich court. A German national is on trial for the enslaved girl's death.

(Deutsche Welle) Nora T. is believed to have witnessed the agonizing death of her 5-year-old Yazidi daughter while they were both kept as slaves by a couple affiliated with “Islamic State” in Iraq in 2015. German national Jennifer W. is on trial in Munich […]

Government & Politics

Germany loses track of 160 ‘Islamic State’ supporters About 1,000 Germans traveled to the Middle East to join the 'Islamic State' after 2013. A third of them have since returned to Germany. Some died on the battlefield, others are in prison, but many appear to be missing.

(Deutsche Welle) The German government has lost track of more than 160 German “Islamic State” (IS) supporters who traveled to Syria and Iraq to join the terror group, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper has reported. The figure from the Interior Ministry was […]

Government & Politics

Give Matteo Salvini the Nobel Peace Prize, says far-right German AfD’s Beatrix von Storch thinks the Italian interior minister has made a ‘great contribution to the security and stability of Europe.’

(Politico) German MP Beatrix von Storch reckons Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini should be given the Nobel Peace Prize for his “great contribution to the security and stability of Europe.” “I propose Matteo Salvini for the Nobel Peace Prize because he […]

Academics & Education

Germany’s imam quandary: Educate, don’t import Ending foreign influence on Muslim religious leaders' education is a long-term goal for the German government. A new study might lead the way for training local imams, if all parties involved are willing to participate.

(Deutsche Welle) A new report published Tuesday proposes a concrete solution to Germany’s ongoing dilemma about how to educate Islamic religious leaders. The goal is to create a seminar that would offer graduates of Islamic theology institutes in Germany the possibility to […]