Violence and Security

UK Regulator Investigates TV Station with Salafist Links

January 15, 2019

The UK's Office of Communications is launching an inquiry into a British television station founded by an Islamist preacher from Saudi Arabia with known Salafist affiliations after the station aired discussions urging Muslim fathers to support forced marriages for women.
Orbán Remarks Highlight Tension in EU over Migration, Islam

January 15, 2019

Highlighting the growing conflict between EU institutions and countries like Italy, Hungary, and Poland over policies on migration and Islam, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has called on voters in European parliamentary elections to support parties that oppose “mass migration” and the creation of a “mixed Islamic and Christian” civilization in Europe.
UNESCO Extends “Citizenship Education” to Extremism Prevention

January 11, 2019

An article by Marco Pasqualini of the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) explains how UNESCO is using its Global Citizenship Education initiative, aiming to produce “a sense of belonging to a broader community and common humanity,” to train educators on preventing violent extremism.
Kurdish-led Forces Capture US Teen on Syrian Battlefield

January 10, 2019

The capture of a 16-year-old American teen by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces marks the first minor among the estimated 55 US citizens who joined the Islamic State (IS) and raises complex questions about the repatriation and trial of American nationals who supported the IS jihad.
UK Prison Expert Recommends Isolation of Islamists

January 10, 2019

According to a former British prison governor who led a government-commissioned review of Islamic extremism in the UK penal system, prison authorities should separate Islamist extremists from other inmates in UK prisons to prevent British prisons from becoming jihadi incubators.
CoE Committee Calls on Switzerland to Snuff out “Intolerance”

January 10, 2019

The Council of Europe’s (CoE) Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities has demanded that Switzerland “condemn all instances of intolerance in public discourse” and “investigate and prosecute the perpetrators.”
CoE Official Warns of Impacts of Counterterror Laws on Speech

January 10, 2019

Council of Europe (CoE) Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović recently published an article identifying the abuse of counterterrorism legislation as a threat to free expression in Europe, finding authorities are using vague terms such as “glorification of terrorism” as a catch-all to crack down on a broad variety of speech.
EU Agency Launches “Anti-Muslim Hatred Database”

January 10, 2019

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights has published an “anti-Muslim hatred database” to educate policymakers on developing laws and policies that protect Muslims from “hate crime, hate speech and discrimination” across the EU.
German Program Offers Parental Counseling to Counter Radicalization

January 09, 2019

Germany’s Ministry for Families and the EU are jointly funding a pilot project providing parental counseling to counter online radicalization and recruitment of Muslim youth in Germany.
UN Agents Increase Scrutiny of Online “Hate Speech”

January 09, 2019

The Washington Post reports that UN human rights observers are increasingly studying the use of the internet to spread “anger and propaganda” to facilitate rights violations and is cultivating relationships with tech companies to persuade them to combat such content on their online platforms.