Midden-Oosten

Opinion

The official End of the Two-State Solution is the Beginning of a new Battle

6 July 2020 -

The annexation of the West Bank heralds the end of the two-state solution, but also marks the beginning of a new struggle, writes Tom Kenis. “One for equal rights for all the people under de facto Israeli rule, from the river to the sea.”

Report

Countering the jihadist narrative - the future of the War on Terror

6 April 2018 -

As long as the instability continues, jihadist propaganda will somehow keep oozing out of the internet. “This is the struggle of a generation.”

Report

Terrorism and tech - Silicon Valley’s violent propaganda headache

4 April 2018 -

Terrorist content has been a problem for internet giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter for years. Silicon Valley has been throwing a lot of resources at the fight against violent jihadist content on-line. Some progress has been made, but fighting terrorists on the internet remains a game of whack-a-mole.

Report

No such thing as a lone wolf - inside the jihadist recruitment machine

22 March 2018 -

Jihadist propaganda on the internet is often seen as one of the main drivers for pushing young people into committing terrorist attacks. The reality is more complex than that. ‘People radicalise in different ways.’

Report

Attractive brutality: why terrorist propaganda appeals to people

21 March 2018 -

To the vast majority of people, ultra-violent jihadist propaganda is neither convincing nor appealing. Yet Al-Qaeda, ISIS and other terrorist groups seem to attract followers across the globe with gory materials showing graphic violence. The propaganda inspired thousands to leave everything behind for an uncertain life as foreign fighters in the wa ...

Report

Of fan boys and soldiers - how ISIS perfected jihadist propaganda

22 February 2018 -

‘When it comes to strategic storytelling, the Islamic State truly has been unmatched. Not only in terms of the quality of its output, but in quantity too.’

Report

Chat Jihad. How jihadist propaganda dominated the internet

20 February 2018 -

For the better part of a year, we dove into the dark world of ultra-violent jihadist internet propaganda. From the early video messages of Osama bin Laden to ISIS’ sleek cyber-propaganda offensive, it shows how a small contingent of technology savvy extremists has succeeded in waging a campaign of fear with global reach and consequences. ...

Analysis

The Iran Nuclear Deal Must be Here to Stay

4 October 2017 -

Whilst the US extended the sanction relief to Iran on the 14th of September, Trump still threatens to declare Teheran non-compliant with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The inspections executed by the International Atomic Energy Agency earlier this month deny Trump’s allegations that Iran would have violated the conditions of the Nuclear Deal. If ...

Report

United in sorrow: these Belgians and Syrians demonstrate how to conquer war and terrorism

30 March 2017 -

6 years since the Syrian uprising, 1 year since the Brussels attacks, 60 years of European Union. On March 21, all these commemorations coincided in Bozar in Brussels. The Syrian Expat Philharmonic Orchestra and the National Orchestra of Belgium led Syrians and Belgians towards a catharsis of the sorrow of these past years. Pieter Stockmans experie ...

Report

Kairouan, or the network behind the Tunisian suspect of the Berlin attack

15 February 2017 -

Anis Amri, chief suspect behind the attack on a Christmas market in Berlin, grew up in Kairouan. Jihadi Salafists proclaimed this ancient Tunisian city the capital of an Islamic state. The shooter who killed 38 hotel guests on a beach in Sousse in 2015 radicalized here as well. In the summer of 2015, Montasser AlDe’emeh and Pieter Stockmans w ...

Interview

Rami Jarrah: ‘Global hypocrisy in no way diminishes the Syrians’ right to a different regime’

4 October 2016 -

The images and reports from Aleppo defy all description and beg the question how the people still stuck there can cope with the atrocities. MO* called Syrian journalist Rami Jarrah, who is in Turkey at the moment, obliged to follow the situation from there.

Report

Wealthy Arabs buy up Sarajevo

19 September 2016 -

Sarajevo is etched in the collective memory as a city of war. Twenty years after the peace agreement for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the green hills around the city are changing into gated communities for Arab tourists. Public space is either neglected or privatised, then commercialised. But a new generation is sowing the seeds of change ...