On Thursday, December 11th, the BBC World Service, in collaboration with the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at Kings College, London publishes a count of the number of people who were reported killed by Jihadist attacks in the month of November. The number of those killed is in the thousands across 15 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The findings are still being pulled together but we expect the figure to be higher than the number of people killed in the 9/11 attacks.
Newshour’s James Coomarasamy will appear across a range of news programs to explain and make sense of the data. We will hear from eye witnesses and survivors and have pieces from those countries that are affected including Iraq, Afghanistan and Nigeria.
On Friday, December 12, the BBC World Service publishes the finances of the main Jihadist groups to show how much they are worth, their assets, and what incomes and expenditures they have. The top 7 groups are worth about $3 billion. We hear from Somalia, Mali and the Middle East, as well as from experts at the UN and US.
World Have Your Say is also on the road this week coinciding with the World Service jihadi special coverage.
Tuesday, December 9 / Anti-Semitism in Europe
We’ll be in Brussels at the city’s main Jewish community centre. The Brussels Jewish Museum reopened recently after an attack allegedly carried out by a French jihadist which killed four people. We’ll hear from members of the small Brussels Jewish community who say an atmosphere of anti-Semitism has been growing in Belgium for some time. And from people speaking about their personal experience of anti-Jewish attacks and threats. We’ll also ask if there’s a link between the rhetoric of Islamic radicalism in places like Belgium, France and Turkey and a rise in anti-Semitism in those countries.
Wednesday, December 10 / Vilvoorde: Jihad Central
Belgium has seen a higher proportion of its citizens join militant jihadi groups in Syria and Iraq than any other country in Europe. And few places in Belgium have seen a higher proportion of residents leaving for Syria than the small Flemish town of Vilvoorde. We’ll be coming live from the municipal library in the town. We’ll ask why this is happening. We’ll hear from a mother whose son left the town to fight with Islamic State; from youth workers and social workers working with families in the community, and from a cross-section of residents.
Friday, December 12 / Turkey In the Spotlight over Syria and IS
We’ll be live from central Istanbul to explore Turkey‘s key role as the main transit point for would-be jihadis crossing into Syria. Turkey has been accused of doing far too little to stop this cross-border traffic. Is that fair? Does Turkey give safe passage to terorrists from groups like Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra? Have leading Turkish politicians fanned the flames of Islamism inside Turkey? And has Turkey’s overwhelming strategic focus on stopping Kurdish political gains blinded it to the dangers from groups like Islamic State?
We’ll host a conversation bringing together Turks with different political and religious views.