Brussels/Berlin, 21 November 2008. The European Foundation for Democracy (EFD) applauds the German Federal Ministry of the Interior for issuing a German-wide ban of the operations of al-Manar, the satellite TV of the Iranian-funded terrorist organization Hezbollah.  “By outlawing advertising, fundraising activities and broadcasting in hotels across Germany, the German Government has taken an important step in contributing to European efforts to counter the spread of radicalization and violent ideologies.  The German Government also confirmed that it takes very seriously its responsibility to protect its citizens”, says Roberta Bonazzi, Executive Director of the European Foundation for Democracy.  

“Germany has set an important example for all European governments” says Alexander Ritzmann, Senior Terrorism Expert at the European Foundation for Democracy, “It is now crucial that all European countries take similar action and recognize the threat of violent and terrorist propaganda, as is the case of the message propagated by Hezbollah’s television.” Ritzmann also pointed out that European legislation sets clear limits for freedom of expression by prohibiting any forms of incitement to violence and to commit crimes.  “European and national laws are particularly strict on the protection of children from violent and hateful broadcast” continued Ritzmann who called for a German and a European ban on the terrorist organization Hezbollah itself.  “Another major threat to German and European security” concluded Ritzmann, “is represented by al-Aqsa TV, the satellite channel of Hamas, the Palestinian group listed by the EU as a terrorist organization, that broadcasts violent and hateful programmes particularly targeting children. Al-Aqsa is being broadcast into Europe by a number of satellite providers, including the French satellite provider Eutelsat.”

Ritzmann warns that “it is now crucially important that the German government, the European Union and other European governments ensure that the transmission of al-Manar is immediately stopped across Europe.” Al-Manar continues to be freely available in Europe via the Egyptian satellite provider Nilesat and the Saudi majority-owned satellite provider Arabsat.

Al-Manar broadcasts news and programs aimed at spreading violent ideologies, Jihadism, indoctrinating young children with hate, inciting terrorism and glorifying suicide bombers, spreading viciously anti-Semitic propaganda, and calling for attacks against Western targets. Al-Manar reaches between 10-15 million viewers daily and is used by Hezbollah to recruit terrorists and communicate with sleeper cells around the globe.

Because of the violent nature of its content, al-Manar was removed from all European satellites between 2004 and 2005 when it became clear that it violated European and national audiovisual legislation.  EFD, as one of the founding members of the Coalition Against Terrorist Media (CATM), has focused its efforts on the fight against terrorist media in Europe and in the Middle East, raising awareness of the threat posed by terrorist controlled - and funded - media outlets, which serve as a tool to incite violence and recruit terrorists.