Author: Bridge Initiative Team / Political Geography: Switzerland

Author:: Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:: 01-2024
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:: Alp Services is a private global public affairs and intelligence firm based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2023, it was revealed that Alp Services worked for the United Arab Emirates, and carried out the largest disinformation campaign against Muslims in Europe, linking successful business people, organizations, and individuals to the Muslim Brotherhood in an effort to smear and blackmail them. The campaign relied on Islamophobic tropes as it framed Muslim individuals and organizations of being tied to an alleged “Islamist movement.”
Topic:: Intelligence, Islamophobia, Disinformation, and Public Affairs
Political Geography:: Europe, Switzerland, and United Arab Emirates

Author:: Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:: Elham Manea is a Yemeni Swiss political scientist, writer, and activist based in Switzerland. Manea has served as an advisor to several governments, including Austria, on issues related to the surveillance and criminalization of Muslims. Manea has also worked with anti-Muslim organizations in Europe and the United States, including the Clarion Project, the AHA Foundation, the European Foundation for Democracy, and the Secular Policy Institute. Manea presents herself as a formerly “radicalized” person with “insider” knowledge on “extremism,” particularly “non-violent extremism,” “Islamism” and “political Islam.”
Topic:: Surveillance, Islamophobia, Political Islam, Criminalization, and Elham Manea
Political Geography:: Europe and Switzerland

Author:: Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:: The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) is Switzerland’s leading far-right political party, established in 1971. Currently, the SVP is the strongest faction in the Nationalrat, the National Council. It is also part of the Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive branch. The SVP was the catalyst behind the minaret ban in 2009 and has also launched other anti-Muslim campaigns to ban the face-veil. SVP politicians are internationally connected with other anti-Muslim movements and figures, including writer Udo Ulfkotte and Renaud Camus.
Topic:: Domestic Politics, Islamophobia, Far Right, Political Parties, and Schweizerische Volkspartei (SVP)
Political Geography:: Europe and Switzerland

Author:: Bridge Initiative Team
Publication Date:: 03-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Bridge Initiative, Georgetown University
Abstract:: Saïda Keller-Messahli is a self-described Islamic human rights activist of Tunisian-Swiss heritage who is among the most prominent voices mainstreaming Islamophobia in Switzerland. She is frequently featured as an interviewee by Swiss media and has often been invited to Austrian state agencies as a public voice and “expert” to support discriminatory policies against Muslims.
Topic:: Human Rights, Islam, Islamophobia, and Saida Keller-Massahli
Political Geography:: Europe and Switzerland

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