al-Rased | الراصد – Countering Antisemitism and Anti-Democratic Ideologies

Arabic-language content on short-video platforms is an important source of information for many young people from migrant backgrounds in Berlin. Unfortunately, these platforms also spread anti-democratic and hateful narratives, including antifeminism, Islamism, antisemitism (be it overt or couched in anti-Zionist terms) and discrimination against various other minorities. This is where al-Rased (Arabic for ‘the observer’) comes in. By working bilingually in Arabic and German, the project addresses a gap in civil society, offering language-sensitive prevention and educational resources for a target group that existing services often struggle to reach.

The project takes a data-led, multi-stage approach based on three components: monitoring, education and training. Its monitoring systematically analyses Arabic-language online spaces connected to Berlin, providing the basis for accessible online reports. Bilingual short videos promote young people’s digital literacy and empowerment. Moreover, practical workshops offer targeted professional development for educators, social workers and other relevant practitioners, and the project’s findings are brought together in a practical guide for peer educators and facilitators.

Al-Rased thus addresses two target groups. The first comprises educators and civil society organisations whose work involves young people from Arabic-speaking migrant backgrounds. The project strengthens their confidence and practical skills in responding to antisemitic, Islamist and anti-democratic online narratives and provides practical approaches to prevention and educational intervention. The second target group comprises young Arabic-speaking people in Berlin whose media use is heavily shaped by short-video platforms. The project aims to enhance their media literacy and critical thinking skills, increase their awareness of discrimination mechanisms and render young people resilient to radicalisation and group-focused enmity.

The project is digital in design while remaining closely connected to Berlin’s local communities. Its content draws on specific examples, codes and discourses from across the city. Al-Rased takes an intersectional anti-discrimination approach that examines the intersections of antisemitism, Islamism, antifeminism and other forms of group-focused enmity. The project aims to identify and expose anti-democratic narratives at an early stage while strengthening digital resilience and educators’ ability to respond.

Let’s get in touch

kontakt@democ.de
Phone: +49 30 57712221

Funding

The project is funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Labour, Social Services, Gender Equality, Integration, Diversity and Anti-Discrimination (State of Berlin) as part of the state programme ‘Democracy. Diversity. Respect. Against Right-Wing Extremism, Racism and Antisemitism’.