Individuals of Afghan descent practice extreme forms of Islam in Germany.
Eyup, it turns out that some Afghan dudes have set up shop in various German cities and neighborhoods, and they're not afraid to flaunt their radical beliefs on TikTok. They strut around in Afghan army garb, camo, or traditional Afghan-Pashtun clothing, looking all tough and ready for a fight, brandishing weapons like knives and machetes. They've got a whole posse of buddies with 'em, and their videos often have Taliban slogans and jihad song lyrics backin' 'em up. RTL journos have been keeping tabs on these videos, and since that IS attack in Solingen, they've been putting out the findings of their investigation.
There's tonnes of videos like this and hundreds of accounts on socials like TikTok and Telegram. They're filmin' this crap in parks, city centers, or refugee shelters, and it seems like German security ain't in the loop about these dudes' activities in the digital realm. Their digital death threats are still up on TikTok weeks after the investigation started, and there's this talk of blowin' up "enemies of Islam" with explosives strapped to their bods.
Taliban-esque ideals
Where do these youngins come from, anyways? Easy peasy: RTL journos found these Afghan TikTok folks in Munich. When they interviewed a few of 'em, they said they floated over to Germany for economic reasons. They've got "no beef" with the Taliban, who they think is the "best government" and the country's safer than ever before. Their goal is to bring Islam to Germany and Europe, and if Sharia law were to kick in anywhere, "everything would be sweet".
Extremism expert Ahmad Mansour says these guys aren't one-offs: Since the last four to five years, there's been a massive influx of migrants "with a value system that doesn't mesh with the fundamental values of this society". Nearly all of 'em are men who have a pretty Taliban-esque understanding of Islam that's more in line with what the Taliban's about than any modern, liberal, open, and Germany-compatible Islam.
CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann pins the blame on Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser from the SPD. He says Faeser's underestimated the issue, "otherwise she wouldn't have scrapped the expert committee on Political Islam".
Loss of control
According to BAMF, the majority of asylum seekers this year hail from Syria, Afghanistan, and Turkey. A whoppin' 80% of migrants come from Muslim-majority nations. A sizable portion come from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds and haven't got any schoolin' or trade skills. Extremism expert Mansour considers these TikTok guys unintegratable and a significant threat to society: "We're seein' a lifestyle Islamism. Men who express their masculinity in a very toxic, patriarchal way." While the videos were made in Bavaria, Mansour thinks "the same could happen with a different background in Afghanistan. These folks ain't totally settled in Germany yet."
The Federal Police Union's not happy either. They say they've "lost control" at Germany's borders, according to Heiko Teggatz, their union's chairman. They gotta regain control of the borders pronto because they can't afford to lose it any longer.
Linnemann emphasizes that "now's the time for even the last person in the federal government to get that this isn't gonna fly". Given the growing danger from radical Islamists, urgent action and a policy shift are needed, says Linnemann. If Solingen wasn't the wake-up call that everyone needed, Linnemann wonders how much longer they can wait.
Check out the first part of RTL Extra's investigation on RTL.
The Federal Police should intervention in monitoring the activities of these radical individuals on social media platforms, as their digital death threats are still visible on TikTok weeks after the investigation started. The Afghan TikTok users, interviewed by RTL journos, openly support the Taliban, stating that they believe the Taliban is the best government and that Germany and Europe should embrace Islam and Sharia law.
