Islamists in Germany: Quiet, but dangerous
Last week's knife attack in the Bavarian city of Würzburg left three people dead and seven injured — five of them seriously. The suspect is a man from Somalia whose asylum application had been rejected.
Police are investigating his motives, including potential
links to violent Islamism. So far, all they can confirm is he was being treated
for psychological issues.
Just the whiff of Islamist extremism brings the debate over
religious- and politically-motivated violence back into focus in Germany. It
recalls memories of the Islamist-inspired Christmas market attack in Berlin,
which left 12 people dead and more than 60 injured, as well as far-right
attacks in Halle and Hanau in 2019 and 2020, respectively, targeting Jews and
those with Turkish roots. Walter Lübcke, a regional conservative politician,
was gunned down in front of his home in 2019 for his pro-refugee stance.
In some of these incidents, police have been criticized for
failing to act to prevent the crime or help the victims.
Germany's latest domestic intelligence report, presented in
June, views far-right extremism as the biggest threat to society. It also
included information about the potential for left-wing and Islamist violence.
The lone wolf threat
Authorities tied 409 crimes to "religious
ideology" in 2020. That marked a 13% increase over the year before. More
than 90% of those crimes were linked to Islamists, however many were
non-violent. The 33 crimes that resulted in death marked a 20% drop over 2019
figures.
The report noted that sophisticated attacks plotted from
abroad were "conceivable at any point," but none have actually taken
place. Lone wolf attacks, regardless of motive, are instead the bigger threat
and are "meaningful for the goals of terrorist groups."
Single attackers may have no formal ties to any group or
movement, the intelligence report suggested, but may be inspired by them to
attack "soft" targets. That was "probably" the case in
Dresden last year when two tourists were stabbed in a homophobic attack. One of
them died.
Another one-off attack took place in Berlin in 2020. This time
it was a car that rammed others, leaving six people injured. The suspect's
"psychological impairment" may have made an Islamist motivation more
appealing, the report said.
Similar attacks in Germany's neighboring countries, such as
France and Austria, have authorities worried about copycat crimes here.
The ongoing Islamist threat
Nearly 700 people are classified as potential perpetrators
and are under surveillance in Germany, according to a government statement
earlier this year. Most of them are suspected of having the potential to carry
out crimes due to their religious fervor, largely Islamism.
In 2020 the government said it is aware of 240 Islamists
that are at large and could potentially pose a threat.
Some 135 of these people were reported to have German
citizenship, while a third of them have other nationalities — 41 Syrians, 17
Russians, seven Iraqis, seven Turks, and people from around 20 other countries.
The nationality of seven Islamists was termed "unclear," while three
had been registered stateless.
German domestic intelligence authorities have also expressed
concern about radicalization abroad that comes back home. About 1,100 Islamists
are reported to have gone to Iraq and Syria since 2012. One-third of them have
returned to Germany, including some who have then been sentenced to prison for
various crimes.
Both their incarceration and release pose a "particular
challenge" to Germany's security and justice apparatus, the report said.
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