European Kurds swap violins for Kalashnikovs
Hundreds of Kurds from across Western Europe are returning to Iraq’s Kurdistan region to join the peshmerga's ranks and help defend their ancestral lands from the jihadist threat. As the sun dips into the dusty horizon, Lukman Hassan and Hussein Mohammad emerge from their armoured personnel carrier emblazoned with the official flag of Iraq’s Kur…
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Foreign Fighters Join Syrian Rebels
Abu Rami hails from Lebanon, but his heart is in Syria these days. The 40-year-old is one of hundreds of Arabs who are fighting against the Assad regime at the side of Syrian insurgents. Many of these volunteer fighters are veterans of the Iraq war, who have now brought their holy war to Syria. Abu Rami's last foray into war wasn't much of a…
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How Mohammed Merah took up Jihad
Mohammed Merah had plenty of stamps in his passport, according to French intelligence officials. He traveled through at least seven Middle Eastern and central Asian countries on his way to Afghanistan in 2010. It was a meandering journey that might have been a metaphor for a young man in search of a purpose and identity. But it's also clear that by the…
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Germans Angered by Christian Persecution
Many Germans voiced outrage following the New Year's Eve terrorist attack on Coptic Christians in Alexandria. But despite the strong words, critics argue that Germany could do more to help Christians seeking asylum. It's not generally a simple matter for the representative of a religious splinter group with only 6,000 members to get an appointment w…
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Germany should help Iraqi Christians
Germany should do more to help Iraq's Christian minority, urged the parliamentary leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) in an interview published Sunday.'I am in favour of building up joint development projects,' the CDU's parliamentary leader Volker Kauder told Welt am Sonntag newspaper. 'This should include…
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