Demonstrations

Germany detains two IS suspects over Swedish attack plan German police have arrested two suspected Islamists for allegedly planning a firearms attack near the Swedish parliament.

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday said two suspected supporters of the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) jihadist militia had been arrested in the central German state of Thuringia. Prosecutors allege that the two Afghan nationals had hatched a plot to carry out an attack […]

Immigration

A new terror threat is emerging in Europe linked to Iran, Gaza war Security services are on edge as the Israel-Hamas conflict galvanizes new actors

(Wall Street Journal) Authorities in Europe say they have foiled several terror plots, some involving suspects posing as refugees, raising alarm about a growing array of threats from extremists. In one previously unreported investigation last December, police in Austria and Bosnia arrested […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Berlin coalition to discuss constitutional protections against Islamophobia The SPD's parliamentary leader Raed Saleh is pushing for laws against Islamophobia to be entered into the state constitution.

(Exberliner) Berlin’s SPD parliamentary leader Raed Saleh is advocating for laws against Islamophobia to be entered into the state constitution, according to a report by Tagesspiegel. Saleh emphasises that this would be in addition to constitutional clauses which advocate against antisemitism. The topic […]

Government & Politics

Germany: ‘DAVA’ party woos voters with Turkish roots Fighting Islamophobia and strengthening 'traditional values' are core issues in the election program with which DAVA reaches out to Muslim migrants in Germany. Is Turkish President Recep Erdogan behind the movement?

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s newly founded “Democratic Alliance for Diversity and Awakening” (DAVA) is currently a voters’ association, but it intends to run as a party in the European elections on June 9. This announcement in January triggered a heated debate in Germany, […]

Legal

European prosecutors adopt harsher sentences towards female ISIS returnees New book shows how different countries are adapting to an increase in female extremists behind bars

(National-UAE) European prosecutors are adopting harsher sentences towards female ISIS returnees as their numbers increase due to government repatriation programmes from prison camps in north-east Syria, a new book published by Dutch counter-terrorism think tank ICCT has found. “Women can be both […]

Academics & Education

Germany trains new generation of Muslim leaders In a groundbreaking move, Germany trains its own Muslim religious leaders, fostering a deeper connection with local communities. Muslim associations across the country are seeing a generational change and reorientation.

(Deutsche Welle) Osman Soyer is a religious affairs officer who was sworn into office this month in the Sehitlik Mosque in Berlin’s Neukölln district. He is one of 28 young men and women who have been trained as “religious representatives” by DITIB, […]

Government & Politics

Israel says it uncovered Hamas terror network planning attacks in Europe Mossad and Shin Bet release details on group’s attempts to attack Jewish and Israeli targets, say slain Hamas leaders in Lebanon helmed the efforts

(Times of Israel) Hamas runs a network of operatives in Europe commanded by terror leaders in Lebanon, Israel said Saturday as its intelligence agencies released new details on the Gaza-based organization’s attempts to attack Israeli and Jewish targets abroad. Most of the […]

Christians

Germany seeks Cologne Cathedral attack suspect’s deportation Authorities are seeking to expel the 25-year-old arrested on suspicion of planning a New Year's Eve attack on the historic cathedral. The Tajik national was arrested along with three others, but they were later released.

(Deutsche Welle) German police said Saturday that they are pressing forward with deportation proceedings for a young man accused of planning a New Year’s Eve terror attack on Cologne Cathedral. The Dortmund District Court had granted a deportation warrant for the 25-year-old […]

Clerics & Preachers

German MP: Taxpayers should fund German mosques to prevent radicalisation Critics agree that foreign funding should be banned, but say German Muslims should fund their own mosques.

(European Conservative) A top Christian Democrat politician wants to amend the constitution if necessary, so that German taxes can be used to pay for mosques.  Jens Spahn — a former minister and deputy leader of the opposition center-right CDU/CSU’s parliamentary group — […]

Law Enforcement

German court upholds ban on PKK symbols, pictures of its ringleader Regional court rules banning public display of images of Abdullah Ocalan, head of PKK terrorist group, is in line with laws, regulations

(Anadolu) Banning images of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed head of the PKK terrorist group, is in line with laws and regulations, a German regional court ruled on Monday. The Higher Administrative Court in North Rhine-Westphalia turned down a complaint filed by a […]

Christians

Cologne Cathedral attack: Austria issues warrant for suspect Austrian authorities want to speak to a man being held in connection with a year-end terrorist plot targeting Cologne Cathedral.

(Deutsche Welle) Austrian authorities have issued a European arrest warrant for a suspect detained in Germany over an alleged plot to attack the historic cathedral in Cologne, German police said on Sunday. On Christmas Eve, a 30-year-old Tajik national was held in the city of Wesel, […]

Christians

Police ramp up security at Cologne Cathedral for New Year’s German authorities are on high alert following a warning about a possible attack on the Cologne Cathedral on New Year's Eve.

(Deutsche Welle) Authorities in the German city of Cologne have increased security measures around its cathedral ahead of New Year’s Eve. Police officers armed with submachine guns were being deployed to protect people planning to ring in the new year near the […]

Demonstrations

Police in Berlin ban pro-Palestinian New Year rally Authorities in Berlin have said the planned pro-Palestinian rally would carry a risk of 'crimes,' including displays of antisemitism and glorification of violence.

(Deutsche Welle) Berlin police announced on Saturday that a pro-Palestinian rally scheduled for New Year’s Eve in Berlin’s Neukölln district should not take place. Officials said the decision had been taken because of an imminent danger “that the gathering will result in […]

Christians

Warning of ‘increased risk’ of ISIS terror attacks across Europe on New Year’s Eve Experts say terror group remains a 'serious threat' as arrests made in Spain, Austria, France and Germany

(National-UAE) Security services across Europe have uncovered an ISIS plot to use explosives to target churches. Counter-terrorism experts say the group remains a “serious threat” and is taking advantage of the conflict in Gaza to motivate its supporters. Over the Christmas period, […]

Christians

Germany: Man detained over Cologne Cathedral threat Police said a 30-year-old man would be detained until 7 January. German police had received an alert that a group may be planning an attack on the Cologne Cathedral on New Year's Eve.

(Deutsche Welle) German police said on Tuesday they had detained a man in connection with a dangerous threat at the iconic Cologne Cathedral in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Police announced the arrest of five men after searching an apartment in Wesel, some […]

Legal

Germany charges 2 Syrians with war crimes over IS ties Authorities accuse the two Syrians in German custody of membership in a terrorist group and having committed war crimes in Damascus a decade ago.

(Deutsche Welle) German prosecutors have charged two Syrian men with war crimes they are accused of having committed some 10 years ago in the Syrian capital Damascus, as part of the so-called Islamic State militant group. In line with German privacy rules, the […]

Crime

Germany braces for potential New Year’s Eve riots Police have stepped up preparations to deal with violence against them and emergency service staff on New Year's Eve. There are worries that the situation in the Middle East could worsen the problem.

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she fears a repeat of New Year rioting and attacks on emergency services in Berlin and other cities. “I’m worried that New Year’s Eve could once again be a day on which we are forced […]

Law Enforcement

German police raid pro-Palestinian feminist group The raids were part of a probe into allegations that members of the group Zora were using emblems of the PFLP, which Israel, the EU and the US have designated a terrorist organization.

(Deutsche Welle) Police in Berlin, Germany’s capital, conducted on Wednesday a raid targeting members of a pro-Palestinian, left-wing feminist group, German media reported. The Zora group is accused of backing the radical, left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The European […]

Immigration

Germany deports Iraqi over ‘terror’ suspicion The 20-year-old was suspected of planning a 'terrorist attack' targeting a Christmas market in eastern Germany. He has been permanently banned from reentering the country.

(Deutsche Welle) A 20-year-old Iraqi has been deported back to his home country after German authorities suspected he was planning a “terrorist attack,” Germany’s Interior Ministry announced on Saturday. The Interior Ministry of the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt accused the unnamed man of […]

Government & Politics

Germany’s CDU redefines stance on Islam in new manifesto Under Friedrich Merz, Germany's Christian Democratic Union is revising its manifesto, sparking controversy with its new stance on Islam and migration. The party's new direction marks a departure from the Merkel era.

(Deutsche Welle) The new color scheme a few months back was only a cosmetic step. Now, Germany’s center-right Christian Democrats are going under the hood. For the first time since 2007, the party that ruled Germany for most of the republic’s young […]

Citizenship

Germany: CDU fears Islamist bloc as millions of Turkish migrants to be granted voting rights Progressive plans to naturalise millions of migrants, many of them Turkish, [are] unsettling German conservatives as Turkey continues its collision course with the West.

(European Conservative) New German citizenship laws that expand voting rights to up to 2.5 million recent migrants are unnerving even the usually complacent CDU, with one conservative lawmaker airing fears that the new arrangement could enable a potential Islamist bloc to attain […]

Interfaith

Germany on guard against terrorism Against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war and one-off attacks closer to home, German authorities are confronting a 'complex threat situation.' Some observers warn against exaggerating the danger.

(Deutsche Welle) A handful of isolated but high-profile incidents have put politically motivated crime high on Germany’s security agenda. The renewed fears follow a German tourist getting stabbed to death in Paris last weekend, allegedly by a man with a history of criminal […]