Search for Common Ground (SFCG) has been working for 35 years to transform the way communities deal with conflicts. SFCG promotes cooperative solutions to conflicts based on mutual understanding and confidence-building between stakeholders. SFCG operates in 36 countries using creative, multi-faceted approaches to help divided communities understand differences while working…

This input paper was provided in the framework of a workshop on the roles of women in counter-radicalisation and disengagement (CRaD) processes organized by the Berghof Foundation in Beirut in August 2017. The author looked into best practices and lessons learned from Europe and the Arab World. She also analysed…

There has been a great deal of discussion about the large volumes of foreign fighters involved in civil conflicts in Syria and Iraq over recent years. Yet, there remains little systematic evidence about the effect, if any, that foreign fighters have upon the conflicts they join. Existing literature distinguishes between…

In recent years, an increasing number of terrorist attacks have shocked communities around the world. Many of the gravest attacks have occurred in nations often overlooked by Western media, such as Nigeria, Yemen, Somalia, and Bangladesh, as well as in more familiar war-torn locales like Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. This…

In recent years, an increasing number of terrorist attacks have shocked communities around the world. Many of the gravest attacks have occurred in nations often overlooked by Western media, such as Nigeria, Yemen, Somalia, and Bangladesh, as well as in more familiar war-torn locales like Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. This…

Extreme Dialogue aims to build resilience to radicalisation among young people through a series of open-access educational resources and highly engaging short films that foster critical thinking and digital literacy skills. Extreme Dialogue encourages safe, constructive discussions around extremism and radicalisation in educational or community settings in the UK, Canada,…

The offline and online counter-narrative campaign “Rechts gegen Rechts” (Right against Right) was launched in 2014 by the Centre for Democratic Culture ZDK in Germany in support of EXIT Germany (see above). The campaign uses neo-Nazi demonstrations and marches across Germany to collect money for EXIT Germany. For each step…

The Abdullah X aims to provide innovative and robust animated / multimedia content to build resistance to extremist narrative and the allure of radicalisation. Abdullah X is a cartoon image of a teenage, Muslim boy who is looking for his identity and place in society. The character has changing appearances…

No insurgency in recent memory has enjoyed as much sensationalist news coverage as the Islamic State, which has consistently been referred to as the “most powerful,” “most dangerous,” and “most barbaric” terrorist outfit since its 2014 blitz across Iraq and Syria. But as the vast gains made against the organization…

Yesterday’s terrorist activity in Spain and ISIS’ thus far unsubstantiated public claim that the attackers were “soldiers of the Islamic State” has once again thrust the group to the forefront of the world’s attention—a place ISIS has occupied for years now. Indeed, in the summer of 2014, I was asked…

When the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) encouraged women to join its newly founded “caliphate,” thousands of women from Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and beyond answered the call and moved to ISIS-controlled territory. In line with the group’s extremely gender-conservative ideology, at first the assigned roles of female members…

Since President Trump attempted to ban Muslims from certain countries from entering the United States, the question which Muslims are ‘moderate Muslims’ and which are potential ‘radical Islamist terrorists’ has gained new relevance. While some Muslim leaders deny any connection between their religion and terrorism, it is undeniable that many…