Fighting Terrorism With Comics

Think a comic book aimed at "impressionable" teenagers can stem the dual homegrown threat of racism and terrorism in Europe? If you're somewhat skeptical at the mere thought of it, so are the editors of Foreign Policy's blog Passport who report the interior ministry of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia developed a comic called Andi to fight, not only terrorism, but racial extremism.

Blaming his lack of an internship to xenophobia, a Muslim teen named Murat is tempted by "The Dark Side" of terrorism by a radical sheikh and his young apprentice in the latest issue (#2). The plan goes awry, however, when Murat's free-thinking sister, Ayshe, is threatened by said apprentice. Of course, Murat is helped along the way by his average white teen pal Andi.

In the first issue, Andi and his friends battle the influence of racial stereotypes with the help of true heroes like Martin Luther King Jr. whose August 28, 1963 speech, I Have a Dream, obviously still inspires people of all nations nearly a half-century later...

Will German teens, no doubt as tough to reach as their counterparts in America, take the bait? Download these free comics via PDF here.