Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution warns
Danger of Islamist attacks “higher than ever”
11.06.2024, 06:27 a.m.
Islamist terrorism, right-wing extremism, espionage: a triad of factors is endangering security in Germany, says Thomas Haldenwang, head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Germany is in the spotlight more than other EU countries, particularly when it comes to the threat of jihadist attacks.
According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the threat of Islamist terrorist attacks in Germany is currently significantly higher than in recent years – also because of the Gaza war. “The risk of jihadist attacks is higher than it has been for a long time,” said the President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang. According to him, the security authorities are increasingly processing corresponding reports.
The head of the domestic intelligence service cites various reasons for the increased risk of attacks – including those by individual, radicalized perpetrators. The Islamist Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan has promoted the jihadist idea as a whole. Another factor is the strengthening of the terrorist militia Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISPK), particularly in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Haldenwang went on to say that Koran burnings in Scandinavia and the Israeli military operation against the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip have also contributed to “setting radicalization spirals in motion.”
Haldenwang said: “The situation in the Middle East after the terrorist attack by Hamas is definitely another reason for the worsening of the threat posed by Islamist terrorism.” It is also clear: “Germany is more in the focus of jihadists than other European countries because our country, alongside the USA, is considered one of Israel’s most important supporters.” At the end of May, a 25-year-old Afghan injured five participants at a rally by the anti-Islam movement Pax Europa and a police officer in Mannheim with a knife. The 29-year-old officer, Rouven L., later succumbed to his injuries. Investigators suspect an Islamist extremist motive for the crime.
His agency has never underestimated the threat posed by Islamist terrorism, but has instead repeatedly pointed out “that the security situation is very tense,” said the President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. It is currently almost impossible to identify the greatest threat to security, he added. “We are currently dealing with a triad: the threat posed by Islamist terrorism, the social climate that has been heated up by right-wing extremism and xenophobia and hostility towards Muslims, and the influence and espionage activities of foreign states.” Added to this is the threat posed by increasingly violent left-wing extremism.