VExperts believe that Islamist-motivated extremists continue to assume “a high abstract risk of terrorist attacks in Germany”. This is the result of the most recent report by an interdepartmental working group of the North Rhine-Westphalian state government on the prevention of Islamism. “There is no reason to give the all-clear,” says the interim report published by the Düsseldorf state parliament, in which five state ministries and a scientific advisory board were involved.
Only recently, the federal prosecutor’s office in North Rhine-Westphalia uncovered a suspected Islamist terrorist cell and had seven suspects arrested.
Even if the terrorist network Islamic State was pushed back militarily, “the anti-democratic and totalitarian ideology behind it has by no means disappeared,” states the report signed by NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) and State Integration Minister Josefine Paul (Greens). New groups have emerged that are specifically trying to attract young people in particular to their side.
Prevention via chat
People in precarious circumstances are particularly susceptible to recruitment attempts from extremist scenes. Radicalization would also be favored by experiences of discrimination and anti-Muslim racism. Digital platforms acted as drivers.
NRW intends to counteract this more strongly in the future. In concrete terms, the “Wegweiser” prevention program set up in 2014 is to have a digital component so that those affected, their relatives, schools and other institutions can obtain information at any time and contact a counselor via chat. A revised emergency folder “Look and act” is available to the NRW schools,” emphasizes the Ministry of Education in its contribution to the report. A new feature is a separate crisis prevention manual.
