The Dutch motorcycle gangs fighting Islamic State
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 18 November, 2014, 9:57pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 19 November, 2014, 3:44am
The Washington Post in Berlin
The bikers post photos and updates on the internet.
In a twist to the foreign-fighter syndrome sweeping Europe, a handful of bikers have joined the fight against Islamic State.
The leader of the Dutch biker gang No Surrender says that three of his peers have joined the fight against the Islamist group and at least a couple of members of a German biker club say they, too, have signed up.
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Why are they going? In Germany, at least, the move appears linked to the bikers' ethnic backgrounds. The men in question hail from the Cologne chapter of the Median Empire Dark City Motorcycle Club, made up largely of ethnic Kurds. The club, founded in 2011, is named after an ancient empire that stretched from eastern Anatolia to India.
Their story has gripped the domestic press, particularly as the men post updates on social media. One post shows two beefy bikers with machine guns slung over their backs as they climb hilly, arid terrain in biker gear.
The group's self-described leader, who goes by the name Azad, posted an online appeal for donations: "We got members in Kurdistan fighting against the terror organisation Islamic State," he wrote. "We need urgent equipment like night visions, ABC gas masks, bullet proof vests and much more…Please support us to fight for humanity, love and peace."
Just how dedicated everyone in the group is to love and peace, however, remains in doubt. Erich Rettinghaus, chairman of the police union in German state of North-Rhine Westphalia, where the men come from, said several of the group had been tried in connection with organised crime. He said the group's claims of fighting with the Kurds against Islamic State may be aimed at sending a message to rival gangs.
"They want to signal to other gangs, such as the Hells Angels or the Bandidos: 'You better watch out for us. We are damn tough'."
The Germans followed a trail blazed by Dutch bikers. A leader of the No Surrender motorcycle gang said last month that three members had left to help the Kurds, travelling to northern Iraq from the Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Breda.
One of them said he was fighting because he was outraged by the atrocities he had seen on television. He told an interviewer that once you see such images, "you can't stay at home sitting on the couch".
