>> hello and a very warm welcome to "european journal" coming to you from dw studios in brussels. it is very good to have you with us and here is a look at today's show. russia -- why dashcams had become a must for today's drivers. and germany -- why certain museums could soon be empty. let's first look at a phenomenon that seems to be gaining ground in europe -- islamists are on the rise. according to authorities all over the continent. the netherlands have just raised

their terror alert level to the second-highest one after reports emerged that the growing number of dutch islamists are fighting in the civil war i in syria and other conflict regions. the dutch are worried that these radical muslims could pose a risk on their return. in germany, groups of salafists get into fights with neo-nazis in broad daylight, but they are also becoming more self confidence in britain. >> this british police officer understands that for folks to enjoying a beer at the end of the day is just par for the course. but in london's east and, islamists feel differently, and they have set up their moral patrol. a miniskirt draws a response from the sharia enforcers.

a pure briton. no alcohol, this is muslim territory. masked islamists threaten homosexuals and call them names. >> the salafist group is probably behind the sharia patrol. they take advantage of our scheduled interview to show us a new propaganda video. >> we have come to purify the brains and hearts and minds from the filth of the west. emma on the internet -- >> on the internet, the group recruits followers from all over europe for its war against democracy and freedom. >> i can enjoy german culture. you can enjoy english culture, but we are not talking about culture here -- we are talking about to be will religions.

one which has a penal code or says one thing which got says and another which says man has the authority. who has the true authority to dictate what you and me can do and cannot do? that can only be dictated by islam. >> most muslims in britain do not agree. one leading cleric is highly critical of the -- critical of the patrols. >> what these brothers need to understand and what we need to explain to them as they will be accountable before allah for doing these things, for damaging the image of islam, and for misrepresenting. >> of billy lives in cologne. his name used to be marvin. -- abdullah lives in cologne. he regards the arab rebellion is just the beginning. he converted in may 2009 while he was talking on the telephone with a salafist cleric.

the 21-year-old says germans are wrong to equate salafism with danger. >> i tried to follow the profit and his companions, and i do not call myself a salafist. i just try my best to maintain strict face with my doctrine. i am is perfectly normal muslim. >> shortly after our interview, he traveled to egypt, following militant internet propaganda. >> [inaudible] >> i would not go blow myself up

at a train station in europe and kill thousands of innocent people. these people have nothing to do with it. but of course, i hope that god removes this coward is from my heart and that i will be a man and help my brothers and sisters who are oppressed and under attack. >> the islamist struggle has nothing to do with heroism. they murder and destroy in the name of god, and they are receiving support from some german salafists anin mali, somalia, and in syria. the president of germany's domestic intelligence agency says egypt serves as a gateway for jihad this -- jihadists. >> i consider it a threat to germany's security when salafists traveled to egypt.

we have currently identified 58 young german salafists who traveled to egypt last year. and who may return with the goal of radicalizing other people in germany, recruiting them for jihad or carrying out attacks on specific targets in germany. >> the willingness of salafists in germany to engage in violence is growing. the number rapidly increase in 2012 from 3500 to 4800. it is still not clear who planted a bomb in a train station in december. salafists or right wing extremists who wanted to make it look like an islamist attack. since germany banned militant, his followers have regarded the country as a battlefield. >> i myself did not intend to

blow up a bomb, but there are definitely many brothers and sisters who want to spread a bombing mood. >> the followers in london give the same impression. even if so far the only bragg and threatened on the internet. >> no muslim should ever sleep without thinking about how to bring about their destruction. the very purpose is to bring the downfall of every western government and to make sure those puppet regimes are destroyed and the law of alice but in every corner of the earth. >> they are beginning in london 's east end where sharia patrol constitutes a threat to everyone. >> russia's roads are notoriously lawless, but these days, much of the madness is captured on the dashboard cameras that many russians have

installed in their cars. with the footage the record counting as evidence in court, dashcams have become a way for the general public to turn the tables. now, big brother is being watched. >> russian roads are a perilous place to be. seeing is believing. it is dog eat dog, and no one is above the law. the armed forces, farmers, and individuals exercising their right to self expression.

this chaos is normal on russian motorways. say is all too familiar with russian drivers and their problems. he listens to their woes on his daily radio program. >> there is stress at work, trouble at home, but out on the road, i can be myself and drive like i want. that explains these videos. >> now, everyone can witness this daily battle -- man versus man, car versus carr, thanks to the tiny cameras, which many drivers attached to their dashboards. there are 25 different models in this moscow automobile accessory store. made in china or taiwan, they cost from 100 to 150 euros.

sergei sells 10 of them a day. >> if it is people who've been driving for 40 years or just got their license two days ago, they all by them. there's just too much chaos on the streets. >> anna has had a dashcam for three years. it switches on as soon as she gets in the car. when the memory card is full, the camera begins to erase the old pictures. >> it is my way of protecting myself from the free-for-all on the streets. anything can happen. an accident, and you cannot prove anything. a policeman might stop you to fine you for doing something wrong even though you have not done anything wrong. thousands of stories can in very differently if you have dashcam. >> this the kind of thing that she's talking about -- accidents as a form of modern robbery. a pedestrian weights at a

junction and throws himself at a car to extort money. or a pedestrian with an expensive laptop locks in front of a car in hopes that the driver is so shocked that he will cough up immediately -- walks in front of a car in hopes the driver is so shocked that he will cough up immediately. >> the motorists try to buy their way out. often, pedestrians like this are in cahoots with the police. the police officers and con men usually ask for 700 euros, and they often settle on 500. >> anna had been driving around for almost three years without incident until last october. it was rush hour in moscow, and a mercedes came up from behind, the blue light flashing. the driver started to tail get her and tried to pass, but she did not respond. finally, the car passed on the inside and then rammed into her jeep.

>> the driver was audacious enough to say that i had overtaken and cut him off, but on the video, it is quite apparent that i'm just driving along and then he drives into me. >> the authorities have no choice but to find the police driver guilty and pay for repairs. she was particularly fortunate because of the dashcam of the car behind her also recording what happened. >> dashcams are the salvation of the average car driver. i have already given to all my relatives and friends. i have persuaded all of them. >> these video cameras are one way of standing up to the injustice on russia's roads. up to now, the country's elite have got away with slapping a blue light on their roof,

leaving ordinary drivers to line up. thanks to dashcams, this could become a thing of the past. >> we always thought that government vehicles would continue driving on the wrong side of the road and run red lights forever. but the dashcam is a weapon. if all drivers had won, the state would be forced to obey its own laws. >> this is about far more than the cameras have become a way of protesting against the state, and popularity is on the rise. compared to this development, the media recorded by dashcam just a flash in the pan. >> thousands of hungarians had taken to the streets of the past

days to protest against the conservative government of the prime minister. on their banners, they insult him as their dictator. not just in hungary, all across europe, people are angry about the amendments of the constitution that the hungarian parliament passed earlier this month. it was the fourth time that he made changes to the constitution of this country since he came to power almost three years ago. hungary is a member of the european union, but many say the country has left the path of democracy. with the latest amendments, victor has considerably reduced the power of everybody who could potentially step in his way. >> radio and the people who operate it are the litmus test of democracy. the broadcast against the conformity of hungary's media. the government's media and coding has refused to allow them

a permanent frequency band for two and a half years, so the station took the government to court. family court issued legally binding rulings in our favor three times, but the media authority contested all these rulings, so they kept us in limbo for two years. that is in line with their policy of economically ruining critical media. >> critical reports by their trademark. currently, the station is up in arms because the hon carian government has handed out awards to notorious anti-semite and right-wing extremists. >> starting today, i no longer want to where the metal -- wear the medal. i'm going to send it back to the minister. >> students staged a parody.

the party is supported by sympathizers in germany. >> our two countries are depicted as scandalously small. this must change. >> apart from the parity, the students have little to laugh about. they are appalled at how the new changes to hungary's constitution affect them. in the future after graduating, all students from state university must remain in hungary for as long as their studies took, if there is a job for them or not. >> in my opinion, this clearly violates european union laws. they say citizens must have freedom to travel. >> students were not the only hungarians who saw the courts as the last bastion of the rule of law and democracy, but now, the

2/3 majority in parliament has taken away most of the court's powers, a further step towards autocracy. the poorest of the poor are also in for trouble. homeless people who sleep on the streets can now be put into prison. church facilities often help the homeless, the unemployed, and families in difficulties. for years, this pastor's methodist church has said -- said 1000 poor people a day, provided 600 beds, and run schools for the children of the poor, but now, the church has to worry about its own future. >> we do work that is useful to society that otherwise the state would have to do. that is why we cannot accept that they have revoked our official status as a church, and

since january 1, 2012, have eliminated the associated subsidies. it is a divine wonder that we have not had to close our facilities. >> the methodists and they're dedicated pastor continue to struggle for recognition as a church. family appealed to the court of human rights in strasbourg, and i'm sure that it will support our demand -- >> we appealed to the court of human rights. it is another question if the hungarian government will be willing to implement the ruling and to compensate us for the payments that have been missed. >> two weeks ago, the station won its fourth court proceeding, and now finally the state media authority has assigned it a permanent frequency. the future of the station and its staff of 25 seems secure,

but no one is opening any champagne bottles yet. >> we have not seen the media authority's decision yet, so we do not know what the conditions are. we do not want to count our chickens before they are hatched. but if we can count on using this frequency, i think we will still need a year or two to bring our advertising revenue back up to its old level. >> these deeper in the stations of loco now seems more appropriate than ever. the animal is more than a debt escaping pressures. >> when germany was reunited more than 20 years ago, there were a number of open questions. one of them was what to do with property that owners were robbed of in the name of socialism? the solution was that all in

movable property -- the states, houses, and castles -- would remain state property, and everything else had to be given back. but what about pieces of art on display in public museums? the museums were allowed to keep them for another 20 years, and that time is up soon. >> the picturesque island setting was once the home of the dukes and grand dukes eager to extend the prestige, pomp and circumstance to the palace interior as well, so the royal residence spare no expense in adorning the rooms with art. some of the items on display still belong to the duke's descendants, such as these grandfather clocks that date from the 18th century. if they were put up for grabs at an auction, they would fetch at least 150,000 euros each. over 200 works of art will be returned if the regional government does not buy them.

family collection is a very important tourism magnet that will benefit the state if it stays here. but as has been made clear for years, some items will remain with the family as mementos. >> the director of the palace museum fears there about to lose valuable works of art. he says the problem is that the state government is reluctant to pay for them. >> they can also be used to explain and illustrate local history, and the collection is in itself a product of that history. so it makes far more sense to have these exhibits on show at original locations. >> the duchess also wants to see most of the exhibits stay where they are, but that would come at a price, a price she is

currently negotiating with authorities. that price is likely to range between 8 million and 9 million euros. the cultural department had 20 years to reach an agreement with the duchess. >> the negotiations are difficult, but the minister has already expressed his willingness to continue them. we are currently preparing a further round of talks, the second phase if you like. >> nearby is the for side of the north, the palace's home to the majority of collection items, and the talks must succeed. the east wing is currently undergoing a 12 million euro restoration. if the negotiations fail, the palace will have lavishly style rooms, but nothing to display them. her case is far from unique. many other museums in eastern germany are struggling to keep their collections. help is available in individual cases from a national arts

foundation. it seems inevitable, though, that moving vans will eventually be pulling up here and there. >> we hope that does not happen, but it might. i cannot say if we will be able to manage in all cases, but i certainly do hope that the relevant state governments likewise do all that they can to ensure that items that have become established fixtures of local museums can stay there. >> in communist east germany, countless works of art were expropriated by the authorities after the war. the aim -- to raise cash quickly. while some of the rightful heirs have managed to negotiate substantial sums for their property, others have failed to even get their claims of knowledge. the paintings and other antiquities were systematically looted by the stasi secret

police. the items were sold off to foreign buyers at low prices. east german government was desperate to earn hard currency to keep its command economy afloat. an attorney who represents claimants' of lost works of art knows his adversaries often prove less than cooperative. he has to fight tooth and nail for every picture and every piece of porcelain. >> the problem with the collectors dispossessed after 1949 is that entire livelihood's were wiped out. many victims were incarcerated for years and left ith nothing. for many, these works of art were their lives. people literally went over dead bodies to get their hands on these things. >> the collection has 18 months of breathing space. although in the museum world,

that translates into a last- minute matter. if no agreement is reached, the duchess might set up her own museum. >> we have a few potential ideas for the future, but that would not mean me leaving forever. my family and i feel at home here. plus, i've done some new investing, so i will never say it is over for me and never coming back. >> if it turns out that museums will have nothing left to exhibit, the city will definitely be the poorer for it. >> and time is running out for us come here, too, on "european journal" from brussels. join us again next week it can. until then, thanks for watching.

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