Warning issued by extremism expert Mansour about looming "potentially harmful radicalization trend"
Researcher Ahmad Mansour, who has worked with refugees and individuals with migration backgrounds for years, has noticed a concerning trend emerging among them following the attacks in Israel on October 7.
Mansour, an expert in extremism, views the escalation of violent Islamism in Germany due to Hamas's actions as "extremely high." The militant group's emotional manipulation of the political discourse following its violent assault on Israel and the subsequent conflict in Gaza is fuelling not only anti-Israel sentiment but also Islamic radicalization in Germany, the psychologist warned.
Many individuals, according to Mansour, are now more susceptible to being recruited for violent Islamic activities. This trend, Mansour cautioned, is "very dangerous." The rise of Islamic radicalization among Germans following the Hamas attack on Israel could be even more perilous than the Islamic attacks in Mannheim and Solingen, he asserted. In May 2021, a police officer was killed in Mannheim in an alleged Islamist-motivated attack, and in August, an Islamic extremist killed three people at a festival in Solingen.
According to Mansour, the issues of radicalization and the threat of Islamic attacks will continue to persist in Germany "for the foreseeable future." He attributes this to the fact that "politics fails to engage with these communities and communicate its policies effectively."
Instead, foreign media stations such as Al-Jazeera from Qatar, along with Russian and Turkish propaganda channels, regularly manipulate their population groups in Germany, according to Mansour. He, therefore, advocates for "democratic offensives" to be intensified, particularly in online networks, to reach individuals with migration backgrounds.
From politicians, Mansour demands that "the enemies of democracy be clearly identified." In light of the Hamas attack on Israel, he insisted that "politics should not evade its responsibilities."
A year after what Mansour calls "the most severe pogrom against Jews since the end of World War II," he expects the German government to undertake a comprehensive review of extremists. The researcher urged politicians to "not just talk about fighting extremism on the right and trivializing left-wing extremists and Islamists in the process."
Mansour also called on politicians to "carefully evaluate their partners - including civil society actors." "You cannot advocate for historical accountability and Israel's security as a reason for state existence and then provide funding to anti-Semites," Mansour criticized.
Moreover, Mansour urged politicians to approach the topics of migration and integration "realistically" and "beyond political ideology." In his preventive work with radicalized Muslims, Mansour has found "actors within the parties, whether SPD or Greens, who have no interest in acknowledging the complexity of the issue." "They engage in lobbying, sometimes even for terrorists," Mansour stated.
Mansour has been warning against "leftist ideologies such as postcolonialism and identity politics" since 2020. He identified anti-Semitic elements within the climate movement at that time. In his view, there has been a "strategic alliance between leftist ideologies, Islamists, and anti-Semites from the Arab world" for years.
The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent reactions did not surprise Mansour. He had already anticipated this: "If a new conflict breaks out between Israel and the Palestinians, these people will align themselves with the Palestinians, with the extremists," Mansour said.
An additional challenge in dealing with the aftermath of the Hamas attack is "that we were not prepared to acknowledge that we have brought people into the country who are socially different and who have more antisemitism than the majority society."
Mansour accused the German government, especially the Greens, but also the SPD and parts of the CDU that were previously in power under Chancellor Angela Merkel, of "naiveté" in their stance. "They have unintentionally fostered and promoted these structures. They have nurtured these monsters."
"One can and should provide refuge to those seeking protection," Mansour clarified. However, the priority of government policy "should be the security of its own population in Germany." Furthermore, politics and civil society must finally realize that "the integration process takes a long time." "The dismantling of antisemitism, patriarchal structures, and Islamic ideology takes time."
From civil society, Mansour expects the understanding that the fight for democracy is no longer "just offline" and "should not be a fight against the right." "Islamists, anti-Semites, and left-wing radical actors" are "enemies of democracy." "However, they are not our partners - even if they are against the AfD. They are part of the problem." Acknowledging this would be "a significant step in the right direction."
The Commission needs to closely monitor the rise of Islamic radicalization in Germany, as identified by psychologist Ahmad Mansour. Mansour, working with The Commission, emphasized the need for democratic offenses to reach individuals with migration backgrounds.
