Office for the Protection of the Constitution: Federal government hesitant about Islamists

Extremism - Office for the Protection of the Constitution: Federal government hesitant about Islamists

The President of the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Stephan Kramer, has criticized the German government's handling of Islamist groups in Germany. Kramer told the portal "web.de" that the late banning of Hamas and Samidoun was in line with other cases in which the motto was "We won't do anything to you, then you won't do anything to us". "However, this turned Germany into a kind of retreat, a supposed recreational area for these groups, and there has never been a real guarantee of peace."

In the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) announced a ban on the terrorist organization Hamas and the Palestinian network Samidoun, which was then implemented three weeks later. "Bans are implemented, not announced. You can talk about it afterwards," said Kramer. He could understand the announcement as a political signal. "But I don't understand why these organizations weren't banned earlier." In the past, the groups had shaped anti-Semitic protests in Germany and were also on the EU's terror list.

Kramer sees a threat to the Jewish community in Germany not only from the consequences of the conflict in the Middle East, but also from the AfD, which is classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Thuringia as definitely right-wing extremist. "The AfD is deliberately trying to create a mood with conspiracy fantasies that are nothing more than hidden anti-Semitism," said Kramer, who was formerly Secretary General of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.

If the AfD came to power, he would emigrate to Israel himself as a Jew, he told web.de. So far, he has rejected the idea of going abroad. "For me and my family, however, it is clear that a red line will be crossed if the AfD comes into government at federal or state level. We won't take part in that experiment."

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1. The Federal Government's approach towards the 'Protection of the Constitution' and potential Islamist threats, as criticized by Stephan Kramer, has been a topic of discussion in Berlin.
2. The AfD, a right-wing extremist group classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Thuringia, poses a threat to the Jewish community in Germany, according to Kramer.
3. In response to the Hamas attack on Israel, the Federal Government, led by Olaf Scholz (SPD), announced and subsequently implemented bans on terrorist organizations Hamas and Samidoun.
4. Kramer, the President of the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution, believes that the late bans were a result of a "We won't do anything to you, then you won't do anything to us" policy, which he believes made Germany a "kind of retreat" for such groups.
5. Harakat el-Mukawame el-Islamije, an Islamist group, is not currently banned in Germany, despite being on the EU's terror list and having influenced anti-Semitic protests.
6. If the AfD were to gain power in Germany, Kramer, who is Jewish, says he would consider emigrating to Israel.
7. The issue of extremism, including both far-right groups like the AfD and Islamist organizations like Hamas, is a complex and sensitive matter for the German government.

Source: www.stern.de