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CEP Roundup
Resources And Updates From The Counter Extremism Project
Islamist Extremism
Western Foreign Fighters and the Yazidi Genocide
In August 2014, ISIS launched an assault on Sinjar, home to Iraq’s vulnerable Yazidi religious minority. More than 3,000 Yazidis are thought to have been killed in the initial assault, many in mass executions, while almost 7,000 Yazidi women and children were kidnapped and enslaved throughout ISIS’s so-called caliphate. Justice for the crimes has never taken place. On March 16, CEP conducted a webinar to discuss the Yazidi genocide and to launch its new report, Western Foreign Fighters and the Yazidi Genocide, authored by London-based CEP Strategic Advisor Liam Duffy. Using archived social media activity, interviews with captured or stranded foreign fighters, and first-hand testimonies from survivors of ISIS captivity, the report collates evidence of Western foreign fighters’ extensive involvement in the atrocities committed by ISIS against Iraq’s marginalized Yazidi minority. Media coverage: The Spectator, Le Vie, The National, and La Libre.
CEP Book Discussion: Black Flags of the Caribbean – How Trinidad Became an ISIS Hotspot
On March 31, CEP hosted a webinar and book discussion with Dr. Simon Cottee, senior lecturer in criminology at the University of Kent and author of Black Flags of the Caribbean – How Trinidad Became an ISIS Hotspot. Published on March 25, Dr. Cottee’s work analyzes how and why ISIS came to amass such an unlikely, yet significant foothold in Trinidad. On a per-capita basis, Trinidad was one of the largest providers of volunteers for the caliphate. By 2017, over 240 Trinidadian nationals (population 1.3 million) had traveled to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS. Another unusual element is the high proportion of female Trinidadians recruited by ISIS. Of 70 foreign fighters analyzed by Dr. Cottee, 40 percent of the adults were women. This places Trinidad at the top of the list of Western countries for female ISIS migrants.
Dr. Gilles Kepel, author of more than 20 academic books on contemporary Islam, the Arab World, and Muslims in Europe, was the featured presenter at CEP’s April 28 webinar, Atmospheric Jihadism and The New Middle East Fault Lines – The Next Generation of Terror. Dr. Kepel discussed his most recent book of essays, The Prophet and the Pandemic / From the Middle East to Atmosphere Jihadism, as well as Jihadism in general and recent developments in the Middle East. Dr. Kepel is a tenured professor at Paris Sciences et Lettres University and chairs the Middle East and Mediterranean Excellence Program at the Ecole Normale Supérieure of Paris. His book of essays was recently released in French, topping the best-seller lists, and is now being translated into English and six other languages. An excerpt from the essay, The Murder of Samuel Paty, was published in the spring issue of Liberties Journal.
CEP Webinar: The Current Threat Posed by ISIS Globally and European Threat Assessment
On March 11, CEP conducted a webinar to discuss the current status, capacities, and capabilities of ISIS globally and in Europe, including Germany, and outlined the current level of threat posed by this global terror network. Despite restrictions imposed by COVID-19, ISIS supporters were able to carry out a string of attacks in France throughout 2020 and an attack in Vienna, Austria, on November 2, 2020, which killed two and injured 23. On February 12, 2021, in Denmark and Germany, 14 members belonging to an ISIS-connected network were arrested while preparing bomb attacks. Featured speakers at the webinar included: Ambassador Edmund Fitton-Brown is the Coordinator of the ISIL, al-Qaida and Taliban Monitoring Team, advising the United Nations Security Council on the threat posed by these organizations and on the development of global counter-terrorism sanctions; and Dr. Guido Steinberg, a leading German terrorism analyst at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) who advises the German government on security and terrorism related issues.
Sir Ivor Roberts: “Joe Biden must tell hate preacher Abu Hamza to abandon hope of return to Britain”
In January, CEP Senior Advisor Sir Ivor Roberts, the former head of counter-terrorism in the U.K. Foreign Office, urged President Biden not to allow U.S. imprisoned hate preacher Abu Hamza al-Masri to return to Britain. “I have no doubt he hankers after a return to the days when he was allowed to preach freely in London, turning vulnerable youngsters into acolytes hellbent on murder and destruction. It was clear that the UK failed to recognise the horrific damage he caused to the country for almost a decade, giving him far too much freedom to spread his dangerous ideology.”
ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency
In 2020, CEP introduced “ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency,” a monthly feature detailing the resurgence of the terrorist group ISIS in central Syria. Each update is accompanied by an interactive map indicating the exact location and nature of major attacks carried out by ISIS or by Syrian and Russian forces in retaliation. Updates thus far in 2021 include January, February, and March. A full background and analysis of ISIS’s resurgence can also be explored here.
Far-Right Extremism
The Threat Posed by Transnational Violent Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism in Europe and the United States
The violent right-wing extremist and terrorist milieu in the United States and Europe has developed a distinctly transnational character in its activities and therefore presents an increasing security threat on both sides of the Atlantic. In November 2020, CEP released its report, Violent Right-Wing Extremism – Transnational Connectivity, Definitions, Incidents, Structures and Countermeasures, commissioned by the German Federal Foreign Office. The report, also available in German, focuses on the rise and metastasis of the violent extreme right-wing (XRW) threat and analyzes its growing transnational connectivity between 2015-2020 in six countries: Finland, France, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. In 2021, CEP hosted a series of webinars dedicated to the sections of the report. One webinar was dedicated to the current threat landscape and provided an overview and the main findings of the report, while a webinar on January 18 was dedicated to the situation in France and Germany. The webinar on February 9 was focused on the challenges facing the United Kingdom and the United States, while the fourth webinar on March 4 highlighted the risk environment in Finland and Sweden. Media coverage: The New York Times, Lawfare, and Homeland Security News Wire.
CEP Webinar: Extremism Meets Paramilitarism in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe
One pivotal event in the development of transnational right-wing extremist connectivity was the start of the conflict in Ukraine in 2014, which galvanized violent right-wing individuals and networks in Europe and beyond. The increasing significance of extreme right-wing networks in Central and Eastern Europe as well as in the Balkans has previously not been broadly understood. On April 20, CEP conducted a webinar focused on an in-depth examination of contemporary right-wing networks in Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe, including in the Balkans, featuring three eminent experts located in the region. Presentations focused on the links between extremists in Europe with organizations in “the East,” including Russian networks; and examined the phenomenon of right-wing extremists traveling eastward, specifically to receive paramilitary training. Additionally, experts discussed the extent to which activities like travel and training are sources of revenue for the Eastern transnational violent extreme right, in addition to music production and festivals, mixed martial art events, the sale of merchandise, donations, and criminal activities.
Dr. Kacper Rekawek: “Don’t Designate Azov”
Recently, Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) urged U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to combat the rise of U.S. domestic extremist activity by designating more than a dozen white supremacist groups abroad as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). CEP Affiliated Researcher Dr. Kacper Rekawek argues that while he agrees with most of organizations suggested for FTO designation, the Azov Regiment, a socio-political organization based in Ukraine, is not terrorist in nature and does not belong on the list. Media coverage: Buzzfeed News.
France Makes Plans To Ban Ethno-Nationalist Group Generation Identity
In February, France announced plans to implement a ban and begin the dissolution of Generation Identity (GI), a pan-European youth movement and ethno-nationalist group that seeks to stop globalization and what it views as the Islamization of Europe. The move comes after the group allegedly incited violence and racial hatred against migrants in January along the country’s border with Spain. CEP’s resource, European Ethno-Nationalist and White Supremacy Groups details the origins, beliefs, and violent activities of GI and other groups. The decision to ban GI came the same week of the French National Assembly’s passage of a new bill to combat Islamist extremism and violence. The bill was passed in response to a recent series of violent attacks in France last year, including the fatal stabbing of three in Nice, the beheading of Samuel Paty in a Paris suburb, and the stabbing of two bystanders near the former Charlie Hebdo office.
Australia Designates Neo-Nazi Sonnenkrieg Division A Terrorist Organization
Australian government officials on March 22 designated the neo-Nazi group Sonnenkrieg Division (SKD) as a terrorist organization, making it the first far-right group to be banned in that country. According to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), in the last year, far-right groups accounted for 40 percent of the country’s terrorism investigations. SKD formed in 2018 as a British offshoot of the U.S.-based Atomwaffen Division (AWD), a neo-Nazi organization that sought the creation of a National Socialist government through a violent “white revolution.” Britain banned SKD in February 2020. SKD’s neo-Nazi ideology is based on Siege, a compilation of writings by former American Nazi Party member James Mason.
Alexander Ritzmann: Transnational Right-Wing Extremism: No Beer for Neo-Nazis
CEP Advisor Alexander Ritzmann discusses the dangers inherent in right-wing extremists building international networks and what can be done about it: “At the regional or municipal level, there are some positive examples across the EU – particularly in Germany – of how activities of violence-oriented right-wing extremists can be disrupted, e.g., through alcohol bans at music festivals, and bans on martial arts events, due to the danger to public safety. However, there are many disturbing examples of enemies of the constitution being allowed to operate undisturbed; all reveal that structural cooperation between security authorities, local governments and tax offices, as well as voluntary dialogue forums within civil society, are urgently needed.”
Tech & Terrorism
As calls for reform to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act continue, lawmakers such as Reps. Tom Malinowski and Anna Eshoo have begun to focus on how tech companies algorithmically amplify, recommend, or promote hateful and terrorist content. CEP Senior Advisor Dr. Hany Farid, a professor at UC Berkeley, testified before Congress in 2020 about the dangers of the tech industry’s algorithmic amplification. “Representatives Malinowski and Eshoo’s proposed legislation is an important measure that will work to hold the technology sector accountable for irresponsibly deploying algorithms that amplify dangerous and extremist content,” Dr. Farid said. “The titans of tech have long relied on these algorithms to maximize engagement and profit at the expense of users, and this must change. This bill will help to encourage better behavior from the industry in the interest of public safety.” Dr. Farid also co-authored a report analyzing YouTube’s efforts to curb its algorithm’s tendency to spread conspiracy theories. It concluded that YouTube’s efforts did not make the “problem of radicalization on YouTube obsolete nor fictional.”
David Ibsen: “Big Tech Running Is Out of Excuses for Inaction”
CEP Executive Director David Ibsen observes that Facebook and Twitter’s reactive response to the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol masks a sad history of ignoring the systemic ills that plague social media platforms: “We at the Counter Extremism Project have long fought against extremists’ and terrorists’ misuse of social media and the internet, urging Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others to remove and prevent the reposting of content clearly prohibited by their Terms of Service. Nonetheless, the tech industry has pushed back on such efforts through lobbying and PR campaigns seeking to stymie criticism and paths to smart regulation, choosing instead an approach of inaction that is ineffective and ultimately dangerous.”
Ian Acheson: “Online radicalisation won’t be stopped with the click of a button”
In March, CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson discusses the failure of Google’s ‘Redirect Program’ and the problems caused by technology-enabled radicalization: “Some of the accelerant is provided by Big Tech’s cash cow – the algorithms that analyse the viewers consumption patterns and interests, then direct the innocent browser to other sites including those commercial sites that pay Google, Twitter and Facebook to advertise on. However, this approach also has the effect of building a digital echo chamber for those interested in ideological violence and the disinformation/conspiracy theories that amplify it. Whatever effort is needed ought to be the sole responsibility of the big platforms.”
Lucinda Creighton: “The EU’s recent steps to combat online extremism”
CEP Senior Advisor Lucinda Creighton notes in January that the Regulation on Preventing the Dissemination of Terrorist Content Online (TCO) and the Digital Services Act (DSA), both designed to combat extremism online, are finally moving forward: “Now, we have in place the beginning of a continent-wide architecture for holding both individuals and big tech companies accountable for harmful content.”
Resources and Analysis
East Africa—a key security partner in the war on terror and a principal engine of economic development on the African continent—is being critically undermined by illicit trade, according to CEP’s new report An Unholy Alliance: Links Between Extremism and Illicit Trade in East Africa . Terror groups from al-Shabaab to ISIS-linked affiliates in Somalia and Mozambique, as well as Central African militias, urban gangs, and international crime groups are increasingly targeting East Africa as a destination market and as a transport hub for illegal goods. Terrorist groups cash in on the illegal ivory and wildlife trade, sugar and tobacco smuggling to pay their soldiers and fund their campaigns of terror. Study author, CEP Senior Advisor Sir Ivor Roberts, said that it was critical that regional leaders combat illicit trade, which is robbing East Africa of its future. “The most effective way for the East African region, and the wider international community, to fight extremism, crime, and corruption is to turn off the taps of illicit trade. This can ensure critical revenues are not lost to the shadow economy but are instead invested in key services.” Select media coverage: The Times, The National, VOA News, Financial Fortune, Kenya Broadcasting Company, allAfrica, The Frontier Post, Ventures Africa, Soko Directory, Newz Post, The Insider, Africa.direct.news, EABW News, The Star, BusinessFocus, and Illicit Trade News Network.
The Top 20 Most Dangerous Extremists On Earth
CEP published a new report on January 5, The Top 20 Most Dangerous Extremists On Earth, that profiles the 20 most dangerous and deadly extremists living today. The listings are based on deaths attributed to these harbingers of terror, the extent of their influence over their followers and extremist movements, and their threat to international security. The report also highlights each extremist’s last known location. The notorious leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah; the founder of the Russian Imperial Movement, Stanislav Anatolyevich Vorobyev; Ashin Wirathu, the communal leader of the anti-Muslim Movement in Myanmar; and Samantha Lewthwaite, the infamous “White Widow” member of al-Shabaab, are all featured in this extensive report highlighting extremist threats that span the spectrum of ideologies and beliefs, from ISIS to the Muslim Brotherhood to Generation Identity. Select media coverage: Al Arabiya, Free Malaysia Today, South China Morning Post, The Irish Sun, The Coverage, Mashable, and Yahoo News.
CEP Report: Understanding The History And 21st Century Manifestations Of Anti-Semitism
On January 27, CEP new reports that chronicle the historic roots of anti-Semitism, its persistent themes, and its modern manifestations. CEP’s anti-Semitism resource is comprised of two reports: Anti-Semitism: A History, and Anti-Semitism Resurgent: Manifestations of Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century. Together, they provide a basis for understanding modern anti-Semitism, its resurgence in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, and how historic tropes are re-packaged to fit into mainstream political discourse. “To understand the modern incarnation of anti-Semitism requires an examination of the roots and evolution of institutional anti-Semitism and how it led to events such as the Spanish Inquisition and the Holocaust. Understandings its origins and the violence it has borne throughout history is essential to slowing its surge in popularity,” said report author, CEP Senior Research Analyst Josh Lipowsky. “This hatred is evident on both the far left and the far right. It has fueled attacks by individuals, terror groups, and state sponsors of terror.” Media coverage: Times of Israel.
DGAP-IFRI-CEP Webtalk: Opening the Black Box – Inside France’s Deradicalization Program
France has been a prominent target of Islamist terrorism both within and outside its borders for decades, and the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty near Paris in 2020 is but only one grisly example. Traditionally focusing on security measures to counter this threat, France has only started to establish prevention programs. Dr. Marc Hecker’s new study “Once a Jihadist, Always a Jihadist? A Deradicalization Program Seen from the Inside” provides the first comprehensive insights into the program PAIRS, which has been running since 2018. After an extensive field survey of staff, participants, and partners, the study offers a nuanced assessment of the program’s disengagement and deradicalization efforts. In a March 29 webinar conducted by CEP, the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI), the study’s results and implications for French and German prevention efforts were discussed in detail. Media Coverage: The National.
David Ibsen and Lara Pham: “We cannot let fear create a new PATRIOT Act for Americans”
CEP Executive Director David Ibsen and Deputy Director Lara Pham cautioned in March against enacting sweeping new domestic terrorism statues that could erode Constitutional protections for U.S. citizens: “The USA PATRIOT Act — which was passed just less than a month after al Qaeda operatives killed nearly 3,000 people — passed with overwhelming support. However, over time, it became clear that the law empowered the U.S. government to carry out roving wiretaps, unfettered surveillance of individuals, and indefinite detention of suspects — all in the name of protecting national security. Creating equivalency between domestic and foreign terrorists in the law could open the opportunity for similar types of government overreach.”
Ian Acheson: “Counter-extremist programmes need a radical overhaul”
CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson argues in March that the U.K.’s counter extremist programs must be redesigned in order to be effective: “What should we do about terrorist prisoners who subvert attempts to treat them? This week Jonathan Hall QC, the government’s independent terror laws watchdog, published his latest report. In it he cites the ‘significant problem’ of extremists on either side of the prison walls who disrupt and undermine the joint Home Office/Ministry of Justice desistance and disengagement programme, which is designed to wean them off toxic ideologies. Subjects feigned sleep, wore headphones, went for extended lavatory breaks and read books to frustrate the efforts of therapists to engage with them.”
CEP Podcast: Fighting Terror
In 2020, CEP launched Fighting Terror, a podcast that explores different ways that society can combat the impacts of terrorism. Each episode of the podcast is hosted by CEP Senior Advisor and former European Affairs Minister Lucinda Creighton and features an expert guest from an area of counterterrorism. Episodes thus far in 2021 have included: The European approach to counter-terrorism, featuring EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove; The present state of the extreme-right online and what the future might look like, featuring CEP Senior Research Analyst Joshua Fisher-Birch; The links between extremism and illicit trade in East Africa, featuring CEP Senior Advisor Sir Ivor Roberts, author of a new CEP report, An Unholy Alliance: Links Between Extremism and Illicit Trade in East Africa; and Fighting Terrorist Financing with CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans Jakob Schindler. All of the podcasts can be accessed on the CEP website, and on Spotify, Buzzsprout, and Podcast Addict.
Extremist Movements Anchored in Historical Interpretation
CEP Research Intern Zachary Schroeder observes that one of the keys to overcoming extremism is to understand its historical underpinnings: “While much research has examined the psychological and sociological underpinnings of radicalization, there has been considerably less research into how their view of history informs what extremists believe. We continue to neglect this at our own peril.”
CEP in the News
ABC News (Australia): The Base Tapes
CEP Senior Research Analyst Joshua Fisher-Birch was featured in a March ABC News story that revealed how the global white supremacist terror group The Base actively targeted young Australian men for recruitment, including a One Nation candidate for federal parliament. “This very extreme neo-Nazi ideology, the way that they organised and kind of passed these skills onto one another, made them very dangerous,” he said. Fisher-Birch added that there could be too much emphasis on the question of whether the group still exists. “They might be laying low as members of other white supremacist groups.” Additional media coverage: MSN Australia.
ISIS Still on Facebook
Facebook claims it has banned terror groups from its platform, yet ISIS continues to post radicalizing materials on the platform. In an interview with WTOP radio national security correspondent J.J. Green, CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler discusses ISIS’s objectives online and how the notorious terror group is still managing to post its horrific propaganda on Facebook.
E-commerce platform sells Nazi-glorifying merchandise, despite removal request
An e-commerce platform continues to sell merchandise that promotes racism, anti-Semitism and white supremacy two months after being asked to remove the items from its website by CEP. GearBubble is a Las Vegas-based e-commerce platform that allows businesses to sell products online. CEP discovered in February that the website was selling mugs, pillowcases and apparel that feature Adolf Hitler, the Nazi “death’s head” symbol, swastikas, “Heil Hitler” insignias, the neo-Nazi black sun and white-power symbols, as well as other neo-Nazi and fascist symbols. CEP wrote a letter to CEO Donald Wilson on Feb. 4, informing him of the merchandise and asking GearBubble to suspend the accounts that posted the objects. More than two months later, CEP still has not received any response. “Anti-Semitism continues to be a pervasive threat, and T-shirts and coffee mugs that feature neo-Nazi symbols and Hitler icons make this danger clear,” said CEP Executive Director David Ibsen. “By allowing these materials to remain for sale on its site, GearBubble allows for the spread of anti-Semitism and helps those who promote it to profit from such hateful ideologies.” Additional media coverage: Israel Hayom, and Algemeiner.
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