Announcement of the new publication by Dr Mahmoud Jaraba
On 20 February 2026, C.H.Beck will publish the book ‘The Clans of al-Rashidiya – Arab Families and Their Criminal Networks’ by Dr Mahmoud Jaraba.
The most powerful criminal families in Germany originate from the village of al-Rashidiya. Mahmoud Jaraba explains how this astonishing concentration came about and how the clans have developed over three generations since immigrating to Germany in the 1980s. He describes the role of women, observes the development of new ‘business areas’ and traces the fate of non-criminal branches of the family. His groundbreaking book reveals a parallel society that is undergoing dynamic change, but is no less dangerous for that.
Money laundering, drug trafficking, shootings in the streets and spectacular heists such as the break-in at the Green Vault in Dresden in 2019 or the theft of a gold coin weighing over 100 kilograms from Berlin’s Bode Museum in 2017 have brought the criminal activities of large Arab-Kurdish families into the headlines. For years, security authorities and the public have been alarmed by parallel social structures with their own value systems and informal justice systems. How did this come about? And is the widespread image of patriarchal extended families even accurate?
Mahmoud Jaraba has been researching criminal clans for years. His findings have been widely reported in the media, in politics and by security authorities. He has accompanied many actors for years and observed their activities. His deep insights into an eerie parallel universe are being presented to a wider public for the first time here.
Further information about the book: Mahmoud, Jaraba | Die Clans aus al-Rashidiya | 1. Auflage | 2026 | 6617 | beck-shop.de