Mahmoud Jaraba with article about Arabic “clans” and “clan criminality”
On its homepage, the service platform for journalists “MEDIENDIENST INTEGRATION” (Migration Media Service) published an article (in German) written by Dr. Mahmoud Jaraba. The EZIRE employee provides insights into the results of his research work of several years on Arab-Turkish or Kurdish extended families (“clans”) and “clan criminality”. The political scientist has been working on these issues since 2015 and has been able to establish many personal contacts, build trust, and conduct interviews with family members, security authorities, and social workers.
In his article, he draws a differentiated picture of the history of extended families and their current structures in Germany. Jaraba points out that “clans” should not be understood as a homogeneous group. Rather, as in other families, dissent, for example over cultural identity would be characteristic of life together.
In addition, only a few members of extended families would become criminally active – independently of any family structures. The majority would condemn the criminal acts of individual members. A generalizing and stigmatizing media reporting would also lead to disadvantages and even discrimination in many areas of daily life. Therefore, Mahmoud Jaraba pleads for more differentiated journalism, and at the same time, he also takes the security authorities into account. Often, family members would not cooperate with police and other authorities because they had made negative experiences in the past.