The Godfather of Berlin

My way, my family, my rules

The first true insider report on the life of the Arab clans

Mahmoud Al-Zein is the head of the Al-Zein clan, one of the most influential large families in Germany

Stark, controversial, unsanitised: the brutal truth about violence, power and honour

Arab clans rule Germany’s inner cities and are often in the headlines. One of the most influential of these large families is the Al-Zeins. Their family head, Mahmoud Al-Zein, is known as the notorious Godfather of Berlin. Now, he is the first to break his silence and to give a no-holds-barred account of the inner working of his family organisation: his journey to the top, conflicts with law, time in prison, feuds with rivals, the law of the family and the brutal fight for supremacy on the streets. An incomparable insight into Arab clans and a report on German day-to-day reality.

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  • Publisher: Droemer HC
  • Release: 01.10.2020
  • ISBN: 978-3-426-27837-6
  • 256 Pages
  • Author: Mahmoud Al-Zein
The Godfather of Berlin
Mahmoud Al-Zein The Godfather of Berlin
Jan Kopetzky
© Jan Kopetzky
Mahmoud Al-Zein

Mahmoud Al-Zein came to Germany in the early 1980s as a war refugee from Beirut. Once there, he quickly rose to the top of the Al-Zein clan and was in the headlines as the “Godfather of Berlin”. After several prison sentences, he is now campaigning so that the younger generation learns from his mistakes.