New episode of #PodParis – with Sofia Koller from the Counter Extremism Project (CEP). Ten years after the attacks of November 13, 2015, we look back – and forward – together with Sofia Koller. In this episode, we talk about the security policy and social consequences of November 13, about responsibility and resilience – and about what Germany and France have learned from ten years of fighting terrorism.

The late Qaradawi served as spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, and was best known, the Counter Extremism Project notes, for advocating “the murder of Americans, gay people, and Jews through his writings, speeches, and fatwas.” In 2022, Ibrahim posted on Twitter a video of him speaking with Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the U.S. designated terrorist group Hamas. Speaking in English, Ibrahim states that his own election victory is also a victory for the “Palestinians and the ummah” and pledged to “work together, inshallah, to redeem the lost image and also role of the ummah.” Ibrahim subsequently also spoke to Hamas’s political leader Khaled Meshal, former chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau.

Analysts with the Counter Extremism Project recently warned that a JNIM victory in Mali could make it the first country ruled by al-Qaida. Edmund Fitton-Brown, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, believes a JNIM victory could result in indirect rule instead.

CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler interviewed about the arrest of a right-wing extremist in Germany accused of planning to kill German politicians on the dark net. 

Hans Jakob Schindler (Senior Director of the Counter Extremism Project) on the arrest of a suspected right-wing extremist from the Reich Citizens' Movement milieu

Radicalization via social networks is not an isolated incident, says terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Counter Extremism Project research organization. He demands that platform operators cooperate more closely with the authorities.

“This is a good day for Germany,” commented extremism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter Extremism Project in Berlin, in an interview with our editorial team. “Why not sooner?” asks Schindler. The ban on “Muslim Interaktiv” was “long overdue.” “The great danger these people pose lies primarily in the fact that they are super-modern,” says the expert. “With highly professional videos and influencer posts, they radicalize young people in particular.”

Hamas and ISIS finance themselves through a global network of private supporters. According to terrorism expert Hans-Jakob Schindler, this generates millions, often through many small individual donations, including from Germany. They often disguise their activities as humanitarian aid in order to obtain money. According to Schindler, they sometimes even blackmail aid organizations in crisis areas. IS is particularly active in Germany. After attacks, it deliberately spreads new messages to demonstrate strength, attract new donors, and prepare further attacks. Islamists, whether from IS or Hamas, operate their own propaganda channels on the Telegram platform, spreading messages and actively soliciting donations.

On Saturday, a Syrian suspected of terrorism was arrested in the Berlin district of Neukölln. The 22-year-old is now in custody. The charges: “Preparation of a serious act of violence endangering the state and the dissemination of propaganda material from unconstitutional and terrorist organizations.” How? Through social media. “There is hardly a terrorist attack in which social media does not play a significant role,” terrorism expert [CEP Senior Director] Dr. Hans Jakob Karl Schindler told Euronews.

The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) said the militants have captured large amounts of weaponry from government forces and now use drones in attacks. The Malian army, supported by Russian paramilitary fighters under Moscow’s “Africa Corps,” has carried out helicopter strikes and patrols, claiming to have killed dozens of insurgents. But attacks continue to spread across central and southern Mali, leaving garrisons isolated and deepening shortages. JNIM, which declared allegiance to al Qaeda in 2017, has been active across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Its recent advances have heightened fears of regional contagion.