Legal
Women who tried to leave Islamic State faced severe punishment, Lisa Smith trial told (LINK ONLY)
Eye on Islamism is no longer printing excerpts from articles published by certain news sources. To read the original article, click here.
Salafism
Legal
Epic Paris terror trial reaches half-way stage with more questions than answers
(Radio France) Despite the ravages provoked by Covid-19, which have already led to three weeks of suspensions, the Paris terror trial has reached the end of its second major stage: the examination of the activities and religious attitudes of the accused up […]
Government & Politics
Germany home to 1,950 potentially violent Islamist extremists Interior Ministry releases data on those known or willing to be violent
(National-UAE) The German government has revealed there are about 1,950 potentially violent Islamist extremists in the country. These people were assessed by the Interior Ministry as both extreme in their beliefs and either known to be violent or showing a willingness to […]
Law Enforcement
Potential new ‘Sharia4Belgium’: 13 arrests in terror case involving jihadist propaganda
(Brussels Times) Thirteen suspected members of a terrorist group were arrested in a major police operation in Antwerp on Tuesday morning. The suspects were alleged to have distributed jihadist propaganda, De Standaard reports. Nearly 100 investigators of the federal judicial police raided […]
Legal
A good man surrounded by ‘barbarians, mentally ill psychopaths’
(Radio France) Abdellah Chouaa is suspected of having helped with the preparation of the November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks which cost 131 people their lives. He risks 20 years in prison if convicted. On Friday he gave evidence about himself, and about […]
Clerics & Preachers
Macron’s government seeks to reshape Islam in France
(AP) The French government on Saturday introduced a new body to reshape Islam in France, part of President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to rid it of extremism. The Forum of Islam in France leadership will be made up of clergy and lay people […]
Legal
Second Swiss man cleared of involvement in Vienna attack
(Swiss Info) Federal prosecutors have now cleared both Swiss nationals suspected of supporting the November 2020 terror attack which killed four people in Vienna. The pair were arrested in November 2020 on suspicion of having made a “causal contribution to support or […]
Clerics & Preachers
Deportation of ‘hate preacher’ blocked by Council for Immigration Disputes
(Brussels Times) The deportation of a Moroccan national accused of spreading hate propaganda and being a “threat to Belgian society” is being blocked by the Council for Immigration Disputes. Analysis from OCAD (the Belgian intelligence body) and State Security describe Abdallah Ouahbour […]
Legal
Second man accused of complicity in Paris attacks invokes right to silence
(Radio France) A second of the 14 men accused of complicity in the November 2015 terrorist attacks has told the special criminal court that he will no longer make statements or answer questions. “I have already been condemned for something I did […]
Government & Politics
Gov’t overhaul of Muslim representation in France to move ahead in 2022
(CNS) With effect from January, the French government will deal with Muslims through a new, government-created body, with the aim of promoting Islam not related to foreign governments or radical Islamists. The new entity, the National Council of Imams (CNI), will replace […]
Legal
A grim warning, as Paris court hears testimony on the making of a terrorist
(Radio France) In the final week of hearings before the winter break, the special criminal court in Paris heard from the relatives of some of the dead terrorists involved in the November 2015 attacks. A senior police investigator, meanwhile, warned that similar […]
Converting to Islam
Dead, imprisoned, disgraced: A family destroyed by an ideology of hate
(Radio France) This has been the week of the Clain family at the Paris attacks trial. On Tuesday, a police witness described the careers of Fabien and Jean-Michel Clain, directors of the IS propaganda effort, both presumed dead in Syria. On Wednesday, […]
Law Enforcement
German police foil terror plot in Hamburg A man with Islamist connections was arrested before he was able to carry out a planned attack. Police found material that could have been used in a potentially deadly bomb.
(Deutsche Welle) German police revealed on Friday that they prevented a planned Islamist attack in the northern city of Hamburg over the summer. Andy Grote, top security official for the city, which like the cities of Berlin and Bremen is a state […]
Law Enforcement
The flimsy case against a man caught in a web of contradictions
(Radio France) If there is no doubt about the central part played in the November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks by Oussama Atar, the role of his brother, Yassine, remains much less clear. On Friday, a Belgian police officer presented as much evidence […]
Law Enforcement
Alleged ISIS terrorist captured in Venice
(Euro Weekly) A 25-year-old Tunisian man, believed to be a member of an ISIS terrorist [cell], has been captured and arrested by the police in Venice, Italy, within the last hour (December 2). The man has been on the run and had […]
Citizenship
Missing IS terrorist sentenced to life in prison, loses Belgian nationality
(Brussels Times) Islamic State (IS) terrorist and former head of Islamic radical group Sharia4Belgium, Hicham Chaib, was sentenced to life in prison in absentia and has been stripped of his Belgian nationality. After one hour of deliberation by the Antwerp Assize Court — […]
Academics & Education
Pupil yells ‘Allahu Akbar’ during tribute to French teacher killed by jihadist
(Breitbart) An 11-year-old pupil yelled “Allahu Akbar” during a school tribute to murdered teacher Samuel Paty, while the child’s father was later arrested for threatening to burn the school down. The initial incident took place on Friday at the Jean-Zay middle school in […]
Clerics & Preachers
Ex-Islamic radical says extremists are present in every Swedish mosque
(Breitbart) A former radical Islamic Salafist preacher says that radicalism is present in every Swedish mosque and that Salafism is becoming more and more popular with younger people. Anas Khalifa, who had been a radical Salafist preacher for around 20 years, was […]
Law Enforcement
9/11: 20 years on, Germany still grapples with militant Islamists On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the Taliban flag is flying over Kabul again. A German police expert fears that Afghanistan could once again become a gathering place for jihadis — including from Germany.
(Deutsche Welle) Sven Kurenbach still remembers the images of the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsing and the spontaneous minute of silence at the Berlin police department that followed. When Islamist terrorists weaponized passenger planes on September 11, 2001 — killing […]
Government & Politics
Berlin Christmas market attack made possible by ‘serious’ errors, report finds Bureaucratic failures and critical misjudgment of the attacker's behavior made the 2016 terrorist attack possible, a Berlin parliament committee report concluded.
(Deutsche Welle) A special committee of the Berlin state parliament released its comprehensive report into the December 2016 Christmas market terror attack on Monday. The attack at the Breitscheidplatz market was the most serious act of Islamist terrorism in Germany to date. The attacker, Anis […]
Legal
Six years in prison for ISIS recruitment, propaganda over Telegram
(NL Times) The court in The Hague sentenced a 32-year-old woman from Uithoorn to six years in prison and compulsory psychological treatment for terrorism and war crimes. The woman was accused of being a follower of violent Salafist ideology and is said […]
Legal
Egyptian ‘enigma’ goes on trial for Louvre machete attack
(AFP) The trial of an Egyptian who attacked soldiers at the Louvre museum with machetes, shouting “Allah u Akbar” (God is greatest), opened Monday with a description of his “atypical” and enigmatic profile. Abdalla El Hamahmi, aged 33, is charged with “attempted […]
Government & Politics
Extremist mosque repeatedly ignores French govt orders to close
(Breitbart) An extremist Salafist mosque in the city of Marseille has been ordered to close several times over the last five years by French authorities but continues to refuse to obey the orders. The mosque, located in the Consolat area of northern […]
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 […]
Minority Sects
Shunned by their Muslim brothers, but Ahmadis still feel it’s ‘a blessing’ to be living in NZ
(NZ Herald) Azeem Zafarullah claims to be a “proud Kiwi Muslim,” but when he makes an Islamic greeting, other Muslims would shun him rather than return the greeting. The problem for Azeem, 32, is that he is an Ahmadi, a minority sect […]
Immigration
Dutch court hands 6-year prison term to former Syrian Ahrar al-Sham commander 31-year-old ‘Al Y’ was accused of war crimes after posing with the body of an enemy fighter and kicking another corpse in a YouTube video.
(Kurdistan 24) A former commander of the Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sham Islamist group has been sentenced to six years in prison in the Netherlands for war crimes and membership in a terrorist organization. The Dutch Public Prosecution earlier demanded a 10-year sentence, but […]
Government & Politics
Jihadists, Salafism, extreme right identified as top Dutch terrorist threats
(NL Times) The National Counterterrorism Coordinator (NCTV) warned that radicalized groups of jihadists, Salafist Muslims and members of the extreme right pose the greatest threat to national security. There is currently no concrete evidence that an attack is being planned, the NCTV […]
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 […]
Government & Politics
Influence of Erdogan’s rhetoric in NL under investigation
(NL Times) Dutch counterterrorism authority NCTV confirmed it is investigating how the politics and rhetoric of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could impact the Netherlands, domestic security concerns, and the Dutch-Turkish community. On Monday, newspaper HP/De Tijd reported that a confidential NCTV […]
Academics & Education
Teacher who warned of the threat of radical Islam is placed under police protection in France after receiving death threats (LINK ONLY)
Eye on Islamism is no longer printing excerpts from articles published by certain news sources. To read the original article, click here.
Government & Politics
Jewish baker iced out of Dutch Muslim political party — over her X-rated cakes
(JTA) Putting a small-town Jewish baker on the ticket was supposed to change the public image of the Netherlands’ Party of Unity — but not like this. Run by Islamic fundamentalists, the tiny party has had little impact at the ballot box since […]
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 […]
Clerics & Preachers
Muslim leaders at odds over Macron curbs (LINK ONLY)
Eye on Islamism is no longer printing excerpts from articles published by certain news sources. To read the original article, click here.
Government & Politics
Macron gave French Muslims two weeks to renounce political Islam, but little progress made six weeks on
(Breitbart) Muslim groups were given two weeks to sign on to a “Republican values charter” by French President Macron after a series of terror attacks, but six weeks later the groups have yet to agree on and finalise a signed document. The […]
Discrimination & “Islamophobia”
New French law may increase discrimination France's government is presenting a draft law to combat 'radical Islamism.' Critics say the measures are inefficient and will further stigmatize Muslims.
(Deutsche Welle) Irfan Thakar and Omar Ahamad feel misunderstood as Muslims in France. They are members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Saint-Prix, a northern suburb of Paris. As the imam, the 30-year-old Thakar regularly leads the prayer at the Moubarak mosque, […]
Government & Politics
Government refuses recognition for Great Mosque
(Brussels Times) Federal justice minister Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD) has declined to grant a new recognition to the Great Mosque in the Cinquantenaire park in Brussels, unless there is a change of management. The Great Mosque had its recognition as a […]
Clerics & Preachers
France Islam: Muslims under pressure to sign French values charter
(BBC) France’s Muslim Council is due to meet President Emmanuel Macron this week, to confirm the text of a new “charter of republican values” for imams in the country to sign. The Council (CFCM), which represents nine separate Muslim associations, has reportedly […]
Government & Politics
French mosque linked to teacher’s beheading ordered to remain closed
(Radio France) France’s top administrative court has confirmed the six-month closure of the Grand Mosque of Pantin after it published a video denouncing history teacher Samuel Paty for showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, which [led] to his decapitation in a street […]
Government & Politics
FvD wants to install wiretapping equipment in Salafist mosques
(NL Times) Forum for Democracy, a conservative political party, wants to install wiretapping equipment in Salafist mosques if there is a suspicion of criminal offenses. That is what FvD Member of Parliament Theo Hiddema said in the television program WNL on Sunday. […]
News: Europe
Islamist terrorism: Germany is home to more than 600 agitators Islamist terrorism has struck again in Europe — this time in Vienna and Nice. Germany has also been the scene of numerous attacks, and the security forces keep tabs on hundreds of potential attackers.
(Deutsche Welle) At least one of the assailants in the Vienna attack was known to police. The 20-year-old, shot dead on Monday evening, had made several attempts to leave the country and join the so-called Islamic State (IS). It would appear, however, that […]
Discrimination & “Islamophobia”
French Muslims, stigmatized by attacks, feel under pressure
(AP) The pressure rises with each gruesome attack. After three in five weeks, France’s Muslims are feeling squeezed. A spotlight of suspicion was trained on them again even before the latest acts of extremist violence, including two beheadings. President Emmanuel Macron has […]
Academics & Education
French court upholds closure of mosque near Paris in crackdown following teacher’s killing
(Radio France) An administrative court has validated the Interior Ministry’s decision to close the Grand Mosque of Pantin near Paris for a period of six months after it was found to have shared a video criticising a French history teacher which led […]
Citizenship
Man denied German citizenship for refusing to shake woman’s hand The man aced the German naturalization test, but refused to shake hands with the female official handing over his citizenship. Despite claims he will not shake hands with men either, his citizenship has been rejected.
(Deutsche Welle) A German court ruled on Friday that a Muslim man who refused to shake the hand of a woman should not receive German citizenship. The 40-year-old Lebanese doctor, who came to Germany in 2002, said he refuses to shake women’s […]
Books
Germany: Top police informant identified by Islamist and convicted terrorist The undercover agent 'Murat Cem' is reported to be under police protection after a well-known Islamist identified him. Clues to the informant's real name were apparently found in a book about his surveillance work.
(Deutsche Welle) After the identity of a high-profile police informant was blown this summer, a radical Islamist and convicted terrorist has claimed responsibility for unmasking him, German public broadcaster Tagesschau reported on Friday. Bernhard Falk said he worked out the real name […]
Legal
‘Emir of Winterthur’ convicted in Swiss jihadist trial
(Reuters) A man dubbed the “Emir of Winterthur” by Swiss media, described by prosecutors as a leading figure among Islamist militants in Switzerland, was sentenced to 50 months in prison on Friday for supporting and recruiting for Islamic State. Prosecutors said the […]
Internet
How the Toronto-registered websites of al-Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban were taken down
(Global News) When the Toronto-based tech company Tucows Inc. discovered it was providing domain registration services to the Pakistani Taliban, it immediately contacted the RCMP for guidance. Days later, it was still waiting for a response. By Tuesday, it had waited long […]
Children & Teens
Jihadists face court over recruiting Islamic militants
(Swiss Info) A trial is underway at the Federal Criminal Court of two Islamists suspected of membership in a criminal organisation and recruiting followers to travel to conflict regions in Syria. One of the defendants is accused of fighting for a militant […]
Clerics & Preachers
Imam who headed ‘Peace’ association deported from Italy for radicalism
(Breitbart) Italy has expelled three radical Islamic extremists deemed to be security risks, including an Egyptian imam who headed an Islamic cultural association in the province of Venice. The Egyptian imam headed the Islamic association La Pace — “Peace” — and is […]
Children & Teens
Families of French IS members in Syria battle to bring them back Families in France are growing more determined to bring back relatives who left to join the so-called Islamic State. Dozens of French women and children recently vanished from the radar, leaving relatives desperate.
(Deutsche Welle) Antoine* is used to standing his ground. The trade unionist has defended workers’ rights his whole life. But when his daughter M. suddenly left to join so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq five years ago, he hit rock bottom. “It […]