Koen Kluessien whatishappeningnow What is Happening Now?

Koen Kluessien (1991) graduated from the ‘Holocaust and genocide studies’ Master’s program of the University of Amsterdam. Since then he has worked for the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies; the Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society (CEGSOMA); and currently works as an Independent Researcher on behalf of the IHRA Committee on Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes against Humanity. Koen’s research interests include genocide denial, propaganda, and transitional justice. For whatishappeningnow.org Koen will scrutinize the unique role of online media in modern terrorist organizations; the structures behind the Islamic State and the Assad regime; genocide denial in general and denial by Serbian politicians in particular.

Articles
- Film Review: A Good Wife – The Family Life of a War Criminal
  By Koen Kluessien and Marieke Zoodsma – Perhaps one of the most disturbing (moving) images from the wars in the former Yugoslavia are those shot on the so-called Scorpion Tape. The tape is named after the paramilitary unit that… Continue Reading →
- Mass Atrocities in the Digital Age – Can We Stop a Genocide With Our Cell Phone?
  By Koen Kluessien – “Never again” is an oft-repeated quote at Holocaust remembrances and unlike the adagio “lest we forget”, it encompasses a call to action to prevent future mass atrocities. The idea is that through remembering past atrocities… Continue Reading →
- Two Steps Forward and One Step Back – The Dynamics of Denial in Post-Milošević Serbia
  During the 20th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, Bosnian Muslim protesters held up a banner with Aleksander Vučić’s war-time statement that for every dead Serb, 100 Muslims should be killed. Photo by: Marieke Zoodsma By Koen Kluessien – … Continue Reading →
- The Land of Blood and Honey – Western Media and the Framing of the Western Balkans
  By Koen Kluessien – It has often been stated that the history of the western Balkans is “written in blood”. With the assassination of archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo igniting the First World War, the occupation and resistance… Continue Reading →
- “We Fought With Our Bodies and Voices, Not With Guns and Weapons” – Interview With the Cast of ‘A Syrian Love Story’
  By Tayfun Balçik – The IDFA-screening of A Syrian Love Story – a documentary depicting 5 years of the life of a troubled Syrian family filmed against the background of the war,– caused many emotional reactions among… Continue Reading →
- The enemy’s enemy is a friend: turning a blind eye to the atrocities of the Assad regime
  By Koen Kluessien – Palmyra, once a hub of Greek, Roman and Persian cultures and an important center of the ancient world, has now become known for the bloodbath perpetrated by the Islamic State and the possible destruction of its… Continue Reading →
- ‘Question their continual existence to this day’ – The Islamic States’ ‘Dabiq’ magazine and its violent rhetoric
  By Koen Kluessien – When attacks by the Islamic State took place in several small villages in the Syrian province of Aleppo, most rebels of the Free Syrian Army were stunned: these villages were of no real strategic importance. However, although… Continue Reading →

Definitioner

Dabiq

Dabiq is the name of a place in Syria where, according to the Judgement Day prophecy as mentioned in the Hadith, the final battle will take place between the Muslims and the Roman Empire (i.e. the West). When this battle has taken place, the Mahdi will return and bring victory on those who oppose the Sharia. Note that the name of this place is the same name of ISIS’ online magazine, which highlights ISIS’ goals in bringing victory and restoring Islam’s golden age in the form of the new Caliphate.

Yazidis

The Yazidi faith is a mix of a number of different ancient religions, borrowing beliefs from Zoroastrianism, Islam, Christianity and Mithraism, among others. The sect has a long history of persecution, the Yazidis often speak of 72 massacres that have already been perpetrated against the people, ranging from the conquering Mongols to the purges of the Ottomans who had targeted the Yazidis multiple times, including during the Armenian genocide. The existence of the Yazidis became even more delicate after the 2003 US invasion of the country and the ousting of Saddam Hussein. In 2007, coordinated bombings in a Yazidi village in the North of Iraq killed an estimated 800 people. Many of the Christians living in the region fled Iraq to diaspora communities in Europe. Most Yazidis remained in their historical homeland, surrounded by the mountains and their shrines. This was however brought to an end when the Islamic State targeted them in its campaign of religious persecution.

Islamic State

The Islamic state (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and al-Dawlah al-Islamīyah fī al-ʻIrāq wa-al-Shām (DAESH), is a radical islamist group that has seized large territory in eastern Syria and parts of northern and western Iraq. The goal of the group is to establish a 'caliphate': a state ruled by one political and religious leader, in accordance to the Islamic law, or 'Sharia'. Although the state is currently confined to Iraq and Syria, it is the goal of the Islamic State to take over Jordan, Lebanon and to 'free' Palesine. The islamist group receives both mental support and jihadist fighters from Muslims across the world. True supporters must first swear allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State - Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai, better known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

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