Khalifa Ihler Institute

Merseyside is one of the parts of the world I call home.

I studied in Liverpool from 2010 to 2013 - one of the most difficult periods of my life. In Merseyside, I found peace and a sense of safety while the world back in Norway and beyond, at times, felt like it was ending.

Getting the news of the attack in Southport on Monday hit hard - attacks on children are always devastating.

The attack has been followed by further violence, riots, and hatred driven by far-right groups fuelled by Islamophobia and Xenophobia - this response, capitalizing on the grief and outrage following a horrendous attack to drive further violence, is completely unacceptable.

This attack and the response underline why we must continue to fight against violence and extremism in all its forms and strive to build safer and more peaceful communities everywhere, even in the places we've found safety and we like to call home.

On the Southport Attack — Revontulet On Monday, July 29th, we were left devastated by the brutal knife attack that cost the lives of three children in Southport and left several others in critical condition. The motive of the attacker remains unknown. What is known is that he targeted young girls who were celebrating life and friendshi

In place of thoughts and prayers, we ask that restrictions be lifted and that the international community ensure that aid and urgent financial support is made available and accessible to the on-the-ground efforts.

Responding to The Floods in Libya

Responding to The Floods in Libya - the Darna Valley Crisis — The Khalifa Ihler Institute Since the early hours of Monday, September 11th, thousands of lives have been lost, thousands more have been displaced, and thousands have been missing in eastern Libya. Cities have been submerged. The flooding followed unprecedented rainfall in the Darna Valley, compounded by decades of governmen

On Friday the 30th of September 2022, Samantha Kutner gave the following statement to the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate during the technical session to inform a special meeting of the Counter-Terrorism Committee on countering terrorist exploitation of ICT and emerging technologies.

www.khalifaihler.org/newsb/2022/9/30/statement-to-un-cted-on-the-terrorist-exploitation-of-emerging-technologies

Statement to UN-CTED on the Terrorist Exploitation of Emerging Technologies — The Khalifa Ihler Institute On Friday the 30th of September 2022, Samathan Kutner gave the following statement to the UN CTED during their technical session to inform a special meeting of the counter-terrorism committee on countering terrorist exploitation of ICT and emerging technologies. Excellencies, distinguished deleg

"Amidst wave after wave of uncertainty, adults and children flock to online spaces, seeking solace, answers, and community. Extremist recruiters understand these needs and use them to exploit and groom minors by mimicking community and care."

Check out our latest post on 5 Red Flags For Parents & Ways To Respond To Online Radicalization by Samantha Kutner.

5 Red Flags For Parents & Ways To Respond To Online Radicalization — The Khalifa Ihler Institute If you listened to the last episode of The Suburban Women Problem , you might be feeling a bit overwhelmed with this growing problem. The Khalifa Ihler Institute hopes this article will offer clarity from trusted experts in this space who are also parents and grapple with the same challenges. We

We have a better overview of the activities of the Proud Boys than ever. Through data, we're uncovering the impact, and influence the group has had, both in the streets and in formal politics in the US since it first emerged.

Explore our visuals here:
https://khalifaihler.org/proudboys

We are excited to contribute to the work of the January 6th Committee and the broader understanding of the role of the Proud Boys in American politics before and after January 6th.

Ahead of today's hearings, it's well worth reading up on the Proud Boys - a key group in the planning and preparation, ex*****on of, and aftermath of the attack on US Democracy on January 6th 2021.

It's been a true honour to serve and support this effort to protect and preserve democracy in the US against the illiberal forces seeking to undermine it.

Stay tuned as we make more data on the group publically available in the coming days!

Press Release: Our Contribution to the January 6th Select Committee — The Khalifa Ihler Institute In February, the January 6th Select Committee requested that The Khalifa Ihler Institute, represented by Bjørn Ihler, Samantha Kutner, and C.L. Murray, provide a written statement for the congressional record on the Proud Boys’ role and involvement in the attack on the US Capitol.The Khalifa Ihle...

“Copy-and-Paste” Terrorism in Buffalo - Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung To stop these senseless killings, we must confront white supremacy at the heart of our society

White supremacist killers often place their manifestos in conversation with one another, Bjørn Ihler, a Khalifa Ihler co-founder told The Daily Beast.

“It’s evident from this, as well as from other terrorist manifestos that these terrorists both build on each other’s ideological narratives and strategies,” Ihler said. “They also largely directly reference each other, not only through the direct plagiarization of text but also often by name-dropping previous terrorists in these texts and other symbolic and textual elements. This goes back at least to the manifesto of [Norwegian mass-murderer Anders] Breivik, which again, largely was plagiarized from other online sources in the white supremacist and Islamophobic environment.”

The plagiarism is unremarkable in the white supremacist world, in part because racist killers have nothing new to say.

Buffalo Killer Ripped Off Past Manifestos—and Mainstream GOP Talking Points Some experts say the establishment GOP’s leniency for extreme views could forecast a looming new wave of far-right violence.

Amidst all the punditry and analysis that will take place today and in the days to come it is key that we do not forget the human impact of the attack in Buffalo.

Ten lives were lost, families torn apart, and community members terrorised. My heart and thoughts are with them.

A preliminary analysis of the manifesto by the Khalifa Ihler Institute team has revealed that as much as 57% of the ideological sections (that is excluding the discourse on equipment, and the pages that simply were memes & images from the internet, 28% with these included) are plagiarized from other sources - predominantly the manifesto shared by the Christchurch terrorist.

Key recurring narratives between this manifesto, and previous manifestos, that also have entered relatively mainstream political discourse are those of the great replacement theory, the focus on "cultural marxism" and white genocide.

The sections on "European supremacy" the direct citation of the 14 words, and the outright racist sections are driven by antisemitism and anti-black sentiment as well as the paragraphs on "Green nationalism" are also interesting, and increasingly common within these communities. The focus on "virtual s*x workers" echoes themes from the incel and manosphere community, which might be a new-ish reappearance of a common gendered theme among white supremacists.

A key element to highlight is that the terrorist outright states that he went to the chans as a direct result of the boredom experienced during covid - this is one thing to keep an eye on - there were many warnings about what the loneliness of prolonged lockdowns might lead to, and I fear this is not going to be the last we hear of it in terms of online radicalization.

We are still reviewing the content and discourse surrounding the attack. The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism has issued a Content Incident Protocol across the member community and is working to remove the video of the live stream and other related content produced to promote terrorism and the terrorist's agenda.

We encourage the community to not share the video or content directly related to the attack. Further, in discussing the attack we encourage everyone to be cautious and mindful of the victims, survivors and community affected.

These attacks fill my heart with sadness and underline why we must keep on working against all forms of hatred - for a world in which diversity is celebrated, and we all can live with a sense of safety from terror.

On the Terrorist Attack in Buffalo, NY — The Khalifa Ihler Institute Amidst all the punditry and analysis that will take place today and in the days to come it is key that we do not forget the human impact of the attack in Buffalo. Ten lives were lost, families torn apart, and community members terrorised. My heart and thoughts are with them. A preliminary analysis