GENERATION ALLAH. about the causes of youth radicalisation and why we need to rethink the fight against religious extremism

Ahmad Mansour

Ahmad Mansour is an Arab Israeli and has lived in Berlin for over ten years. He has a degree in psychology and works on projects against extremism. He is also Programme Director at the European Foundation for Democracy. He was awarded the Moses Mendelssohn Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance for his work. He has published numerous articles on Salafism and anti-Semitism.

Why are young people drawn to jihad? Is Islam responsible for terrorism? And how can we confront religious extremism? So far, politics, society and schools in particular have been more or less helpless in the face of these questions. No wonder, because the debates are being conducted incorrectly, as the renowned psychologist and Islam expert Ahmad Mansour emphatically shows. What are the motives of young Islamists? Mansour answers this question with impressive clarity. Because hardly anyone knows both sides like he does. He was a radical Islamist himself before he made the arduous journey out. The 39-year-old now works as a psychologist in Berlin and looks after the families of radicalised young people. Against the background of his own experiences and his specific prevention work, he shows that deradicalisation is possible and argues for a reform of practised Islam.

Introductory words and moderation:
Isolde Charim, philosopher and curator of the series „Fundamentalism and Modernity“

The event is being organised in cooperation with Buch Wien 2015. Ahmad Mansour's book "Generation Allah. On the causes of youth radicalisation and why we need to rethink the fight against religious extremism" will be published by S. Fischer Verlag in October 2015.